NEWS 1


YOU NEED TO KNOW


Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt; (left)


Gerald Lawless, WTTC chairman


AT A GLANCE ITCMS 2017, London


l The second International Travel Crisis Management Summit was attended by more than 200 delegates from 42 countries.


l The summit was established to help the global travel industry have an open conversation about the growing threat from terrorism, natural disasters and civil unrest.


l Topics covered included cyber threats, communications and social media, the impact of digital technology, and the development, revision and evaluation of crisis plans.


l Sponsors included insurer AIG, tech supplier Amadeus, travel management firm CWT and payments firm Mastercard.


Brexit vote ‘scuppered revival of flights to Sharm’


Lee Hayhurst


International Travel Crisis Management Summit, London


Former prime minister David Cameron was poised to allow a resumption of flying to Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh airport before last year’s Brexit referendum.


The claim was made by


World Travel & Tourism Council chairman Gerald Lawless at the second annual International Travel Crisis Management Summit in London last week. The WTTC has led appeals to


the UK government to lift the ban, but Lawless said the change of leadership post-referendum put the issue “on the back burner”. British carriers have been barred from flying to the Red


Sea destination since 2015 after a Russian Metrojet aircraft was blown up mid-air having taken off from Sharm el-Sheikh. Last week, the Egyptian ambassador to the UK renewed calls for flights to resume. In response, the British government said the security situation was under “constant review”. However, the UK remains the only major source market to the Red Sea region not allowing flights to Sharm el-Sheikh. Lawless said: “The WTTC and


UNWTO saw the prime minister of Egypt, who said ‘please talk to the British government about allowing flights’. “Unfortunately, after the change


of government after the Brexit vote, it did not happen. David Cameron was about to allow it, but it got put on the back burner.”


4 travelweekly.co.uk 16 November 2017


“David Cameron was about to allow it but it got put on the back burner”


Lawless said the UK government has maintained its stance despite a British company, Control Risks, being brought in to review security measures at Egyptian airports. Citing booking data to show the


impact of crises on destinations, he told delegates that political turmoil, rather than terrorism or natural disasters, has the longest-lasting impact. Lawless predicted the Catalonia


region of Spain would soon be promoting itself to tempt tourists back, despite the emergence of anti-tourism groups in Barcelona.


l Next year it will hold an International Travel for Peace Summit in Jordan.


l The event is part of a portfolio of international events in Travel Weekly parent Jacobs Media Group’s portfolio.


“Catalonia is seeing the


impact on forward bookings and cancellations due to the independence movement,” he said. “Now I’m sure we will very soon


see them advertising for more people to come to Catalonia.” Lawless said the global travel industry is set to grow by more than 4% a year over the next decade as hundreds of millions of people join the middle classes. “By 2027 we will need another 90 million people working in our hotels and airlines,” he said. The WTTC estimates the travel


sector contributes $7.6 trillion to the global economy either directly or indirectly, representing 10.6% of global GDP. In addition, it says more than 292 million jobs are supported by the sector, or one in 10 of all jobs in the world.


PICTURES: STEVE DUNLOP; SHUTTERSTOCK

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