Space Tourism: Could it be on the cards soon?

This year’s World Travel Market in London is set to have its first-ever keynote address about the potential of Space Tourism.

‘Space: the final travel frontier?’

The World Travel Market is set to take place on 8 November this year and according to travel news, the event will have its first-ever keynote speech on the Future Stage, regarding the concept of space tourism and its feasibility and potential.

Will Whitehorn, the former President of Virgin Galactic, will lead the session called ‘Space: the final travel frontier?’, exploring whether widespread space tourism really is feasible, what it could look like in the decades to come, as well as the sky-high opportunities for the travel and tourism sector.

The session will also ask the questions of whether space tourism is even worth considering right now, given the ongoing global climate emergency, as well as why billionaires such as Richard Branson, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk are obsessed with the space race.

Juliette Losardo, Exhibition Director of World Travel Market London, said that space tourism was indeed becoming a reality.

“For so long, space tourism has been a futuristic dream and it is now becoming a reality – albeit just for a handful of travellers; but of course, air travel was once seen in a similar light,” Losardo said.

“It’s important that we embrace new opportunities for leisure like this, to drive an improved future for travel. This is particularly thought-provoking as we emerge from a period which forced us to re-evaluate what we know as normal.” she added.

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Who is Will Whitehorn?

Whitehorn is highly accomplished and is the former President of UKspace, the space trade association, and has also had a lengthy track record in the travel sector.

He is also the Chair of the world’s first quoted space investment company, Seraphim Space Investment Trust PLC, and a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society, The Marketing Society and VP of The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport. He currently holds the Royal Aeronautical Society’s prestigious Geoffrey Pardoe Space Award for services to the space industry.