The World Travel & Tourism Council’s signature ‘in-the-round’ discussion format will again provide the framework for open and frank exchanges of ideas.
Together with some of the world’s most dynamic moderators, the WTTC will encourage active debate under the theme Breaking Barriers - Managing Growth.
The sessions begin Friday, May 11. First day sessions will tackle the topics, Igniting Markets of Growth – how are CEOs leading their teams to deal with the challenges thrown up by this growth; The Growth Agenda – or how governments are responding to the opportunities presented by travel and tourism growth; and Changing Gears – how is the industry keeping pace?
Saturday, May 12, the leaders start off with a breakfast debate: Do we really deliver on our promises? Is it really possible for the industry to bring useful change to people’s lives, to their communities, and to global society? In A Re-Think on the Brink, corporate leaders examine how climate change and the risk of an energy crisis is forcing a rethink on consumption levels, efficiency, and alternatives; followed by a final discussion on The Landscape of Travel & Tourism, or how can the industry adapt the design and architecture of airports, resorts and other physical assets to benefit from and contribute to the natural and cultural assets that it livelihood depends on?
Among those who will be speaking or debating the future of the industry are Jean-Claude Baumgarten, president, WTTC; Geoffrey Kent, chairman, WTTC; Manuel Pinho, Portuguese minister of Economy and Innovation; Christopher Rodrigues CBE, chairman, VisitBritain; Armin Meier, group CEO, Kuoni Travel; Sarmad Zok, CEO, Kingdom Hotel Investments; Maurice Flanagan, CBE, executive vice-chairman, Emirates Airline & Group; Stephen P Holmes, chairman, president and CEO, Wyndham Worldwide Corp; Praful Patel, minister of Civil Aviation, India; Fanny Palli-Petralia, Minister of Tourism, Greece; Osama Dabbas, Minister of Tourism & Antiquities, The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan; Dara Khosrowshahi, President & CEO, Expedia; Andrew Cosslett, CEO, InterContinental Hotels Group; Arthur de Haast, global CEO, Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels; Eric Anderson, CEO, Space Adventures; Ed Fuller, president and managing director, Marriott Lodging International; Charles Petruccelli, president, Global Travel Services, American Express Company; Gerald Lawless, executive chairman, Jumeirah Group; Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, founder and chairman, easyGroup; Sonu Shivdasani, chairman and CEO, Six Senses Resorts & Spas; Tom Arnold, chief environmental officer, TerraPass.
(The Global Travel & Tourism Summit runs from May 10 to 12 at the Lisboa Congress Centre, in Lisbon, Portugal)