Rob Broere

Posted on June 7, 2020 by admin

ITSC 2019 Speaker — Rob Broere VP-Industry Change
Seychelles

Rob Broere VP-Industry Change at Emirates Airline started his career in 1981 with KLM as programmer on the Reservation/Check-in system.

He joined Emirates in 1995 to install the newly acquired Emirates Res/DCS system and managed the system for Emirates and number of other airlines that were hosted on the system under the Mercator brand until 2013 when his focussed switched full time to the future of travel.

Since 2007 he has been representing Emirates and the middle east airlines at IATA as part of the Simplifying the Business (StB) program that focussed on the future of travel He has been one of the 2 leaders of the group throughout its existence. The StB program has set new direction for the passenger processes through projects like NDC, OneOrder and more recently OneID that set the way forward for Biometric processing.

Since the hit of Covid-19 Rob has been actively working to find a global way forward to open up borders while reducing the risk of spreading infection or having a 14 days quarantine imposed as that will adversely impact the travel business. He is working closely with IATA and WTTC taskforces on this topic

Alain St. Ange

Posted on June 7, 2020 by admin

Alain St.Ange is the formerTourism Minister of the Seychelles who aspired to fly the Seychelles Flag at the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) if the island’s bid for the position of Secretary General had not been abruptly withdrawn.

Alain St Ange has been working in the tourism business all his working life and in Government services since 2009. He was appointed as the Director of Marketing for Seychelles. After one year of service, he was promoted to the position of CEO of the Seychelles Tourism Board.

In 2012 the Indian Ocean Vanilla Islands Regional Organization was formed and St Ange was elected as the First President of that Regional Organisation (Indian Ocean Vanilla Islands – Seychelles, Mauritius, Reunion, Madagascar, Comoros and Mayotte) and he remains the only one who was elected to serve a second back-to-back mandate.

Tourism was and remains St.Ange’s life and passion and he steered that industry with style and utmost devotion. It is in the 2012 Seychelles Cabinet of Ministers re-shuffle, that St Ange was appointed as Minister of Tourism and Culture and appointed by President Danny Faure in 2016 as Minister of Tourism. Civil Aviation, Ports & Marine which he resigned on 28 December 2016 in order to pursue a candidacy as Secretary General of the World Tourism Organisation.

Alain St.Ange is a Tourism Consultant heading the “Saint Ange Consultancy” and is responsible for the widely distributed weekly “Saint Ange Tourism Report”.

Ian Goldin

Posted on June 6, 2020October 25, 2022 by admin

ITIC Speaker — Ian Goldin
Professor of Globalisation and Development
University of Oxford

Ian Goldin is Professor of Globalisation and Development at the University of Oxford, Professorial Fellow at Balliol College, Oxford University, Director of the Oxford Martin Programme on Technological and Economic Change and founding Director of the Oxford Martin School.

Ian previously was Vice President of the World Bank and the Group’s Director of Policy, after serving as Chief Executive of the Development Bank of Southern Africa and Economic Advisor to President Nelson Mandela. Ian has served as Principal Economist at the EBRD and the Director of the Trade and Sustainable Growth Programmes at the OECD Development Centre. He has a MSc from the London School of Economics, and an MA and DPhil from the University of Oxford. Goldin has been knighted by the French Government and received numerous awards.

He has published twenty-two books, with his Penguin book Terra Incognita: 100 Maps to Survive the Next 100 Years forthcoming. His previous books include Age of Discovery: Navigating the Storms of Our Second Renaissance and The Butterfly Defect, in which he predicted that a pandemic was the most likely cause of the next financial crisis. He has authored and presented three BBC Documentary Series After The Crash; Will AI Kill Development? and forthcoming The Pandemic that Changed the World. He has been featured on BBCHardTalk and all leading global media outlets.

He provides advisory and consultancy services to the IMF, UN, EU, OECD and numerous governments and companies. He has served as a non-executive Director on globally listed companies, including as the Senior Independent Director and chairing all board committees. He is Chair of the core-econ.org initiative to transform economics, and is an honorary trustee of Comic Relief and other charities. His website is https://iangoldin.org/ and twitter address @ian_goldin.

Conference Review June 3: How the Middle East could help lead the world out of the travel & tourism crisis

Posted on June 3, 2020October 12, 2020 by admin

Conference Review June 3 2020

Restructuring to Attract Sustainable Development and Customers in the New World Order

From the growth of single-use plastic to protect diners in the new post-pandemic world which undermines years of moving toward sustainability through to the vital need to increase domestic tourism in the short term ensure survival, today’s conference covered a lot of ground.

