CONTINUED FROM BACK COVER
added: “[Chancellor] George Osborne finally climbed down partially on Air Passenger Duty.” Craigs argued: “We need more
advocates.” But he said: “The problem is a tourism minister alone can’t drive change. You have to get the immigration minister on board, but their mindset is to protect borders, not to welcome people.” Griffiths suggested: “Perhaps we should encourage governments to do less because the record so far is not good.” Raymond Bickson, managing director and chief executive of Taj Hotels, Resorts and Palaces, argued: “The buzzwords you need to work with the government are ‘jobs’ and ‘employment’.” VisitBritain chairman Christopher
Rodrigues agreed, saying: “We have to change the language. We are in ‘jobs’. “When UK prime minister David
Cameron heard that travel and tourism created one-third of new jobs in the UK he started to listen. We are in ‘regeneration’: the Olympics are a great regeneration project.” Rodrigues suggested: “We have made a lot of progress in the UK – this is a very long game.” Yet he also conceded: “In very few cases do you see joined-up government on tourism. In most governments, tourism ministers don’t have their hands on the levers of power.” Scowsill closed the summit by warning:
“We are reaching a tipping point.” He said: “There are huge opportunities but also huge challenges. Last year, one billion people crossed international borders. By 2030 there are likely to be one billion middle-class consumers in China alone. There is no conceivable way the existing plans for [travel and tourism] infrastructure will be able to accommodate these numbers.” Scowsill argued: “There is a vacuum in global leadership. We cannot hope that someone else will come along and solve the problems. But sooner or later these will become a barrier to growth.” He told attendees: “We need to
operate to the highest standards and demonstrate we are a force for good. Governments do not always recognise our contribution, but we have earned our right to be heard at the highest level.”
KEEP UP WITH THE LATEST NEWS AND ANALYSIS ABOUT THE BUSINESS OF TRAVEL BY LOGGING ON TO
TRAVELWEEKLY.CO.UK
70 •
travelweekly.co.uk — 1 May 2014
travelweeklybusiness WTTC Global Summit 2014: Global recovery, China’s growth
ECONOMY: TOURISMINDUSTRY URGED TO TAP INTO POST-CRISIS ‘SWEET SPOT’
The world economy is in “a sweet spot” and the travel industry should take advantage, economist DeAnne Julius told the WTTC Summit in Hainan, China. Julius, former chairman of Chatham House (also known as the Royal Institute of International Affairs) in London, said: “We have come through the global financial crisis. Recovery has begun to take hold. We’re in the early stages of a sustainable recovery.” She forecast global growth of “something
like 4%” this year, saying: “That is a pretty good backdrop for travel and tourism. We’re in a sweet spot and my advice is make the most of it. It’s a gentle upswing and that is positive for the industry. It’s not a boom but it’s a lot better than the past five years.” However, Julius said: “This is probably not the new normal. The eurozone’s economic problems are not finished. The debt overhang from the financial crisis remains. Interest rates will not stay low.” She added: “There are risks, most of them
political, and there is a worrying increase in civil unrest around the world that is unlikely to fade away.
CHINA: THE FIGURES ARE BIGBUT MARKET FACES CHALLENGES
China will become a “powerhouse” for travel but companies can’t take growth for granted. David Brooks, chairman of Coca-Cola
Greater China, told the summit: “China will overcome its challenges to create the next global powerhouse for travel.” Chinese vice-premier Wang Yang agreed,
telling attendees: “In the next five years, Chinese outbound tourism will exceed 500 million trips.” However, Brooks told industry leaders:
“You can’t simply take the big numbers and think you are going to get rich.” Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group chief
executive Edouard Ettedgui said: “We are all mesmerised by the opportunities, but the biggest risk in our industry is overcapacity and most cities in China are oversupplied.”
Julius: ‘It’s not a boom but it’s a lot better than the past five years’
“My colleagues at Chatham House worry about US willingness to act as a global policeman. There is a lot of resilience and adaptability in the travel industry, but we live in a dangerous time.” Fellow economist John Walker, chairman
of Oxford Economics, told the summit that travel contributes more to global exports than to GDP, reporting: “Travel and tourism makes a 5.4% contribution to global trade when on average it contributes direct to the economy about 3% of GDP.”
Clement Kwok, chief executive of
Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, said: “There is a wish to see more luxury hotel projects, but the economics can be challenging. There is also a challenge knowing when luxury will grow in secondary cities.” InterContinental Hotels Group chief
executive Richard Solomons added: “China is not in a lot of minds as a leisure destination. It is not for the get-rich-quick market.”
Wang Yang: ‘You can’t simply take the big numbers and think you are going to get rich’
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76