Agenda

In the frantic travel business of 2007, the focus of most CEOs and their boards is on improving short term results. Shareholders, the City and the press look at success by quarterly, half yearly and annual financials. Yet it is long-term planning, strategies, networks and alliances that help an organisation survive and thrive over a decade or more.

Far-reaching decisions of this nature take foresight and insight and this one-day, invitation-only, event will allow CEOs to discuss and network so they can address the very issues and challenges that are likely to affect their bottom line.

This reflects the enormous appetite within the industry for passionate tourism products and services that excite the traveller and the sector, as well as drive growth.

Agenda: "Mapping tomorrow's travel, today"

The agenda for the day will consist of three sessions of varying lengths. Each session will provide top-level discussions for CEOs and thought leaders on the topics in question. However, the sessions will also provide practical solutions and initiatives that can be pursued at the board level.

A) The New Media Challenge – 1 hour 15 minutes

Travel firms and CEOs are well aware that the Internet has been the great enabler for the global tourism trade. Yet the environment is shifting again, new patterns of investment are needed. Digital evangelists are preaching the gospel of Web 2.0. The dawn of social media and user participation is already with us. Just look at the rise of MySpace, YouTube, Facebook and the ever-growing number of bloggers.

Should your company be joining the conversation? Many already have, however many more in the sector have yet to make their brand a part of our collective daily discourse. This is the ultimate challenge of the new media era. In this session you will understand the big picture initiatives and strategies that could affect your business. How can you channel success when your brand is uncontrollably flowing around the webisphere?

B) The Evolving Green Agenda – 1 hour 30 minutes

Sustainability is the hottest issue facing the travel industry today and eco-friendly travel is becoming big business. The green agenda is already a topic that any boardroom in the industry would be ill-advised to ignore. Some CEOs in the industry have tackled issues head-on; others have highlighted their green credentials whilst changing little. Then there are those that have passed the buck to other polluting sectors.

How can we act responsibly as an industry? How can tourism growth and sustainability go hand-in-hand? How should we gauge our green credentials? Is offsetting really the answer? Is the myriad of initiatives confusing to the consumer? How do we effectively measure sustainable tourism?

This session will look at how businesses at the board level should view the growing green agenda and how to address the issues of climate change and our bulging carbon footprint.

C) The Future of Travel and Tourism – 1 hour

In ten years time the travel landscape will be very different. The following are likely to affect our industry: Sky-high oil prices, greater use of trains, potentially the end of “binge” low-cost flying, the rise of BRIC – Brazil, Russian, India, China travel, virtual holidays and a lot more.

New hotel, airport and tourism infrastructure takes up to ten years to come online. Therefore, CEOs and strategists need to know what the travelling consumer will be doing in a decade’s time and adjust their channels of investment accordingly. So what does the future hold for the travel and tourism industry? Should we be rolling out the menus in Mandarin? Is domestic tourism likely to expand exponentially as guilt about flying increases? With the evolution of the Web, how will our expectations of a holiday change in ten years?

© World Travel CEO Forum 2007