What the delegates said:
“The conference was a great success. I enjoyed the networking and the sessions. Interesting development in integrating social media into the heart of the event – sets the standard for conferences.” Alex Kyriakidis, president and managing director, Middle East & Africa Continent, Marriott International, applauded the live Twitter feed on stage during the conference.
“Visas and excessive taxation are major hurdles to growth. Martin Craigs, Willie Walsh and James Hogan all agreed and we, through Bench Events, will bang the drum, alongside our industry partners, to lobby governments to lighten regulation and reduce tax which will facilitate economic growth and employment.”
Jonathan Worsley, chairman — Bench Events, pledged to continue to champion the messages raised at WTTC.
“I think this is one of the finest tourism events that I’ve attended in my life, and I’ve attended several. The quality of the speeches… the content, the manner in which they communicate, I think it’s terrific. I feel there is just one lack — of speeches from the emerging economies — where is the guy from India, from Brazil?” Gautam Sen Gupta, partner, Market Vision Research & Consulting Services, sought more involvement from BRIC industry experts.
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“The conference has been an excellent gathering. What we see here is the movers, the shakers and those that are actually going to implement the strategy. And so from our perspective, it’s a perfect networking opportunity to talk about… our race of zeppelins and air ships around the earth.
There is a confluence here of people who are very much pro-green… and at the same time looking to promote their cultures, their destinations, so this is a perfect context for this kind of conversation. Don Hartsell, commissioner and MD, World Air League, looks to balance the conflict of airlift and sustainability.
“The World Travel & Tourism Council has done a magnificent job in staging a major event like this in a place like Abu Dhabi, above all because it is a new global destination that embodies what the future holds, today.
The event has caused us all to reflect on the possible consequences of this rapid growth of tourism worldwide for the earth, and for the survival and sustainability of its humanity itself.
The forum has set out a path for the tourism industry in terms of raising consumers’ consciousness about the need to change certain consumption patterns in order to conserve the earth. This seemed to me to be a very good outcome.”
Francisco Alonso, Mexican Ambassador in the UAE.
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