IHRA #31: Report from Davos by Marilyn Carlson Nelson, Chair & CEO, Carlson Companies

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Report from Davos by Marilyn Carlson Nelson, Chair & CEO, Carlson Companies

This year's World Economic Forum (WEF) theme was especially well-suited to the travel and tourism sector: "Taking Responsibility for Tough Choices." After all, what industry has had more tough choices and challenges to face in the last five years? And what industry will face more in the years ahead?

The Travel and Tourism Board of Governors (the body within the WEF which focuses on issues of importance to our industry) examined issues fraught with tough choices such as...

- A coordinated response by our industry to natural disasters. The WTO's establishment of a crisis center during the SARS episode was held up as an example, and a discussion of potential similar actions during trouble periods was undertaken.

- The changing business models of the airline industry. Analysts laid out several alternate futures, ranging from a "McDonald's model" (aviation best practices are developed then licensed to franchisees worldwide) to a "Record Label" model (multiple brands target specific niches of consumers) to a "Resort" model (a single planner/operator assembles a harmonious blend of suppliers and builds exceptional destination loyalty).

- Making Security "tight" and "right". The discussion focused on the many phases of an "event": the pre-event phase, the response phase, the recovery/resumption phase, and the final analysis phase. By preparing for each phase, a stronger security model emerges.

Of course, the topic of China was again of interest at the meeting - both because of that nation's ever-increasing number of attendees, and its emerging influence in all industries.

That emerging influence is obvious in travel and tourism. The WTO predicts that by 2020, China will be the number one travel destination and fourth-largest tourist-generating country. By then, the China National Tourism Authority wants to have grown the country's travel and tourism industry to a $450 billion powerhouse, and to have doubled the number of jobs in the sector. Attendees played out a simulation of the next five years of growth, based on variable strategies and actions.

Speaking to the meeting about the choices developing nations must make, French president Jacques Chirac called for affluent nations to dedicate a percentage of their GDP to alleviating global poverty and economic inequities. He warned that ignoring these issues will lead to the risk of revolt by the youth of impoverished nations.

Of direct interest to our industry was Chirac's proposal for developed nations to consider raising levies on cross-border financial transactions, including taxing fuel used in air transport and shipping, and levying a one-dollar charge on every air ticket sold to fund the fight against AIDS. This is a choice few in our industry, already facing cost-value pressures, care to make.

For me, one of the most powerful personal moments during the meeting occurred when Israeli leader Shimon Peres made the case for renewed tourism in the Middle East.

"The Middle East will someday soon return to peace,' he said. "And when it does, we need travel and tourism to move in quickly, and help to establish prosperity in the region. The world's travel industry needs to understand that in the Middle East, the future is either tourism or terrorism."

That is a choice our industry, I hope, is prepared to make.

This is Nelson's sixth World Economic Forum. She serves on the organization's Travel and Tourism Board of Governors and its International Business Council, a select group of global CEOs.

The World Economic Forum is an independent international organization committed to improving
the state of the world. The Forum provides a collaborative framework for the world's leaders to address global issues, engaging particularly its corporate members in global citizenship.

What is the Annual Meeting?
The Annual Meeting is the World Economic Forum's flagship for a larger set of activities that include regional meetings and initiatives. The central goal of the Meeting is to find solutions to global challenges. The Annual Meeting began in 1971, then called the Davos Symposium, and it takes place in Davos, Switzerland each year in January. Over 2000 people take part in an intensive five-day programme of workshops and interview-style panel discussions that focus on crucial global, regional and industry issues.

For more information on the WEF Annual Meeting and its participants and objectives, go to:
World Economic Forum Annual Meeting: FAQ's

Marilyn Carlson Nelson Speaking at the World Economic Forum "Taking Responsibility for Tough Choices" held in Davos, Switzerland, 26-30 January 2005

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