by Eric Bowman
Last updated: 7:12 PM ET, Tue April 27, 2021
CANCUN, MEXICO - The revival of the travel industry is well underway.
That's the clear message here at the World Travel and Tourism Council's (WTTC) 2021 Global Summit.
"This is the world platform for recovery," WTTC CEO Gloria Guevara said. "The recovery of travel and tourism starts here."
"Uniting the World for Recovery" was the key theme of the summit, which was held at Moon Palace Resort in Cancun, Mexico.
With over 600 participants in person from more than 70 countries around the world and more than 30,000 connected virtually through the hybrid in-person/online event, the WTTC and Palace Resorts had their work cut out for them.
A global event this large is always a challenge to pull off. Making it work in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic adds even more pressure to ensuring everything is as smooth as possible while meeting specific health and safety protocols.
Even though a negative COVID-19 test is not required to enter Mexico, everyone attending in person had to take a COVID-19 test upon arriving at the resort.
Health and safety are focal points in making sure this summit is a success, as it will help the travel industry bounce back in a big way.
"We have an opportunity and responsibility to reconnect the world and build a truly inclusive growth profile in our industry for our children, our grandchildren and beyond," Hilton CEO Chris Nassetta said. "Over the last year, we have had a really good chance to see what happens when traveling and tourism is stalled. Economic and social impacts are enormous. Our industry's contribution to global GDP dropped by an astounding 49% last year and we lost 62 million jobs in one year. This is why as we focus on the future, we've got to be more focused than ever on creating new opportunities for people to build better lives for themselves and their families because we know travel and tourism is an engine of opportunity."
Guevara said the tourism sector lost 4.5 trillion dollars and that the travel industry was hit "18 times harder" by COVID-19 than the 2008 financial crisis.
Following the opening ceremony speeches, Monday was broken down into three different sessions. The first focused on the "Big Picture," the second on "Accelerating the Recovery" and the third on "Resilience Through Leadership."
Each session included multiple panels with several speakers from around the world in various parts of the industry, from the cruise sector to hotels, tour operators, airports, travel technology and more.
The sentiment from each panel was that the past year was devastating in a number of ways, but there is hope for the future of the travel industry and we're already seeing encouraging signs.
"It's been an incredibly challenging year," Fred Dixon, president and CEO of NYC and company said. "But I'm really glad to say New York is having a reawakening. There is growing optimism every day. We've taken back some of our streets for pedestrians, creating outdoor dining spaces. We're looking forward to Broadway returning in the fall."
Many of the panelists throughout the summit were asked what needs to happen for travel to recover. Arnold Donald, CEO of Carnival Corporation noted we all need to come together.
"Uniformity and consistency across the world," Donald said. "Science-based, uniform approach that can allow people to travel again [is what we need]. Travel and tourism is still an exciting sector. We have a bright future."
Panels focusing on Europe, Asia and Latin America were held in the virtual platform while the main stage in-person featured a discussion around tourism in North America.
Domestic travel has primarily been the go-to for those who have felt comfortable enough to travel over the past year.
Robin Tauck, Owner of Tauck, Inc. and Chairman of Tourism Cares provided insight on what's driving travelers to get out around the U.S.
"It's been a tough year, but we are rebounding in a way we have never seen before," Tauck said. "95 percent of our guest base is vaccinated. The spring surge we've had across the United States has been phenomenal. It includes many of our great national parks."
Tauck shared that small groups are becoming the new norm for tours, adding that "every US tour package we offer will be open and operating by June."
It's also no secret that Mexico and the Caribbean have dominated the international travel scene.
Alex Zozaya, Chairman of Apple Leisure Group, said that he is seeing an increase in bookings for 2021. "Bookings for Mexico and the Caribbean for 2021 are even better right now than this time in 2019," said Zozaya.
Another key topic of discussion on Monday was how to rebuild traveler confidence and in what ways has the pandemic impacted how people around the world want to travel in the future.
Brian Chesky, co-founder of Airbnb talked about the human connection of travel and how he sees travel changing.
"There will be a shift from where we are traveling to why we're traveling and who we're with," said Chesky. "I think people will spend more money on travel."