Restructuring to Attract Sustainable Investment and Customers in the New World Order on June 3 brought together a heavyweight group of speakers and guests for this virtual conference organised by ATM in partnership with ITIC. Delegates who logged on learned:

Domestic tourism is a key to survival – but some destinations will struggle
Travel will become a luxury and visitors will need ‘hand holding’
Green corridors and Coronavirus Free Zones will exist for countries that have the virus controlled (even Greece and the GCC)
Some countries, like Jordan, have designated ‘green’ areas, free of virus which will welcome visitors from green countries.
In the UAE Dubai is focused on safety and telling fans #tilwemeetagain
Training will be revolutionised and must be undertaken internationally
Tech could replace passports
Digitally aware generation Z need attention
People want to travel, they are claustrophobic but they will not want to go and sit on a beach
And how online business relationships may actually increase the need for international travel

Dubai is the main tourist destination in the Middle East and it has moved quickly to secure its population and plan, said HE Issam Kazim the CEO of Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DCTCM).

The city was pushing to secure its position as the number four destination in the world after huge growth in 2019. “In January and February this year we were 4 per cent up and we were underway to break records,” he said. He explained that the emirate had launched its #tilwemeetagain campaign.

“We have got safety under control and our message to Dubai fans is we’re all in this together – we’re still here and we welcome you in the future,” he said.

But he had a warning and recognition that the world had changed: “Travel will be a much bigger luxury and we need to make it even easier for people. We must hold them by the hand, do not forget safety and to work with all partners.”

Gerald Lawless said: “Our industry will bounce back…I feel that this is an opportunity, how we relaunch and how we reboot. We should take the environmental issues along with us.. we do a lot for social sustainability. Bad things happen when you don’t have tourism.”

Mr Lawless is a WTTC Ambassador, Former Chairman of WTTC, Former President & Group CEO of Jumeirah Group and director of the conference organiser ITIC.

He was speaking during the introduction alongside Dr Taleb Rifai. The word ‘trust’ was repeatedly used as the conference debated the path to recovery of the travel & tourism sector and it was not just the need to instil it in travellers: ‘investment is the ultimate expression of trust,” Dr Taleb Rifai, had set the tone during the introduction.

He also urged Saudi Arabia to take a leadership role in the disrupted world during the G20 summit later this year because the Arab League African Union and EU are in disarray and this is “a new world order” in a vacuum.

The former Secretary General of the UN WTO described as the ‘godfather of tourism’ by delegate HE Saleh Mohamed Al Geziry, Director General of Ajman Tourism Development Department (ATDD) in Ajman, UAE.

HE Al Geziry, who described his emirate as maybe the smallest ‘but with a big heart’ urged delegates to the virtual summit to search for the positives despite a largely ‘negative media’. He talked authoritatively about the opportunities that have arisen and how technology can assist pointing out that physical signatures are no longer necessary to carry out transactions, so even something like a passport could be digitised.

“This crisis has opened our eyes to what we take for granted – we must consider how can we adapt?”

The summit was smoothly moderated by BBC producer Rajan Datar who tackled the opportunities that the pandemic has brought and guest Nicholas Mayer partner at PWC Middle East focused on digital and young travellers as somewhere the sector must address.

“Generation Z are a digital generation and that’s how they interact – not homogeneous, but they are a generation that needs to engage. They will travel again.”

Young, digitally aware young people are a recognised group to work with in Saudi Arabia where domestic tourism is a key pillar of the nation’s future growth plan and it had made huge investment in increasing tourism in the months before Covid-19.

Majid al-Ghanim, is Managing Director of Tourism & Quality of Life at the Saudi Arabia General Investment Authority (SAGIA). “We believe that things will be recovered more quickly than it looked at the start of the pandemic,” he said.

He complemented his neighbouring destinations like the UAE and Oman and recognised that while they may compete for investment, all of them must move forward together.

“Our main objective is to capture the current spend normally outside of the country..but we have had big interest from investors during the lockdown period.”

The emirate of Sharjah has lived in the shadow of its glamorous neighbour Dubai for decades, but it is successfully building its own tourist image and that will continue said HE Khalid Jasim al-Midfa, who heads the Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Authority (SCTDA).

“It was unknown but we try to be different, we are focused on eco-tourism for example. We have archaeology – for example you can follow the history of man. To move forward the public and private sector must work together.

“We haven’t seen the closure of many hotels in Sharjah. The government has subsidised companies to help them survive.” And while he was supportive of boosting domestic tourism in the short term, he said: “Nothing can replace travel. It ill go back.”

