Global tourism looks to emerging markets – WTTC Summit report

Emerging markets are being peddled as the new vehicles of global tourism growth, despite the global credit crunch, the fear of recession in the US, economic jitters in Europe and rising oil prices.

In Dubai global tourism leaders attending the World Travel & Tourism Council Summit pushed Asia, the Middle East and Latin America into the spotlight as rising powerhouses, capable of bolstering growth in the travel industry.

“Despite a potential global economic downturn, the signs are positive for continued growth. Major new markets such as China and India…will bolster the pace of development…tourism is our future,” says Khalid bin Sulayem, director general, Department of Tourism and commerce marketing for the government of Dubai. “We are going to support it here in Dubai, regionally and internationally.”

Bin Sulayem was addressing the WTTC annual summit on Monday, which saw over 1,100 leaders from 75 countries gathered to discuss how the environment, politics and economics will alter the global travel landscape.   

The WTTC has trimmed its projections for tourism growth down to three percent for this year with $8.4 billion expected in revenues, taking the U.S. economic downturn into consideration.

“There will be some pain. But things always turn around,” says J.W.Marriott Jr., CEO of Marriott International, Inc. “In the meantime, businesses like ours need to be resourceful and think outside the box.

Arthur de Haast, global CEO of Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels also pointed out that the volume of investment has gone down by 25 percent in the first quarter of 2008 compared to 2007. 

Delegates highlighted the fact that although emerging markets may not offer high-value tourists, they certainly offer volume, especially for markets such as China and India. They are also in great shape economically. 

“We have an emerging world that is thriving. We have new kids on the block of capitalism and then there are commodity-rich countries,” says Professor Norbert Walter, chief economist for the Deutsche Bank Group. “Asia will be the growth pole of the world in the next few years. “Latin America has potential, as long as things change.”

Another major issue up for discussion was the environment, a perennial issue that is dominating the discussions in Dubai and how the tourism industry can not only react to consumer concerns in this area but also be proactive.

The WTTC’s annual Global Travel & Tourism Summit at the Madinat Jumeirah hotel in Dubai was attended by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, prime minister and vice-president of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai, who is also the patron of the event.

*See video updates from the WTTC Summit on TravelMole TV – go to http://www.travelmole.tv/watch_vdo_unwto.php

*See www.TravelMole.com for news updates from the Summit

By Nick Easen

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