INSIDE TOURISM – ARTICLE 19 November 2014
G20 TOURISM’S NEW FRONTIERS REPORT
The CEO of Tourism Export Council, Lesley Immink last week attended the G20 Tourism Frontiers and Sustainable Tourism Leaders Conference held in Brisbane.
The G20 Brisbane Global Café was very interesting and I think merits New Zealand thinking about doing something similar. Tourism was one of 5 themes.
- Improving Human Life
- Powering Future Economies
- The Digital Age
- Tourism’s New Frontiers
- Cities of the Future
Each sector organized their own programme and content but all came together under one roof alternating between the various rooms. No catering was included but instead the 4000 pax rotated their break times (between the sector themes) with food and coffee kiosks provided outside of the Brisbane Town Hall all day. It worked extremely well and took no longer than waiting in a queue if inside – except it was 30-35 degrees and not a lot of shade.
The Tourism Frontiers format is something that perhaps the tourism industry could replicate here. The day started with the challenge thinkers or Contrarians, then the Transformers & Legends, followed by the Believers and Power of passion deliverers. Each section had 3 panelists giving a quick overview of their business or challenge and then it was open to the audience for Q & A.
Rick Antonson, former CEO Tourism Vancouver introduced the concept of “Cathedral Thinking” as it applies to tourism (but it applies to all industries). Cathedral Thinking stretches back through the centuries to medieval times, when architects, stonemasons and artisans laid plans and began construction of the structures that served as places of worship, community gathering spaces and safe havens. Given that life expectancy at the time was less than 40, most of these pioneers knew that neither they, nor their children, would see the final benefits. They were thinking for the 3rd generation and beyond. Since then, the concept has been applied to space exploration, city planning and other long-term goals that require decades of foresight and planning so future generations can enjoy their full realization. It certainly stimulated thought of what are our ‘cathedral thinking’ projects in New Zealand?
Ms Pansy Ho, Managing Director of Shun Tak Holdings, gave a comprehensive presentation on her company’s role in transforming Macau from a fishing village into one of the world’s largest gaming hubs, stating “a key aspect of Macau’s development was the transformation of its hospitality and gaming industries into new directions to provide more career paths for its citizens”. Their biggest project to date which started in 2009 and due 2027 is a 50km bridge between Macau and Hong Kong including a 6.7 km tube tunnel. A massive project designed to make it easier for the 36 million casino holiday visitors per year to visit Macau and vice versa.
A most interesting session was the Dr Murat Bas, Turkish Airlines presentation. Turkish Airlines is the largest and most connected airline in the world with 16,000 city pairs to 264 international destinations. They are the 1st airline for Africa, Middle East and 2nd biggest airline working in the Asia and Pacific region. From Dubai there are 100 options to travel to all the main destinations within Europe. In 1994 they flew 1.2 billion passengers, 3.3 billion in 2014 and expect to increase to 3.7 billion passengers by 2034. Istanbul is the fastest growing city in the world, its connectivity and Turkey is the 6th most popular overseas destination and fast rising up the global stats with 11.6 million visitors per year. Turkish Airlines (TK) are part of the Star Alliance network and interestingly, New Zealand and Australia are two destinations they don’t fly to.
The one day conference was stimulating in that it had nothing to do with markets or promotion, but more of bigger picture thinking and actions. Perhaps our ‘cathedral thinking’ project for the next 50-100 years could be actively living up to being the 100% Sustainable Destination of the World!