Climate change and the impact of global warming on the luxury travel industry is the focus of this year’s ILTM conference.
All speakers and panelists are from the luxury goods market and luxury travel sector. The opening and welcome speech will be made by Tom Nutley, chairman, Reed Travel Exhibitions.
It will be followed by an address by Ed Ventimiglia, vice-president and publisher, Departures Magazine.
Richard David Story, editor-in-chief, Departures Magazine, will speak on the world of luxury and its impact on the environment, before Costas Christ, global travel editor and luxury travel columnist, National Geographic Adventure and chairman of judges for the WTTC Tourism for Tomorrow Awards, delivers the keynote address on how sustainable tourism is transforming the travel industry
This will be followed by panel discussions.
One panel on carbon offsetting, moderated by Jeremy Skidmore, travel journalist, former editor of Travel Weekly UK, will consist of Sabine Minninger, director of CSR & Tourism, Atmosfair; Bill Sneyd, director of advisory services, the Carbon Neutral Company; and Peter Krahenbuhl, vice-president, Sustainable Travel International.
Green travel has gained massive momentum over the last 12 months, the result being a more environmentally conscious consumer with an expectation that their travel experience will have less of an environmental and social impact than ever before. One of the primary measures to fulfill such needs is through carbon offsetting and reductions.
Top environmental organisations will discuss the tools and strategies offered to mitigate the carbon emissions of corporations and individuals.
A second panel discussion, The Future is Green, will be moderated by Marshall Calder, senior vice-president marketing, the Leading Hotels of the World.
On this panel are Sonu Shivdasani, CEO, Six Senses Resorts and Spas; Bruce Simpson, executive director, Wilderness Safaris; Peter Lederer, chairman, Visit Scotland.
The inaugural ILTM Industry Report on the luxury travel sector will also be presented by Nancy Cockerell, research director, the Travel Business Partnership