Travel agents worldwide have seen a 5pc reduction in reservations due to the war in the Middle East, the 200 delegates to the World Summit of Travel Agencies was told.
“We see a lot of impact on travel to Israel due to the conflict with Gaza, which is logical,” Pawel Niewiadomski said. “The conflict is local, but it shouldn’t affect arrivals to neighbouring countries like Egypt or Jordan.”
Babatunde Adesokan vice president of NANTA said of Poland: “the Ukraine war is taking place far from our country, but the media has amplified the coverage. There are issues with immigrants coming from Belarus through its border, which makes domestic travel impossible towards the north eastern part of the country. Many agencies have been affected by these travel restrictions. However, international travel to other countries continues to increase, as foreign tour operators continue to sell packages.”
Delegates reported that countries like Spain, France, or Italy, far from the conflct, were being affected, particularly with US bookings.
Pawel Niewiadomski, PIT President & ECTAA Past President also outlined a future problem with airlines like Ryanair not wanting to collaborate with agencies: “low-cost packages without the low-cost aircraft. But things will improve in the coming years, I am convinced.”
Carlos Garrido, president of CEAV told the 200 delegates from 60 countries “Travel agencies worldwide are witnessing how market trends are changing, and we need united strategies to collectively address the challenges we face: wars, inflation, artificial intelligence.”
The summit was, he said, the “meeting point for travel agency associations from all five continents,” which aims to “be a global forum for exchanging and discussing the fundamental aspects of the sector.”
The summit was attended on behalf of the Irish travel Agents Association by CEO Clare Dunne and President Angela Walsh.. The full list of speakers:
Destinations Andalusia & Granada:
Moderated by Dave Keating of France 24.
- Juan Antonio Gómez García, Forward Keys Head of Marketing Intelligence.
- Babatunde Adesokan, NANTA Vice President.
- Paula Cortés Calle, ANATO President & WTAAA Vice Chair.
- Pawel Niewiadomski, PIT President & ECTAA Past President.
- Wendy Paradis, ACTA President & WTAAA Vice Chair.
- Pauline Suharno, ASTINDO & FATA President.
Sustainability and sustainable strategies
Moderated by Frank Oostdam, ECTAA President & ANVR Director.
- Tulio Bernal, ANAV President.
- Frank Oostdam, ECTAA President & ANVR Director.
- Ajay Prakash, TAFI President.
- Nicanor Sabula, AESATA CEO.
Travel consumer trends:
Moderated by Dave Keating of France24.
- Christian Boutin, Amadeus SVP Customer Success Management EMEA.
- Andrés Deyá, FAEVYT President.
- Christian Boutin, Amadeus SVP Customer Success Management EMEA.
- Inge Janssen, EU Travel Tech Chairwoman & Booking.com EMEA Director Public Affairs.
- Jean-Philippe Monod de Froideville, Expedia Group Senior Vice-President Government & Corporate Affairs.
- Oliver Zahn, Chairman of DRV’s Outbound Committee.
Partnership between Travel Agents and Airlines:
Moderated by Otto de Vries, Chief Executive Officer of ASATA.
- Andrew Bowman, WTAAA Chairman & TAANZ Director.
- Guillermo Correa Sanfuentes, FOLATUR & ACHET President.
- Mª Jesús López Solás, IBERIA Chief Commercial, Network & Alliances Officer.
- Juan Antonio Rodriguez, IATA Director Operations for FDS.
- Guillaume Teissonniére, ODIGEO General Counsel & Company Secretary.
Innovation around the Travel Journey:
Moderated by Juan Jesús García, AMADEUS IT Group Head of Industry Affairs, EMEA.
- Edu William, The Wise Dreams CEO.
- Luis Dupuy, American Express
- Jonathan Gómez, Head of Malaga Tourism Board.
- Anderson Pacchioni, IATA Senior Manager Digital Innovation Engagement.
- Nagore Uresandi Espinosa, In2destination.
