Tourism Futures Reimagined with The 6th World Tourism Conference

Yeah‼️ SiennyLovesDrawing as a travel lover & passionate tourism content creator 👩🏻💕🎒👟 would like to share about the World Tourism Conference (WTC) 2022 which jointly organised by the Ministry of Tourism, Arts & Culture Malaysia (MOTAC), the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) & Sabah State Government is happening from 28 Nov to 30 Nov 2022 at the Sabah International Convention Centre (SICC), Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia 🇲🇾

It’s the 6️⃣th edition this WTC 2022 to bring together approximately 1K delegates from more than 60 countries to reconnect & reassess tourism’s recovery in the aftermath of the worldwide pandemic 🙌🏻💪🏻👍🏻

According to the UNWTO’s Policy Brief on Tourism & COVID-19, the crisis is an opportunity to rethink how tourism interacts with our societies, other economic sectors & our natural resources & ecosystems; to measure & manage it better; to ensure a fair distribution of its benefits; & to advance the transition towards a carbon neutral & resilient tourism economy

✨ ~ Tourism Futures Reimagined ~ ✨

With this theme, WTC 2022 aims to provide an interdisciplinary platform for policy makers, experts & world leaders in tourism to present & discuss the most recent innovations, trends, practical challenges & solutions for the future of tourism. Also to champion thought leadership on tourism futures & strategies driving tourism’s recovery & resilience in a post-pandemic world 🌎

It features some 30 expert speakers comprising government policy makers, industry leaders & leading academicians, apart from UNWTO officials in championing thought leadership on tourism futures & strategies driving tourism’s recovery & resilience in a post-pandemic world. They include the State Minister, Ministry of Tourism Maldives 🇲🇻, Dr. Ahmed Salih; Regional General Manager, Tourism Australia 🇦🇺, Mr. Brent Anderson; Professor Emeritus, University of Wisconsin-Stout, USA, Prof. Jafar Jafari; Co-founder of Traveloka, Indonesia 🇮🇩, Mr. Albert; & representatives from some of the world’s most innovative tourism-related companies such as Skift, Tripadvisor, TUI Group & Intrepid Travel 👍🏻

It’s an inspiring addition to Malaysia’s 2022 Calendar of Events 🇲🇾🗓️ with a full return to in-person participation, in line with Malaysia’s reopening of international borders since 1 Apr 2022. LocalMalaysian experts also made an appearance on the exclusive WTC 2022 stage including Prof. Dr. Amran Hamzah of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia; Mr. HC Chan, CEO of Sunway Malls & Theme Parks; Ms. Lau Yin May, Group Chief Marketing & Customer Experience Officer, Malaysia Airlines; Mr. Yusno Yunos, CEO of Evenesis & 2️⃣ local Sabahans from Kota Kinabalu – Dr. Maklarin Lakim, Director of Sabah Parks & Ms. Jessica Yew, Founder & Director of Sticky Rice Travel

#WTC2022 Summary doddle – Session 2 : Discovering Niche Opportunities for Growth#TourismFuturesReimagined#MyMOTAC#MySeniBudaya#malaysiatrulyasia pic.twitter.com/MgBjn7s2UL

— MOTAC (@MyMOTAC) November 29, 2022

“This year’s conference is very significant for Sabah because Kota Kinabalu is playing host for the 2️⃣nd time after 12 years & undoubtedly, it is a clear testament to its fame as a major tourist destination 📍& a gateway for travellers visiting Sabah & Borneo. Kota Kinabalu is also 1️⃣ of the most attractive & popular destinations not just in Malaysia 🇲🇾 but in the Asia-Pacific region as a whole. When I came here in 2010 for the 1️⃣st time when Kota Kinabalu hosted the 2️⃣nd edition of the WTC, I was so impressed by its natural wonder & its unique culture & beauty with stunning tourism facilities that I made it a point to recommend 👍🏻 it to many friends in Asia including my fellow countrymen of Korea 🇰🇷, because I saw it as a very ideal destination to visit with one’s family & friends. I’m happy to report that many of them have taken me at my word & have come to experience the beauty of Kota Kinabalu.” Said Mr Harry Hwang, the Director, Regional Department For Asia & The Pacific, UNWTO in his opening remarks for WTC 2022

1️⃣ of the major highlights of the conference is the keynote presentation by distinguished speaker, Prof. Dato’ ChM. Dr. Mazlin Mokhtar of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network-Asia & Academy of Sciences Malaysia for the 1️⃣st time bring a scientist’s perspective to the WTC, particularly in advancing a more sustainable tourism recovery which embraces energy transition & carbon neutrality

Datuk Hajah Saraya Arbi, Secretary-General of MOTAC in her welcoming address has acknowledged the tremendous impact of the worldwide pandemic & multiple crises which continue to disrupt the tourism sector’s growth trajectory. “However, there is also a great window of opportunity 👍🏻 for us to rethink & reimagine tourism for the future which is more sustainable, inclusive & less susceptible to shocks,” She further explained

Despite challenging headwinds to the global economy in 2023 & beyond, experts have great expectations for the tourism sector, predicting continued pent-up demand alongside 🆕 growth opportunities & emerging niche markets arising from the pandemic. For instance, as tourism recovery gets underway, the boundaries between work, home, leisure & travel become increasingly blurred, requiring greater cross-collaboration 🤝🏻 between tourism & transport, health, security, cities & urban systems towards greater liveability & quality of life for both visitors & residents alike

