After rubbing shoulders with pandas and Ronaldo at the World Travel Market in London last week, Stephen Bailey predicts what is in store for the tourism industry next year.

Gibraltar looks to attract tourists with its historical British connections.

Two pandas approach me, flanked by a nun and a World War I hero. This concoction of characters is promoting Flanders, the destination that’s sponsoring this year’s World Travel Market.

In two huge halls, different countries have their own unique approaches to attracting potential business clients.

Texas gives out free Bourbon whisky, a Colombian woman walks around balancing a basket of bananas on her head and Tobago is trying to start a carnival in the corridor.

The World Travel Market is the leading global expo for the tourism industry. Over 30,000 tour operators, hotel managers, ministers and destination managers have descended on London to do business.

Except it doesn’t really feel like any business is taking place. It’s just one big party. The Indian state of Goa gives out flyers advertising an evening of free alcohol, the Polish stand entices visitors with home-brewed schnapps and Bulgaria runs hourly, wine-tasting sessions.

Spread over two immense halls, each country has its own area. Some, like the US, cover half a football pitch. In three days, I’ve danced with the Mexicans, drank tea with the Iraqis and chinwagged with Swaziland’s minister of tourism. But enough of this personal reminiscing.

While it may sound like a taxpayer-paid party, the World Travel Market does have a huge impact on what the tourism industry will look like. Ministers influence each other, tour operators broker deals to visit new destinations and the great footballer Ronaldo told everyone that Brazil is ready.

A programme of seminars indicates the hot topics. Social media never goes away as Google and marketing experts argue that the travel industry hasn’t been harnessing its full potential. So expect travel agents to start targeting you through Facebook and Twitter next year, as well as harassing you to leave feedback on their pages.

Goans dance, Africans wear tribal costumes, and whatever time I pass by, most of the Maltese delegation are at lunch

Mobile apps are discussed at length, and various companies showcased how tourism offices can create neat and easy-to-use travel guides. Rather than relying on what the guidebook says, countries are hoping that visitors will plan a trip through their mobile.

A whole day is dedicated to responsible tourism and the cruise industry is regularly abused for taking and not giving back to local communities. While speakers talk a good game, the questions from the audience reflect a disassociation between responsible tourism and profit making.

The general consensus is that it’s important to show a commitment to being responsible. I’m predicting something akin to international coffee-shop chains. Large, artistic posters will advertise a dedication to improving living standards and working conditions in a local area. But will the profits really filter down?

The sheer number of countries using the World Travel Market to promote themselves is staggering. Destinations that only seem suitable for intrepid lunatics are showcased as bona fide holidays for Mr and Mrs Average.

Mongolia, Sierra Leone and Armenia talked a good game. Nigeria shrugged off any misconceptions with talks from senior government officials and lots of live music.

But these nations are dwarfed in size by Iraq, which seemed oblivious to the long-standing, negative connotations of war. If Baghdad’s new, five-star hotel is in the next Thomas Cook brochure, you’ll know they’ve been successful.

Do they honestly think they can bring in tourists? Or was this just a chance to blow a marketing budget? Belarus suggested the latter. After receiving a wonderful speech about the culture and warmth of the ex-Soviet nation, I asked about their notoriously difficult visa situation.

“Yes, you need a visa,” she replied.

“Can I get a visa?”

“No. Maybe yes, but maybe no.”

Belarus aside, the whole expo reflects that the world is more accessible than it has ever been and tourists are becoming increasingly adventurous.

With so much competition and choice, countries distinguish themselves through tag lines. Colombia is “magical realism”, Brazil is simply “sensational”, Costa Rica has “no artificial ingredients”, and Fiji says: “Welcome to the happiest place on earth.”

Somewhere, hidden among it all, is a genuine taste of a nation. Goans dance, Africans wear tribal costumes, and whatever time I pass by, most of the Maltese delegation are at lunch.

A representative from the Maltese Tourism Authority talked about how the event will increase revenue from tourism, but was non-committal on figures. My take from the stand was how important Gozo is to our tourism strategy.

But will the World Travel Market genuinely have an impact on the average Maltese person’s holiday? It’s a question I battle with throughout the event. Yes, it’s nice to know that Nigeria welcomes tourists, but that’s hardly relevant.

Rather than focus on their existing destinations, European countries heavily promoted the regions we don’t know about. London, Prague or Barcelona were hardly represented. Instead, it was the Czech area of Brno, or a remote town in Poland.

The message was unquestionably that there is more to a country than the one name that has always attracted visitors.

With budget airlines increasing their routes, the coming years will allow us to explore unknown destinations that are almost on our doorstep.

However, constantly riling me was the unnecessary slant towards high-end tourism. If you’ve got loads of spare cash, then the world is full of infinite possibilities. But it always has been. Just because a host of five-star resorts advertise here doesn’t change that. What I found lacking were the options for the less wealthy, and dare I say, less important tourist. The bottom line throughout the World Travel Market was tourism revenue, not tourist numbers.

Much of the African section was taken by luxurious safari operations, but how does a $500-a-day safari fit with responsible tourism? Yes, I want to visit Brazil. But I want genuine interaction with locals, not a tour of upmarket hotels. On the surface, the expo promoted the openness of travel. But a healthy bank balance is still the gatekeeper.

It was left to the pandas to convince me that the World Travel Market does have an impact on the average person’s holiday experience. As two furry bears hugged me, I questioned what pandas have to do with Flanders. Apparently, the Chinese have loaned one to the region. One waved a Belgian flag, the other a Chinese, and here was the new globalisation of tourism: countries’ lending attractions to one another.

So while the world is becoming more accessible, at some point in the future, we won’t even need to travel.

We’ll just have to wait for different attractions to pass by Malta on their world tour...