Ben Lock offered an insight into the what destinations must offer travellers. He over sees Edelman UK’s International Affairs practice which provides strategic communications consultancy to clients.

“Increasingly travellers are asking ‘Tell me why your country is relevant?’ – they are aspirational they want to visit somewhere that allows them to be the best version of themselves, that’s been exacerbated by Covid” said Mr Lock.

“People are claustrophobic but they will not want to go and sit on a beach (with people they’ve been in lockdown with).”

And he reminded everyone looking to move forward that the world really has changed and staff who may have been viewed as unimportant have proven how vital they are in this new reality. Customers will want destination chiefs to prove they are not only safe, but they care about their employees, especially those who have worked, at risk to their health during the pandemic.

“Shelf stocker was seen as a derogatory term, now these people are seen as heroes,” he said. “People who put food on the table, people who get them from A to B. Now people will demand that the people who look after them and people like them are well looked after.”

There was a huge boost to the optimism of Middle East travel operators when Dr Marcus Lee, Chairman of Association of SME Business owners in China revealed the ‘confidence is back’.

He said China is changing and moving away from large group travel to FIT (fully independent travellers). “From mass to small, from coach to car, from packed trip to customised trip,” said Dr Lee.

“People want to go to countries they can trust, and they need to be more ‘China ready’. Travellers are getting more sophisticated in what they want right now.” He said neighbouring countries were already the target when eight Chinese airlines begin operating this month but the country’s travellers are ‘watchful’ of the Middle East.

Professor Dimitrios Buhalis is the Director of the eTourism Lab and Deputy Director of the International Centre for Tourism & Hospitality Research. He’s been advising on ending lockdown how to do it and when.

“It’s different strategies depending on where they are and their clientele,” he said. He agreed that domestic tourism was an ideal focus to aid the survival of tourism sectors. “That’s fine for some countries China, US, Brazil or UK, but if you’ve got a lot of islands like Greek islands or a lot of places that are quite small like the Seychelles, they will find it much more difficult to deal with domestic tourism.”

He was also asked about the return of business travel with so many observers suggesting the growth of digital has changed the way people view it. Prof Buhalis rejected that viewpoint: “Businesses have learned to operate in the digital world but it will not stop people travelling. If anything it will increase travel you can connect with more people and the first thing you want to do is get together, have a drink…meet…plan our next project on a napkin.”

Moderator Datar challenged him over whether the boss would pay and the professor was in doubt, he would: “If we add value, the boss will pay. The boss will be more concerned about the health and safety of his employees, what insurance companies will require. We will operate in a more smart, blended way.

Agility is the takeaway, using offline and on line to co-create experiences and co-create value. That will be the key.” He broke the leisure traveller market into four: “There is 25 per cent who are just away from things, the second 25 per cent lost money or income and can’t travel, then. Another quarter who are the smart travellers who will wait and see. And the fourth group I call the kamikaze, they will travel anywhere.”

In Jordan Dr Abed Alrazzaq Arabiyat, MD of Jordan Tourist Board, was another advocate initially of domestic tourism but he explained how his country is ‘enhancing content’ with 360-degree virtual tours and concept vacations with a food or astronomical theme.

He said the country had used government subsidies to keep its workforce and support tourism and encouraging visitors back meant training throughout the supply chain from airports to tour guides, utilising online and certification.

He talked about ‘green areas’ places where Coronavirus has been successfully contained or eliminated. Petra was one area and for the future Jordan will open ‘green to green areas’ with countries identified as virus safe. “Then we can open without restrictions,” he said.

Concluding remarks were passed back to Dr Rifai who had opened proceedings who thanked guests and praised the positive attitude and achievements already in the Middle East.

ITIC has organised its largest Virtual Conference in a week’s time on Wednesday June 10 – you can attend and registration is free. The Future of Travel & Tourism, Financial Strategies for the Recovery.

THE FUTURE OF TRAVEL & TOURISM VIRTUAL CONFERENCE June 10, 2020 DETAILS & REGISTRATION

Follow ITIC on Facebook

Follow ITIC on LinkedIn

REGISTER NOW FREE The ITIC-WTM virtual conference is FREE to attend online. It focuses on three themes: 1. Health: dealing with Covid-19, and how we restore travellers’ confidence and rebuild business. 2. Investment: understanding the financial mechanisms that allow you to survive and rebuild. 3. Future: This may not be the last crisis, how can you prepare for any future global catastrophe This virtual summit uses the latest video technology, viewable on your browser, will bring together more than 2,000 attendees in an interactive environment.

