WTM week always reminds me why we do what we do.

It’s not about the lanyards, the coffee queues or the sore feet — though we all know there’ll be plenty of those. It’s about that moment when someone from a travel brand leans across the table and says:

“We’ve got a small window, a big job, and we can’t add headcount.”

That’s where we come in.

At The Production Dept., we’re built for that kind of challenge. We’re not a big faceless agency; we’re a flexible production partner that plugs into your world when you need us most. We spin up the right crew, handle the logistics, the permits, the RAMS — all the bits that usually give you a headache — and hand back a clean, finished set of assets your team can roll out straight away.

We go to WTM London because it’s where the conversations start — not the kind with PowerPoints, but the real ones. The ones where someone says, “We’ve been meaning to freshen our content for ages,” or “We’ve got this amazing trip coming up and no time to capture it.”

That’s the space we live in — where creativity meets practicality.

The Production Dept filming authentic walking holiday content with Inntravel in Europe, capturing real travellers on trail for travel marketing storytelling. — InnTravel Walking Holiday shoot

Behind the Scenes – Walking Holiday Content Creation with Inntravel

Walking the Story

Earlier this year, we spent some proper time on foot with Inntravel, one of the UK’s most respected walking holiday companies. And honestly, it reminded me why I love what we do.

There’s something about walking that changes how you see a place. You notice the details. The sounds. The way light hits a wall at 4pm. We worked across the UK, Portugal, Spain and Italy — walking, shooting, chatting, breathing it all in — capturing the pace and personality of the journey itself.

There was no staging, no script. Just people being people, doing what they love. That’s the beauty of authentic storytelling — you can’t fake it.

We came back with a bank of evergreen content that still feels fresh now. The sort of visuals that will still feel relevant next spring, next autumn, next campaign. Because when you shoot truthfully, it lasts.

BTS– Walking Holiday Evergreen Content

You can probably see from this photo how hot this shoot was from start to finish. #sweatybetty

From Rail to River

Then there was Great Rail Journeys — one of those projects that ticked every box. We started in Yorkshire, travelled by train through Strasbourg, and joined a river cruise heading north to Köln. It was a production that quite literally kept moving — trains, boats, light, weather, people — constantly shifting.

We were filming with real passengers, so we had to be invisible but ready. You can’t ask someone to recreate a sunrise reflection or a laugh over breakfast. You just have to be there, ready when it happens.

That’s what I love about travel content. It’s part planning, part instinct. You build a framework, then you stay open to whatever unfolds. By the time we wrapped in Köln, we had a collection of stills and films that told the story exactly how it felt: fluid, human, and full of heart.

Behind-the-scenes image of The Production Dept team filming for Great Rail Journeys during a European river cruise and rail travel production. — Service time.

Shooting the staff on the river cruise setting up for lunch.

7,500 Points of Interest (and a Few Blisters)

And when I worked at Jet2holidays — a beast of a project that taught us a lot about scale and stamina.

Over ten months, we coordinated a team of ten freelancers across Europe, capturing 7,500 Points of Interest — everything from beaches and city squares to hidden cafés and hotel views. I personally shot 10 cities in 12 days at one point, which is as glamorous and as exhausting as it sounds.

It wasn’t about flashy shoots or cinematic tricks — it was about precision, consistency and storytelling at scale. Every single image had to be right: framed, tagged, delivered, and ready to roll out across digital, print, and social.

It was proof that when logistics and creativity work hand-in-hand, you can achieve something massive without it feeling mechanical.

Chris Willan - all round great human

I have commissioned and worked with Chris on projects over the course of nearly 15 years. Having the right people and the right collaboration goes a long way on shoots. Chris is definitely one of those people. I commissioned and worked with Chris on the Jet2holidays shoot nearly 10 years ago, what we achieved on that is a blog in itself.

Why We’ll Be at WTM

That’s why we go to WTM London every year. Not to hand out leaflets or collect tote bags — but to talk to people who actually make things happen in travel. The marketers, the brand managers, the comms teams who’ve got brilliant destinations to show off and not enough hours in the week to do it.

Sometimes it’s a quick chat over coffee, sometimes it’s a plan that turns into a campaign six months later. Either way, it all starts with a conversation.

I’ll be wandering the halls on Tuesday 4 November (no stand, just shoes built for distance).

If you fancy ten minutes to talk ideas, I’m happy to swing by your stand or grab a spot on Central Boulevard — no pitch, no pressure, just proper chat about what’s working (and what’s not).

If you’re buried in meetings — fair enough — just drop me a quick message saying “WTM” and your stand number or a rough time slot (morning, early afternoon, late afternoon). I’ll confirm something that works.

Or if you’d rather think about it later, message me “Send the ideas outline” and I’ll email you a quick one-pager with a few useful thoughts — shot list ideas, quick win content tips, maybe even a logistics checklist for 2026.

Because if you’re a destination marketing organisation, tour operator, hotel group, or travel brand, and you’re showing off the best parts of the world — we’d love to help you show them well.

See you at ExCeL

The Production Dept team and models on a shoot.