WTTC Annual Summit To Focus On ‘Realising The Potential’ Of Tourism

Charmaine Fernz - Mumbai

The Indian Capital will soon witness the much-awaited World Travel & Tourism Council's Annual Summit from April 8-10, 2005. In a recent visit to Mumbai, Jean-Claude Baumgarten, president, WTTC in an exclusive to Express Travel & Tourism talked about the Summit and its impact on Indian tourism.

"After conducting thorough research, we finalised the theme for the Summit- 'Realising the Potential'. An analyses of the Indian tourism industry indicates that business has bounced back strongly after 9/11 and the travel industry worldwide is very resilient. Though this theme, we want all governments to become more conscious of the travel and tourism industry, its potential and the vital role it plays in any country. Newer markets are being developed continuously and there has been increased awareness. The customer benefits the most from this as segments like adventure and culture are emerging strongly, thereby offering the customer more variety."

Elaborating further on the potential of tourism, Baumgarten said, "In a global tourism scenario, there are many challenges emerging and gaps have to be bridged between the have and have nots. Tourism is also a big employment generator and the advancements in the travel industry will make governments and the general public realise the need to be more professional in their dealings."

Elucidating the reasons for selecting India as their choice of destination, Baumgarten said, "There were three main reasons for our choice. Firstly, we were convinced that the Indian government was serious about promoting travel and tourism. Secondly, the market is abuzz with energy and last but not the least, the latent untapped potential of the country. There was stiff competition also from Washington and China, when we decided on India. Another aspect was that, according to our research India is the second fastest growing country in the world. Our expectation for the Summit have somewhat been realised as 80 per cent of members have already enrolled along with their spouses. Apart from that we are looking at particiation from 100 WTTC members and 120-150 media delegates. In total, we are looking at 400-600 delegates. The Summit will have the governments of Egypt, Greece and Turkey showcasing the tourism potential of their countries at the event." Talking about the venues for future summits he adds, "In 2006, we are contemplating between Mexico and Portugal; and Washington and Beijing for the 2007 Summit. Post the 2005 Summit, the India Initiative's working group will meet in June to discuss the future of Indian tourism."