WTTC calls for Olympics tourism infrastructure legacy

Wednesday, 06 Nov, 2006 0

The UK government has today been urged to consider long term infrastructure developments following the 2012 Olympic Games to support tourism growth.

The call came at World Travel Market from World Travel & Tourism Council president Jean-Claude Baumgarten.

He told TraveMole: “Over the next six years your government will be investing billions into ensuring a successful Olympic event – which it will be – but why don’t they include things that will go beyond 2012, things that will develop your infrastructure to enable you to be a world leader in the next 20 to 30 years?”

He added: “It is amazing to me that despite all the signs that travel and tourism is an enormous global play, you don’t have governments ready to invest in it through medium or long term planning.”

The WTTC estimates that the industry worldwide generates more than 230 million jobs or 8.7% of total employment.

Baumgarten was speaking as the WTTC unveiled the theme for its 2007 annual summit to be held in Lisbon on May 10-12.

Using the title “Breaking Barrier – Managing Growth”, the global tourism organisation intends to tackle the issues of improving travel and tourism facilities while ensuring sustainability of the industry.

“Our theme is to consider how we can enjoy the maximum return on travel and tourism growth by breaking the barriers to that growth while at the same time not destroying our product,” explained Baumgarten.

The issue of sustainability should become “fundamental” to travel and tourism companies because consumer will be more demanding in requesting socially and culturally friendly products such as carbon neutral hotels, according to Baumgarten.

“If you save energy it is good for the bottom line and the environment,” he said.

The WTTC Lisbon summit will be held against a background of what Baumgarten described as a “golden age” of senior citizens using the full benefit of generous pension returns which are unlikely to be repeated to fund travel and a shift in consumer habits resulting in is multiple holidays of different types being taken instead of a single annual vacation.

But he warned that the industry’s next battle would be against unnecessary taxes and persuading governments to make use of tax revenues intelligently to support further economic growth from the travel sector.

Report by Phil Davies

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Phil Davies

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