Davos and the travel industry: 5 takeaways

Davos 2023 –
the “who’s who” of world leaders – is now over. This year I was honored to be invited to
attend the annual meeting and participate in a panel on “Traveling Again Differently.”

While some
business and policy pundits had predicted a tone of pessimism and light participation
at Davos, it was immediately clear to me – whether in a session, participating
in the panel or
riding a shuttle bus with other participants – that those concerns were simply
not borne out.

If anything, there was a sense of optimism. Participation was diverse and incomparably
global. Even the snow fell eventually, transforming the small village into a
truly stimulating,
Swiss wonderland.

Here are my
five takeaways for the travel industry:

• Travel
  needs to show up. Travel industry leaders were largely absent from Davos this year – with
  the exception being Uber‘s Dara Khosrowshahi. At the same time, the global
  attendees were a stark reminder of how increasingly complex, diverse and intertwined
  the world is. This year’s event was a cauldron of leadership from around the world
  (Europe, Asia, North America and the Middle East). Industry and financial
  leaders were there
  in abundance. They were joined by a vast cross section of entrepreneurs, NGOs and
  young “shapers” who are diverse, global influencers across many issues like food
  scarcity, climate and women’s rights.

  Travel is
  too important an engine for human connectivity and commerce to not be at the
  table. A stronger
  presence from travel leaders would enrich the forum’s conversations and better enable the
  collaboration necessary on our most complex challenges. Participation could
  also help
  advance our industry leaders’ most vital strategies, especially those
  associated with global scope and
  sustainability.

• We need a
  meaningful discussion of artificial intelligence. While AI was a common thread
  of conversation at Davos, from my vantage point, not a lot of substance was
  presented. That’s unfortunate since travel is but one major industry that needs
  the promise of AI to be transformed into practical solutions for everything
  from operational efficiencies and labor shortages to customer engagement and
  sustainability. While the hype at Davos around AI in general (and ChatGPT in particular)
  felt a bit “crypto-ish,” it is clearly very relevant in the near term for
  travel leaders.
• We need to
  plan for a future that is better than “worst case” scenario. Despite the enormous
  complexity of the global environment, urgent challenges to peace and
  prosperity, and some
  clear economic headwinds, I was pleasantly surprised that optimism showed
  itself on almost
  every front. Central bank governors, for instance, spoke to a reduced fear of
  recession and of high
  resilience. That is reassuring news for an industry that has careened between
  crises. Challenges
  will not be going away, but we also might just be able to focus on some of the critical
  longer-term initiatives that will ultimately make travel better, more
  profitable and more sustainable.
• Sustainability
  progress is being made, but it’s a systemic matter and one where industry siloes won’t
  suffice. As the lead agenda item going into the forum, engagement on sustainability
  was very high. Government commitments were visible nearly constantly and the scope of
  investment was huge: between Europe and the United States, nearly $1 trillion
  has been committed thus far.

  Similarly, technology advances for energy transition
  to clean sources were visible and arcane topics such as biodiversity
  management, space technologies, laser fusion, and even carbon markets were
  represented. On the panel in which I participated, the CEO of Heathrow
  Airport, as an example, called on the aviation industry to collaborate with governments
  and the agriculture industry to develop markets for biofuels to help meet
  carbon emissions goals as well as to stave off more draconian government
  restrictions that could harm travel. Each industry has a plan and travel is
  moving too, but this puzzle’s solutions are the epitome of inter-connectivity.

• The travel
  experience matters. In my conversations at Davos with other leaders, I always paid
  attention to their stories about “how they got there” since the forum presented
  such a diversity
  of routes, modes of transportation and lodging arrangements for a uniquely
  global audience to
  descend on a relatively small mountain village.

To be
clear, travel brands have made vast progress in the last three years on
resilience, workforce
and in automating and innovating big portions of their businesses. But for
travelers, my fellow
Davos attendees included, travel today still consists of a Lego-like patchwork
of flights,
lodging, ground transport, events, meetings and the occasional adventure. It’s numbingly
complicated, and today, each traveler is personally responsible to be the
problem solver.

We
can fix this. And we need to fix this as travel becomes steadily and quickly
more global. To
do it, we need real collaboration that moves beyond the fundamentals that exist today
around safety, compliance, alliances, and even loyalty networks.

At the end
of the day, why does the World Economic Forum matter to the travel industry?
Simply put, in a few days at Davos, you are surrounded by an incomparable and highly
relevant mix of the brightest minds, from across countless sectors and a rich
diversity of leaders and voices that span the world.

If innovation is what
drives your company – like it does mine – being at Davos is fuel. If
understanding how global complexity needs to be harnessed to keep up with
global, non-first-world demand, then being at Davos can also accelerate growth.
In 2024, I hope the WEF opens its arms to the leaders who – quite literally –
brought them together in 2023.