Keith Barr

Posted on June 3, 2020June 3, 2020 by admin

Keith has spent more than 25 years working in the hospitality industry across a wide range of roles. He started his career in hotel operations and joined IHG in 2000. Since April 2011 he has been a member of IHG’s Executive Committee. Directly before being appointed Chief Executive Officer, Keith served as Chief Commercial Officer for four years. In this role, he led IHG’s global brand, loyalty, sales and marketing functions, and oversaw IHG’s loyalty programme, IHG® Rewards Club. Prior to this, Keith was CEO of IHG’s Greater China business for four years, setting the foundations for growth in a key market and overseeing the launch of the HUALUXE® Hotels and Resorts brand.

Keith is a Non-Executive Director of Yum! Brands. He also sits on the Board of WiHTL (Women in Hospitality Travel & Leisure). Keith is a graduate of Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration and is currently a member of the Dean’s Advisory Board for The School of Hotel Administration, Cornell SC Johnson College of Business.

Keith is responsible for the executive management of the Group and ensuring the implementation of Board strategy and policy.

Gloria Guevara

Posted on June 2, 2020 by admin

Gloria joined WTTC in August 2017, following a varied career in Travel & Tourism. Recognised as one of the most influential women in Mexico by CNN and Expansion, Gloria began her professional career in 1989 at NCR Corporation working in the Latin America, Middle East, and Africa regions.

Since 1995 she has worked for the travel industry, starting at the Sabre Travel Network and Sabre Holdings, she was later CEO of JV Sabre Mexico reporting to a board of directors from Aeromexico, Mexicana, and Sabre.

In March 2010 President Calderon appointed her as Minister of Tourism and two weeks after she was given in addition the full responsibility of the Mexican Tourism board. Under her leadership the “National Agreement for Tourism” in Mexico was created and signed on 28 February 2011.

Gloria received the Good Neighbour Award from the US-Mexico Chamber of Commerce and Virtuoso awarded Mexico the best tourism board in the world due to her successful branding and repositioning efforts.

In addition, Gloria has been Special Advisor on Government Affairs to Harvard University, and part of the Future for Travel, Tourism and Aviation Global Agenda Council of the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Dr. Peter E. Tarlow

Posted on June 2, 2020June 2, 2020 by admin

Dr. Peter E. Tarlow is a world-renowned speaker and expert specializing in the impact of crime and terrorism on the tourism industry, event and tourism risk management, and tourism and economic development. Since 1990, Tarlow has been aiding the tourism community with issues such as travel safety and security, economic development, creative marketing, and creative thought.

Tarlow has worked with numerous US government agencies including the US Bureau of Reclamation, US Customs, the FBI, the US Park Service, the Department of Justice, the Speakers Bureau of the US Department of State, the Center for Disease, US Supreme Court police, and the US Department of Homeland Security. He has worked with such US iconic locations as the Statue of Liberty, Philadelphia’s Independence Hall and Liberty Bell, the Empire State Building, St. Louis’ arch, and the Smithsonian’s Institution’s Office of Protection Services in Washington, DC.

Tarlow has been a keynote speaker for governors’ tourism conferences around the nation including those for Illinois, South Carolina, South Dakota, Washington State and Wyoming.

As a well-known author in the field of tourism security, Tarlow is a contributing author to multiple books on tourism security, and publishes numerous academic and applied research articles regarding issues of security including articles published in The Futurist, the Journal of Travel Research and Security Management. Tarlow’s wide range of professional and scholarly articles includes articles on subjects such as: “dark tourism”, theories of terrorism, and economic development through tourism, religion and terrorism and cruise tourism. Tarlow also writes and publishes the popular on-line tourism newsletter Tourism Tidbits read by thousands of tourism and travel professionals around the world in its English, Spanish, and Portuguese language editions.

Among the books that Tarlow has authored are:
-Event Risk Management and Safety (2002).
-Twenty Years of Tourism Tidbits: The Book (2011)
-Abordagem Multdisciplinar dos Cruzeiros Turísticos (co-written 2014, in Portuguese)
-Tourism Security: Strategies for Effective Managing Travel Risk and Safety (2014)
-A Segurança: Um desafío para os setores de lazer, viagens e turismo, 2016 published (in Portuguese) and republished in English
-Sports Travel Security (2017)

At numerous universities around the world Tarlow lectures on security issues, life safety issues, and event risk management. These universities include institutions in the United States, Latin America, Europe, the Pacific Islands, and the Middle East. Tarlow earned his Ph.D. in sociology from Texas A&M University. He also holds degrees in history, in Spanish and Hebrew literatures, and in psychotherapy.

