THIS year’s World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) Global Summit heads to the US where it will be hosted by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority for two days which promise a range of seminars, panel discussions and presentations from some of the industry’s leading authorities.
The first sessions on day one, May 18, will deal with powering global growth and a new global mindset. In response to the forecast explosion in demand for travel and tourism from the emerging markets such as Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC), WTTC says there needs to be a ‘new global mindset’ from both governments and the private sector to ensure this demand is satisfied.
The session will examine areas including predictions from global economists on this market shift, what industry leaders see as the potential impact and where does travel and tourism fit into the growth tajectory.
In 2011 more than $652.4 billion is expected to be invested in travel and tourism, accounting for around 4.5 per cent of total global investment.
With this in mind the summit will look at investing in growth dealing with the issue of lack of understanding of the industry from investors, government red tape and the possibility of an annual investment roadshow from WTTC to bridge the gap.
A session ‘The business of doing business’ will examine how the business travel sector has been affected by the economic downturn as well as receiving new research exploring the links between business travel, corporate profits and the wider economy.
Issues for discussion will include how companies can strike a balance between actual travel and new technology meetings.
This will lead into a look at ‘high-speed growth in the digital lane’ highlighting the huge challenges and opportunities presented by rapid developments in digital and social networks and mobile technologies and examining the latest trends and innovations inside and outside the travel and tourism sector.
The WTTC Tourism for Tomorrow Awards will be presented at a gala ceremony at the Aria Convention Centre on May 17 and the morning of day two will see delegates concentratng on options for powering sustainable growth.
The session will look to the future – what will travel and tourism be like in 2030 – and will consider issues including the key challenges posed by a significant increase in the number of people travelling, where the consumer demand for sustainable products is coming from and how can it be harnessed and how can the industry and destinations work together to ensure quality jobs for local people.
The final session will deal with ‘Breaking through the brick wall’ addressing how the industry can convince policy-makers at a national and international level to take travel and tourism seriously rather than seeing it simply as a cash cow.
Delegates will look at the impact of departure taxes and visa difficulties, the time taken to construct new airports and rail networks and the difficulties presented by national security restrictions.