The World Tourism Forum Lucerne 2019 is going to bridge the silos for three days in early May: academia meets industry, private sector meets public and young entrepreneurs meet established companies to build bridges that are meant to last.
To face the disruptive forces and keep the tourism industry alive, demand in young, educated, modern talents is rapidly increasing.
The Next Generation Leaders are important to bring their skills and knowledge in technology to the Travel, Tourism and Hospitality industry in order to keep this industry alive in the future.
Haitham Mattar, CEO of Ras al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority
Hence, a special focus is on the Next Generation Leaders Day, which is an initiative of World Tourism Forum Lucerne for potential industry leaders in the travel, tourism and hospitality. The main goal of the Next Generation Leaders Day is to provide an environment in which the members of the group are inspired, learn from each other, exchange ideas and enable each other to tackle the challenges they face at their workplace and the future challenges in our industry. These young employees with high career potential are now give the chance to accompany their CEOs to the World Tourism Forum Lucerne on 1–3 May in Switzerland and contribute to more sustainable and successful development of our industry. Registration is available here.
The main topic of the Next Generation Leaders Day is digitalization, one of the major disruptive forces in the travel, tourism and hospitality sector. Results and insights of discussions will be presented on the main stage of the Forum and the first acquaintances between the generations can be deepened.
We interviewed Haitham Mattar, CEO of Ras al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority, to find out the importance of Next Generation Leaders in the travel, tourism and hospitality industry and their career opportunities.
World Tourism Forum Lucerne: Why are the Next Generation Leaders important for the future in our industry?
Haitham Mattar: As new industries arise, especially those related to technology and Artificial Intelligence, our industry will become less appealing to the next generation, unless we keep up with the technology trends that have been picked up by other industries. The Next Generation Leaders are important to bring their skills and knowledge in technology to the Travel, Tourism and Hospitality industry in order to keep this industry alive in the future.
World Tourism Forum Lucerne: How do you recognize the Next Generation Leader in your company?
Haitham Mattar: Next Generation Leaders usually stand out in a crowd and are recognized through coaching, mentoring, training and promotions to carry on more responsibilities as they prove themselves capable.
World Tourism Forum Lucerne: What kind of skills and competences do they need to have?
Haitham Mattar: Some of the basic skills relate to ownership, decision making and excellent communication skills.
World Tourism Forum Lucerne: The Next Generation Leaders are part of the Millennial generation and thus an important travel target group. Why and how does Ras al Khaimah address them?
Haitham Mattar: This generation seeks adventure, connecting with nature and sustainable tourism. We address them by highlighting the nature-based adventure products and activities the destination has to offer, as well as our sustainable tourism activities and plans.
