Travel & Tourism

The world today is a global village. As a result of advanced communications, and 24/7 media, the world’s travel and tourism sector is undergoing rapid changes. Local and international tourism is creating jobs, driving inclusiveness and fostering development, especially in emerging countries. This has thrown up a range of new challenges for the senior leadership that heads both government and private sector organizations in the travel sector. Today’s global tourism is the world of on-arrival visas, travellers’ advisories, sustainable travel and multi-generational travel. Understanding new tourist geographies may well be the key to success, as Asia-Pacific accounts for a bulk of tourist dollars. In addition, social media and a global art & movie culture are creating demand for new and exotic locales as well as bespoke tourism. Specialized tours for senior folks is another development driven by higher incomes and the desire for adventure. However, the global travel and tourism industry, growing at 3-4 percent per annum, faces several issues. For one, inadequate tourism infrastructure and trained personnel challenge all stakeholders, government and private sector alike. This requires that top leadership talent be agile at handling the demands of a sector growing in leaps and bounds. It needs leadership conversant with regulations, handling government bodies and private players and also ensuring safety and mitigating fraud. Tourism can either be a country’s engine of growth or give it a bad name.