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Prof. Martiin Bathes, President & CEO, World Tourism Forum Laurence
Prof. Martin Barth, CEO & President, WTFL talks about the intent and the outcome of the World Tourism Forum Lucerne India innovation startup camp in Bangalore
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Before joining the travel, tourism and hospitality sector, Prof. Martin Barth, CEO & President, World Tourism Forum Lucerne, trained, qualified (admittedto the bar in 1993) and worked as a lawyer for several years including being secretary General of Mövenpick Group. However, Martin got increasingly interested in the tourism and hospitality sector and in 2001 tookup a new challenge as Tourism Director responsible for managing the Savognin Tourismus destination. In 2003, Martin was appointed as Chair of “Tourism and Mobility” at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts.Today, he is Professor at the Institute of Tourism, where he teaches on service marketing, sustainable development and hotel management. In 2009, Martin conceived, organised and hosted the first World Tourism Forum Lucerne and since has been at thehelm of the organisation promoting tourism globally with heads of state, ministers, chief executives, academia and the next generation on a common platform
across the world. He is especially focused on managing and ensuring Tourism has a broader impact on people, places, community and the environment. In an exclusive with Tourism India, he talks about the intent and the outcome of the recently World Tourism Forum Lucerne Camp that concluded last month. What was the main goal of having the Indian Start-Up Innovation Camp and to what extent did you achieve your goal?
We believe that travel and tourism can be the driver in Indian economy. The main goal was therefore to launch a platform in India where Start-ups from the travel, tourism and hospitality industry can present themselves and meet with government, exciting companies and investors. Indian Start-Up Innovation Camp 2019 debut in India this year to share a fantastic opportunity for these start-ups to position themselves at the heart of innovation in the Tourism industry by winning the competition each under the four categories which are Conservation, Community, Culture and Commerce. World Tourism Forum Lucerne will work closely with the start-ups that won and will help them to promote and grow in the travel, tourism and hospitality industry. How did you come up with the idea of forming this community of people, passionate about travel, wanting to establish a new business in that arena?
Bringing Innovation in Tourism and bridging the silos between generations are the two USP’s of World Tourism Forum Lucerne. Our industry has a lot of potential, but there is a need to constantly innovate. We, therefore, need to be open to new, disrupting business models and ideas, especially from people outside the tourism industry. WTFL is creating such a culture and is building a community of Start-ups and investors with the aim to bring more investment in the travel, tourism and hospitality industry. Do you really think that startups in the tourism sector can fuel the growth of tourism?
Innovation, talent, sustainable development and diversity are the biggest game-changing subjects as far as the growth of travel, tourism and hospitality industry is concerned. It is the balance between new ideas and existing models which drives the growth, however, it is important to be constantly challenged by new ideas to have the necessary growth and be successful. The tourism industry overall is poised to job creation in the coming years and become the biggest growth driver in Indian economy. It is talked about a lot that travel can push the economy, would you care to elaborate on the same?
Travel, Tourism and Hospitality is worldwide the fastest growing industry. Since,this industry is poised to job creation on different levels, it has the potential to bring wealth and even endorse peace as tourism brings people together and make them have a better understanding. I believe that, if India starts investing in human resources and infrastructure, then, tourism will become the biggest industry driving Indian economy towards growth. How important is the safety of the woman traveller and what measures does the World Tourism Forum Lucerne take to ensure it?
Women Safety is undoubtedly one of the top most priorities when it comes to travel in India. With having F5 Escapes as one of our winners, World Tourism Forum Lucerne will be even more aware of this important topic and will work closely with the two founders, Malini Gowrishankar and Akanksha Bumb. Their initiative, F5 Escapes is an experiential travel company with a vision to redefine women travel in India through education-empowerment-engagement. The WTFL is confident that F5 Escapes can further accelerate the number of women that they empower and also see them contribute to shifting the perception of the role of women in Indian society. What is your prognosis on the travel and tourism industry globally for 2020?
We believe 2020 will experience new trends in the travel and tourism industry. Some of them could be as follows: • More international arrivals will be observed • There will be a bigger awareness of sustainable travel • People will travel less but stay longer • The industry will face the flight shame issue • Over-tourism will be a challenge
Despite this all, developing destinations like India would want more tourists visiting them and they will themselves start travelling as most developed countries do.