“These are just some of the exciting new prospects that will be explored during this 2️⃣-day conference. Therefore, I hope the chosen theme of “Tourism Futures Reimagined” will inspire deep insights on the challenges, opportunities, trends and forecasts shaping the future of the industry,” Saraya concluded

FB live recording via 📹🌐 https://www.facebook.com/MyMOTAC/videos/858498208498316/

SESSION 1️⃣: DECODING TOURISM FUTURES – FORESIGHT & SCENARIOS

As tourism continues to be presented with challenges and uncertainties, there are multiple futures which the sector may be faced with. A foresight approach helps us envision the potential scenarios & provide a direction for the opportunities & challenges which lie ahead. This session aims to analyse & discuss the future of tourism after the pandemic against the backdrop of a challenging global economic environment. Topics of interest includes global megatrends, country-level scenarios, mobility trends & potential pathways of change with a particular emphasis on the implications for sustainability

Moderator: Ms. Jessy Chahal, News Anchor, Bernama News

Panelists:

• Mr. Javier Ruescas, Senior Programme Officer, Tourism Market Intelligence & Competitiveness, UNWTO
• Dr. Wouter Geerts, Head of Research, Skift
• Dr. Johanna Loehr, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Griffith Institute for Tourism, Australia 🇦🇺
• Dr. Ian Yeoman, Professor of Tourism Futures, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand 🇳🇿
• Ms. Lau Yin May, Group Chief Marketing & Customer Experience Officer, Malaysia Airlines

FB live recording via 📹🌐 https://www.facebook.com/MyMOTAC/videos/534593525187334/

SESSION 2️⃣: DISCOVERING NICHE OPPORTUNITIES FOR GROWTH

According to a post-pandemic UNWTO Panel of Experts survey, the major segments driving tourism recovery include domestic tourism, travel close to home, open-air activities, nature-based products & rural tourism. However, there continues to be considerable debate if these short-term trends can translate into more transformative change for the sector. Using evidence from the pandemic & beyond, this session aims to identify 🆕 sources of growth for tourism by looking at key market shifts reshaping consumer demand

Moderator: Ms. Nailah Huda, Broadcast Journalist & Reporter, Astro Awani

Panelists:

• Ms. Jane Lim, Vice President, Global Markets, Tripadvisor
• Ms. Arifah Sharifuddin, Head of Malaysia Digital Nomad Department, Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC)
• Mr. Yusno Yunos, CEO & Founder, Evenesis
• Dr. László Puczkó, CEO & Co-Founder, Health Tourism Worldwide, Hungary 🇭🇺
• Dr. Amran Hamzah, Professor in Tourism Planning, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
• Dr. Maklarin Lakim, Director, Sabah Parks

FB live recording via 📹🌐 https://www.facebook.com/MyMOTAC/videos/1329187977848727/

SESSION 3️⃣: REDEFINING TOURISM SUCCESS– INSPIRING STORIES

Building on strong pent-up demand, post-pandemic tourism successes are a testament to the great 👍🏻 flexibility & adaptive capacity of the sector. As proven by most of these inspiring stories, destinations & tourism-related businesses have thrived by deepening existing linkages with interrelated sectors eg. transport, cities & human settlement, public health, safety & liveability. This session has uncovered the extraordinary success stories from outstanding tourism leaders & captains of industry for policy makers, industry players & stakeholders to emulate & adopt best practices ✅

Presenters:

• Mr. Gary Bowerman, Director, Check-in Asia
• Dr. Ahmed Salih, State Minister, Ministry of Tourism, Maldives 🇲🇻
• Mr. Brent Anderson, Regional General Manager, Tourism Australia 🇦🇺
• Mr. Ben Owen, Project Manager, Centre Stage Project, UNWTO
• Mr. Albert, Co-Founder, Traveloka
• Ms. Rachael Lum, Co-Founder, LokaLocal
• Ms. Natalie Kidd, Chief People & Purpose Officer, Intrepid Travel
• Ms. Jessica Yew, Co-Founder & Director, Sticky Rice Travel

FB live recording via 📹🌐 https://www.facebook.com/MyMOTAC/videos/543260064373861/

SESSION 4️⃣: REBUILDING TOURISM RESILIENCE & READINESS

Moving forward, tourism-related businesses should increasingly look to other economic sectors in order to adopt the best 👍🏻 business practices & global certification systems which can enhance corporate governance & foster a more progressive ecosystem for investments. This session has discussed topics about the ESG (Environmental, Social & Governance) & sustainability assessment tools, among others, which can help prepare tourism businesses & workers for future crises & discover impact investment opportunities for tourism from an investor’s perspective

Moderator: Mr. Philip See, CEO, Firefly and Radio Presenter, BFM

Panelists:

• Dr. Raymond Rastegar, Researcher and Lecturer, The University of Queensland, Australia 🇦🇺
• Ms. Carol Mackenzie, Group Head of Crisis Management & Business Continuity, TUI Group
• Mr. HC Chan, CEO, Sunway Malls & Theme Parks
• Mr. Andrej Šimatić, Partner, BlueRock Consulting Austria 🇦🇹 & Croatia 🇭🇷
• Dr. S. Mostafa Rasoolimanesh, Director of Centre for Research and Innovation in Tourism (CRiT), Taylor’s University, Malaysia 🇲🇾
• Prof. Jafar Jafari, Professor of Hospitality & Tourism, University of Wisconsin-Stout, USA 🇺🇲

FB live recording via 📹🌐 https://www.facebook.com/MyMOTAC/videos/483059147264596/

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