Daniel Richards, CEO of Global Rescue believes we need to remove fear and uncertainty to ease the traveler's mindset. "If we can do those things, I can guarantee that demand will come surging back," Richards said.
Gibran Chapur, Executive Vice President of Palace Resorts shared that he is already seeing sales picking up, both for leisure travel and for meetings here at Palace Resorts. He also agreed that people will be searching for more meaningful experiences in their travel plans. "Travel is something that has taken relevancy, more than material things," Chapur said.
Nearly every panel mentioned that the news of Europe allowing vaccinated American travelers to enter this summer was a big step forward for the industry to recover.
There was no specific date set by the E.U. once that news initially broke. However, Fernando Valdes Verelst, Secretary of State of Tourism of Spain, already has a time frame in mind for when his country will reopen to the world.
"Spain will be ready in June to tell all travelers worldwide that you can visit us with certainty," he said. A pilot program will launch in May, and at some point in June, there will no longer be border restrictions on Spain for vaccinated travelers.
One area of the travel industry that has suffered the biggest setback is the cruise sector. As many continue to fight for the return of cruising from U.S. ports, cruise lines are moving forward with a path to sail out of Caribbean ports.
"The great news is you are seeing cruising returning in places where there is communication and collaboration with the governments and with the health authorities, and the measures being taken are based in science and they're very prescriptive step by step," Kelly Craighead, CEO of CLIA said. "Cruisers love to cruise, so they will go where the cruise ships are and it is again about that partnership with the government and with the health authorities. So where you see coordination and collaboration and communication between the industry and governments you'll see more and more ships move to where you can have that ability to responsibly resume operations."
Monday concluded with a celebration Gala Dinner by the beach that saw several key stakeholders in the travel industry receive awards and recognition from the WTTC.
The summit continued on Tuesday with a heavy focus on sustainability and inclusivity.
It's no secret the entire world needs to improve in both of these areas. The travel industry is in a fantastic position to be leaders in both areas as we move past this pandemic and into a brighter future.
During Tuesday's segment, the WTTC launched a ground-breaking initiative to support women in travel and tourism.
"As the first female President and CEO of WTTC, it is an honor to champion this important initiative," Guevara said. "The pledge made today with the launch of the first Women Initiative in Travel & Tourism by a combination of the private, public and academic sectors to work towards women's equality, marks a significant step forward. Globally, women have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic which has exacerbated the pay gap, the opportunity gap and the shocking lack of senior positions and leadership roles across the Travel & Tourism sector.
"This needs to be changed. WTTC research shows women play a vital role and represented 54% of travel and tourism's employment worldwide. Yet while more than half the sector is accounted for by women, all too few occupy any senior or strategic roles."
Sustainability was a topic mentioned by multiple panelists throughout Monday and Tuesday.
"We have to be focused on protecting the destinations where we live, where we work, where we travel, and we have to be focused on truly driving inclusive growth that prioritizes investing in diverse talent," Nassetta said.
Many in the industry agreed that we need to forget about 2019 and before. It's time to lean into the future to make the travel industry, and in turn, make the world a better place.
"We cannot back down from this moment," Nassetta said. "Together we need to redefine a new age of travel that propels us into the future powering progress for all of our stakeholders. This is a huge opportunity in front of us. The reality is the next two to three years when we get through this pandemic, if we do our jobs, it'll be better than what we had before because we know that people want to travel.
"They want to see the world. We just have to give them the means to do that. We will and we can. We can emerge from this period and build a better world for all of us to travel. We must do it. It's imperative. It is an awesome responsibility and I have every confidence with the people in this room and those around the world that as an industry we've done it before, and we will do it again."
Closing out the summit, Donald took the stage as the new WTTC chairman, taking over for Nassetta. Donald thanked Nassetta for his time and contributions and then spoke on how meaningful and important the travel industry is to the world.
"While this past year has had its challenges…let's remember how blessed we are to work in an industry that creates joy, that brings the world together, that makes it a better place for all of us," Donald said.
The 2021 WTTC Global Summit has kick-started the return for travel in a big way. Many in the industry will use what was discussed and learned here for their future events, marketing campaigns and more.
The WTTC ended the summit here in Cancun by announcing that the next Global Summit event will take place in Manila, Philippines.
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