For Chris Carter-Chapman, Director of WTM London, tourism has shown time and again its ability to adapt through periods of crisis, but the challenges ahead require constant collaboration between governments and the private sector.
War, climate change and the way the wealth generated by tourism is shared out dominated much of the discussion. The conflict with Iran and the closure of airspace in the Middle East served as a recent example of how fragile tourism can be and, at the same time, of its remarkable capacity to recover.
The UAE Minister of Economy and Tourism, Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, explained that businesses in his country held their nerve and kept prices in check, while the government supported them with measures such as postponing fees. He argued that resilience must be a pillar of tourism policy and of air connectivity, which he described as a lifeline for the economy. He also left a thought that resonated in the room. What matters is not how many tourists arrive, but the value they leave in the city that welcomes them.
Qatar offered a telling figure. Airlines had recovered their February load factors by August, and its representative said that if such a situation happened again, airspace would not be fully closed.
Other delegations focused on different problems. African countries named the environment as their most immediate challenge. Croatia, represented by its Minister of Tourism and Sport, Tonči Glavina, explained that 70% of public grants for the sector now go to projects in less-visited inland regions, as a response to crowding on the coast. The country also wants to make its mark in health tourism.
Bulgaria, through its minister Ilin Dimitrov, presented a plan to link tourism research and education. It aims to involve two hundred universities and later create an observatory to track the sector's key indicators. The minister summed up the approach well, saying that tourism can no longer be managed on gut feeling alone.
India, represented by its Minister of Culture and Tourism, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, described tourism as a self-resilient sector thanks to the commitment of all its stakeholders. Greek Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni and Portugal's Secretary of State for Tourism, Commerce and Services, Pedro Machado, also took part in the summit.
On behalf of the WTTC, Gloria Guevara recalled that one in nine jobs worldwide depends on tourism, and called for public policy and the private sector to speak with one voice. Along the same lines, Khanh Linh Vu, principal advisor to the UN Tourism Secretary-General, stressed that no country can build a resilient tourism sector alone and that cross-border cooperation is essential.
The summit also made room for young professionals and entrepreneurs, a reminder that inclusive growth depends on the next generation.
Twenty years after its first edition, the WTM London Ministers' Summit confirms that tourism is no longer measured only in arrivals. It is measured in jobs, in a fair distribution of benefits and in the ability of destinations to withstand and regenerate in an increasingly uncertain world.
