Agenda 2024

18:00

Briefing with press

Radisson Collection Hotel, Magdalena Plaza Sevilla

19:00

Welcome Reception

Welcome drink with Spanish wine and tapas – rooftop Radisson Collection Hotel, Magdalena Plaza Sevilla

09:00

REGISTRATION OPEN

09:30 – 10:00

NETWORKING

10:00 – 10:10

CALL TO ORDER, WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS

Master of Ceremonies, Rajan Datar, Journalist and Host, BBC

WELCOME

Christian Delom, Secretary General, A World For Travel

10:10 – 10:25

OPENING : An Overview of the Travel Industry’s Performance

Julia Simpson, President and CEO, World Travel and Tourism Council, WTTC

10:25 – 10:45

Discussion with Rajan Datar of the BBC on what’s the state of sustainability today across the Travel Industry?

Following Julia Simpson’s overview of the travel industry’s global performance, activities and challenges, Rajn will take a deep dive into how and what the industry has done, is doing and how it is addressing sustainability.

• Virginia Messina, Sr. Vice President Advocacy, WTTC

10:45 – 11:25

SESSION 1 : CLIMATE MITIGATION                   

Destinations Shift Towards Coolcationing – No matter where one travels, peak temperatures are requiring destinations to rethink their product offerings.  Both public and private sector must deal with ways to address the impact of climate change on their businesses, programs or destinations. Our speakers will share the impact of heat on their planning and solutions found.

• Jane McFadzean, Senior Director, Global Sustainability & ESG, Trip.com Group
• Claire Hanney, Managing Director, The Travel Corporation TTC
• Andy Fairburn, Co- Founder/Director, Nordic Tourism Collective

Moderator: Rajan Datar, Host, Journalist, BBC

11:25 – 11:45

BREAK 

11:45 – 12:00

KEYNOTE – SUSTAINABLE CRUISING? 

Cruising offers an unrivalled experience on the open seas but how can these vessels operate on the open seas sustainably? From equipment to itinerary planning what does cruising have to teach us?

Wassim Daoud, Head of CSR and Sustainability, PONANT

12:00 – 12:15

SPOTLIGHT -1

Planning to be Heat Resilient – Nikos Gkolfinopoulos, Head of Tourism, ICF

12:15 – 12:50

SESSION 2 – CLIMATE MITIGATION 

Will there Always be Snow? What Happens When Some parts of World Have No Snow?

Obviously as the planet gets warmer, there is less snowfall. Ski resorts in Europe are innovating to provide alternative solutions to the point that winter sport havens are repurposing their facilities. In the US resorts invested decades ago into snow making equipment and will always have snow.  Different approaches, different outcomes but lessons to learn from each side of the Atlantic.

• Kelly Pawlak, CEO, National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) and Mount Snow
• Joe Hession, CEO, Snow Partners
• Sebastien Travelletti, Chairman of the Board, Anzere Tourisme SA; CEO, Swiss Peak Resorts; Vice Chairman of the Board, Magic Mountains Cooperation

Moderator: Armelle Solelhac, Entrepreneur, B Leader, Business Angel, Board member, Author, TEDxSpeaker

12:50 – 13:10

TETE A TETE with Rajan Datar, Host/Journalist, BBC

Using Outer Space Technology to Address Sustainability Issues on Earth

Pr. Laurence Monnoyer-Smith, Head of Sustainable Development, French Space Agency, CNES

13:10 – 13:50

SESSION 3 – ADRESSING ESG IN THE TRAVEL AND TOURISM INDUSTRY  

It’s time to talk about the term ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) as opposed to the broader concept of sustainability; what it means in the industry and who is doing what? How are governments requiring reporting?

• Carlota Galvan, Head of ESG, HBX Group
• Jessica Matthias, Global Sustainability Director, Sabre Corporation
• Lucas Bobes, Group Environmental Officer, Amadeus
• Geraldine Koenig, Chief Risk and Compliance Officer, Beachcomber Resorts

13:50 – 15:15

LUNCH 🍽

15:15 – 16:00

SESSION 4 – ENERGY TRANSITION 

Renewables – How is or isn’t Aviation Driving Other Industry Players to Decarbonize?

• Lucas Bobes, Group Environmental Officer, Amadeus
• Africa Abajas, Environmental Legal Advisor, Aviation sector, Travel and Tourism, ICF
• Inge Huijbrechts, Global Chief Sustainability Security Senior Executive – Board member, Radisson Hotel Group
• Wassim Daoud, Head of CSR and Sustainability, PONANT

Moderator: Rachel Read, Director of Insight and Business Improvement, European Travel Association ETOA

16:00 – 16:45

SESSION 5 – ENERGY TRANSITION 

The Latest Move to Rail –the romance is back in travel.  Companies around the world have taken up the mantle to help decarbonize by creating programs that bring the joy back to travel through rail.  The excitement is palpable.  What are the benefits of rail travel for the traveller and the businesses as well as the destinations that have this infrastructure.

