Tourexpi
Over 24,000 guests and more than 400 speakers
discussed ideas and impulses for travelling in the 21st century. The industry
wants to become fit for the future with intensive collaboration, new guiding
principles and the use of artificial intelligence.
The tourism industry has a leading role to play in
the fight against the climate crisis. At the three-day ITB Berlin Convention as
part of the world's largest tourism trade show ITB Berlin, it became clear that
the industry has a wide range of options and ideas for reducing emissions and
resource consumption, protecting biodiversity and achieving climate protection
goals. The urgency of these tasks was repeatedly emphasised in Berlin not only
by company representatives but also by external consultants: Bruno Oberle,
President of the World Resources Forum, called on the specialist audience to
act quickly and decisively: "Set yourself targets, preferably ambitious
targets, and create databases so that you can steer and drive your industry
forward. Transform, change and report".
The range of measures discussed at the convention
was broad: projects to protect biodiversity in holiday regions, greater
involvement of local initiatives for climate protection, but also more radical
ideas such as limiting flight routes and flight capacities made for lively
debates. Jeremy Sampson, CEO, Travel Foundation, appealed to the tourism
industry to aim for net zero emissions by 2030. He presented a strategy
focussing on the regulation of air travel and forty measures to achieve
sustainable tourism by 2050.
The customer is at the centre of many of the ideas
discussed at the convention: transparency and comparability are seen by the
industry as key factors in making it easier for consumers to make
climate-friendly decisions. Many speakers were convinced that increasing the
visibility of CO2 emissions would influence customers' decisions in favour of
sustainability and increase demand for sustainable products. The willingness to
tackle such a change was noticeable in many places at the convention: "We
want to make the carbon footprint of travel products visible at the point of
sale because we are convinced that this will make sustainable booking decisions
much easier and ultimately lead to a more climate-friendly offer,"
emphasised Swantje Lehners, CEO, Futouris.
However, the discussions at the convention also
showed that increased cooperation within the industry is necessary in order to
implement changes. "We all need to work together to display sustainability
information that is consistent and contextualised," emphasised Jessica
Matthias, Director of Sustainability, Sabre. Modern data management and
artificial intelligence should also help to achieve the desired goals. It has
become essential for the industry to use valuable data efficiently to optimise
resources and prevent greenwashing.
Artificial intelligence and its potential
applications were also a key topic outside of the sustainability debates,
dominating many forums and events at the convention. The expectations of the
new technology are far-reaching: the industry hopes that the use of AI will
provide impetus in terms of optimising operational processes, communication
with customers and resource management, for example. Glenn Fogel, CEO of the
booking platform Booking, is convinced that AI can also provide customers with
crucial support when planning their holidays. However, the industry's ambitions
with regard to AI go much further. The possibility of AI putting together
complete service packages for customers no longer seems far away: "We all
dream of creating an Amazon-like travel experience. This will soon be
possible," emphasised Gary Wiseman, EVP & Chief Product Officer,
Sabre.
However, before this happens, many tourism players
must first gain experience with AI and go through a learning curve. "The
travel industry needs to familiarise itself with the use of AI," said
travel tech consultant Leila Summa, but also warned against false and
exaggerated expectations. The new technology will not replace human labour, but
those who use it effectively will have an advantage over others, she explained.
However, the current shortage of skilled labour
shows that not every challenge in tourism can be overcome by technology alone.
In order to make the industry more attractive to young talent and skilled
workers, numerous contributions emphasised the need for new guiding principles
and more diversity in many places. The urgency of these tasks is beyond
question, as the shortage of skilled labour will continue to preoccupy the
industry in the coming years.
The readjustment of training content and
requirement profiles appears necessary in order to improve the situation and
reverse the trend. "For many people, tourism acts as a gateway to the
labour market. The most important question is: How can we make the industry
more interesting so that people stay in tourism?" emphasised Corné
Dijkmans, Director of the Breda University of Applied Sciences. His institute's
most recent study on the subject showed that digital skills and sustainability
competences are becoming increasingly important for working in tourism.
Employers should also pay more attention to the personal and cultural skills of
their applicants in future: "The biggest skills gaps in tourism are in the
social and cultural areas. Skills such as empathy and the ability to learn are
becoming increasingly important," believes Dijkmans. For futurologist
Rohit Talwar, diversity and collaboration are the key to combating the labour
shortage: "It will be crucial to train our own staff accordingly. We need
to train customer-centric employees who are able to deal with problems in real
time."
Image
Credit: © Messe Berlin GmbH
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