More than 15 leaders in the online travel industry gathered at a villa on a private island in Miami to brainstorm ideas on how to “navigate the perfect storm”.
The half-day Online Travel Executive Retreat, organized jointly by Amadeus and WiT, was held in conjunction with The Phocuswright Conference 2019, which provided a perfect backdrop for the discussion with its own theme of “Are We There Yet?”
“Our event theme was how to navigate the perfect storm,” said Mieke De Schepper, Executive Vice President, Online Travel and Managing Director, Asia Pacific, Amadeus. “All the activities that are happening in the industry are creating a perfect storm and in 3-5 years, the world we operate in will be totally different.”
As De Schepper she sees it, four forces are converging to create challenges for online travel agencies who are at the centre of the storm – Consumer Channel Change, Competition Consolidation, Content Chaos and Connectivity Combat and all of this is amplified by tech disruption with AI, 5G, Blockchain and Machine Learning.
The group first took a leisurely cruise down the Miami Intracoastal waterway to the private island, and met the owner of the villa, which provided the setting for the retreat. “His was an interesting story, how he bought it five years ago and turned it into the house of his dreams.”
The afternoon business discussion, facilitated by Yeoh Siew Hoon, Founder, WiT asked the leaders to identify what they felt were pivotal moments that happened in travel in 2019 and that would have impact on the industry 2020 and beyond.
The leaders then broke out into groups to brainstorm opportunities and recommendations with which to face those waves of change.
“All in all, it was a very insightful day. It is amazing the creativity and inspiration that can be unleashed when bright minds come together in a unique setting, it was a true collaboration in charting the future,” said Siew Hoon.
Added De Schepper, “We were encouraged by the frank and heated discussions about the future – how everything was changing and how no one can afford to stay at status quo. From geo-political tensions to tech giants getting into travel and hot topics such as sustainability, some real issues were raised and some great ideas were shared.”
“It was a local, authentic experience for us and the 15 leaders who were all visitors to Miami and saw a different side to the city.”
A full report of the Retreat will be made available soon.