• Florencia Allo Moreno, General Manager, Western Europe, Intrepid
• Valentine Camusot, General Manager Europe, Rail Europe
• Claire Hanney, Managing Director, The Travel Corporation TTC

Moderator: Rajan Datar, Host, Journalist, BBC

16:45 – 17:15

SESSION 6 –  COMMUNITY

Gen Z Shares their Visions on Travel

16 students from the IEFT (School of Tourism Management) will provide their vision for the travel industry of the future while sharing why they are engaged in the sector and share a video they have created on the topic.

Host: Christian Delom, Secretary general of A World for Travel

20:00

GALA DINER & AWARDS

09:00

REGISTRATION OPEN

09:00 – 09:30

NETWORKING

9:30

CALL TO ORDER AND WELCOME

Rajan Datar, Journalist and Host, BBC

9:35 – 09:50

KEYNOTE – The new standard – How sustainable were the Paris Olympics?

• Madame Hamida Rezeg, Member of the Regional Assembly and Vice President, Iles de France Region for Tourism

9:50 – 10:00

SPOTLIGHT -3 

Business Travel in the Climate Era – Catherine Logan, Sr. VP EMEA and APAC, GBTA

10:00 – 11:00

SESSION 7 – FINANCIAL

Impact Investing – This session will layout the value investors are looking for and the stories that?must be told to drive developers’ interest.

• Nikolaos Gkolfinopoulos, Head of Tourism, ICF
• Suzanna Chiu, Head of Amadeus Ventures, Amadeus IT Group
• Julia Sattel, Partner, Clearsky Fund
• Nico Nicholas, CEO & Co-Founder, Zeero
• Bobby Demri, CEO and Founder, Roch Ventures

Moderator: Mary Harris, Consulting Director, Destination M&C Saatchi; Director, Bird Global Advisory

11:00 – 11:25

BREAK 

11:25 – 11:35

SPOTLIGHT 4

Make every travel action count – Nico Nikolaos, Founder and CEO, ZEERO

11:35 – 12:15

SESSION 8 – FINANCIAL

The Long Tail of Change – Often change appears through a series of events that end up looking like bureaucracy, but in fact it is the culmination of a series of actions that have great importance and impact on how we do business in the travel industry.  If we look at double materiality reporting requirements in the EU as a perfect example or one studies the development agencies’’ territorial engagements, we know the groundwork is being laid for stabilization.

• Alastair Crossley, Global Head of Travel, AXA Partners
• Catherine Logan, Regional SVP EMEA and APAC, GBTA
• Jehan de The, Group Public Affairs Director, Europcar Mobility Group & MaaS Alliance Board Member
  Moderator: Rajan Datar, Host, Journalist, BBC

12:15 – 13:00

SESSION 9 – COMMUNITY

Transformative Engagement – Regenerative Travel – New approaches that are gaining traction which ensure deeper levels of commitment from the communities involved in developing their tourism offerings. 

• Dr. Misa Labarile, Policy Officer, EU Commission Director General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs Tourism & textiles
• Jillian Dickens, Head of Destination Stewardship & Private Training, The Transformational Travel Council
• Anne Lotter, Executive Director, GTTP
• Ola Wright, CEO, West Africa Tourism Association                                                     

Moderator:  Andy Fairburn, Co-Founder/Director, Nordic Tourism Collective

13:00 – 14:30

LUNCH 🍽

14:30 – 14:40

SPOTLIGHT -5

Steps to Sustainability – Jessica Matthias, Sustainability Director, Sabre Corporation

14:40 – 15:20

SESSION 10 – COMMUNICATION

How Should Your Travel Business or Destination be Communicating? Positioning your destination or business for maximum value be it partnerships, investors, developers or the travelling public everyone agrees storytelling is an imperative.  But actionable content is also an art. We’ll hear from businesses that have set the gold standard.

• Shaon Talukder, CEO and Founder, Geotourist
• Natasha Syed, Travel Lead, JC Decaux
• Mary Harris, Consulting Director, Destination M&C Saatchi; Director, Bird Global Advisory
  
• Moderator:  Rajan Datar, Host, Journalist, BBC           

15:20 – 15:30

WRAP-UP

• Frédéric Vanhoutte, President Eventiz
• Christian Delom, Secretary general A World for Travel