Tarlow has appeared on national televised programs such as Dateline: NBC and on CNBC and is a regular guest on radio stations around the US. He is the recipient of the International Chiefs of Police highest civilian honor in recognition for his work in tourism security.

Tarlow is a founder and president of Tourism & More Inc. (T&M). He is a past president of the Texas Chapter of the Travel and Tourism Research Association (TTRA). Tarlow is a member of the International Editorial Boards around the world.

Raki Phillips

Posted on June 2, 2020April 27, 2023 by admin

Raki Phillips, CEO of Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority (RAKTDA) since Raki Phillips, CEO of Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority (RAKTDA) since June 2019, brings a wealth of industry experience to aid the continued growth of Ras Al Khaimah as one of the fastest growing destinations in the world and will spearhead RAKTDA’s drive to attract 3 million visitors by 2025, while developing the Emirate’s tourism infrastructure, creating sustainable investment opportunities and enhancing the quality of life for Ras Al Khaimah’s residents.

Phillips is an award-winning hospitality veteran and serial entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience working with some of the world’s most renowned brands including Ritz-Carlton Hotels, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts and Universal Studios Orlando. He was recognized & published by Hotelier Middle East as “Top 20 Most Powerful Arab Hoteliers”.

Phillips, an American national and a fluent Arabic speaker, has a great understanding of the region having worked in the Middle East since 2005 and specifically in the UAE since 2007.

Phillips joins RAKTDA, the authority tasked with establishing Ras Al Khaimah as a world-class destination for leisure and business travel, from the Dubai based International Hospitality Consulting Group INHOCO, where he was Senior Partner and Senior Vice President of Development. In this role he developed hotel project pipelines exceeding $5 billion in assets and negotiated multimillion-dollar hotel deals for global luxury brands in 12 countries and 26 markets.

As well as launching and developing hotels globally, Phillips is one of the Co-Founders of Earth Hotels a sustainable, tech-forward and design centric hotel concept.

Phillips is also an expert in the food & beverage sector and was behind several successful concepts including Hard Rock Live Orlando and Noire the Middle East’s first Dinner in the Dark restaurant. He is also the Co-Founder and former CEO of SugarMoo Desserts, Dubai’s first online dessert delivery bakery that has expanded from a home grown UAE concept to a popular regional brand in multiple countries including KSA & Oman.

He holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and an MBA in Organizational Management.

H.E. Khalid Jasim Al Midfa

Posted on May 31, 2020May 22, 2021 by admin

His Excellency Khalid Jasim Al Midfa brings over 15 years of dynamic professional experience in various commercial, tourism and economic fields in Sharjah.

Under his leadership, the Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Authority (SCTDA) has achieved many successes at both international and local levels, becoming a major cornerstone of the emirate’s tourism development efforts. Al Midfa has taken the emirate’s events and forums to even higher standards. Further cementing his commitment to taking Sharjah’s tourism success to new heights, Al Midfa continues to play key a role in the execution of the new tourism strategy that aims to attract 10 million visitors by 2021; including SCTDA’s adoption of four strategic pillars.

Beside his responsibilities as the Chairman of SCTDA, Al Midfa is also a member of the Sharjah Executive Council, the Chairman of the Higher Committee of National Day Celebrations in Sharjah and the Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Sharjah International Marine Club. Prior to taking on the role of SCTDA Chairman, Al Midfa served in a senior administrative role at the Sharjah Airport Free Zone.

Dr. Abed Al Razzaq Arabiyat

Posted on May 31, 2020 by admin

Dr. Abed Al Razzaq Arabiyat is the current Managing Director of the Jordan Tourism Board; the leader in positioning and promoting Jordan as the destination of choice in international markets.

Prior to his position at the Jordan Tourism Board, Dr. Arabiyat filled the position of Finance Department Director at the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission as well as previously holding that position and the position of Director of Administrative Affairs at the Commission simultaneously.

Preceding that, Dr. Arabiyat worked in several ministerial positions including; Serving in the Financial Department at the Ministry of Planning before moving on to becoming the Head of Auditing as well as Financial Manager at the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities before moving on to becoming the Financial & Administrative Manager for the Tourism Development Project ( JICA)

Dr. Arabiyat holds a PHD in Finance from the Amman Arab University for Graduate Studies, a Masters degree in Banking and Financial Science from the Arab Academy for Banking and Financial Science and a BA in Public Administration and Political Science from the University of Jordan.

The International Tourism & Investment Conference (ITIC – www.itic.uk)

General News and Information