WTTC: Reinventing customer experience is key to success

Business leaders give speech at the World Travel & Tourism Council Global Summit in Madrid in April 2015. [Photo by Zhang Chunyan/China Daily]

Reinventing the customer experience is the key for the whole travel industry, president of the World Travel & Tourism Council said.

The world's most successful tourism companies are those which focus on the benefits of reinvention and innovation, David Scowsill, president of the WTTC said at the organisation's Global Summit in Madrid on Apr 15.

Scowsill said that disruption and reinvention of whole industry, of business models was a positive, organic process driven by the consumer.

"It is the consumer who drives all the change, and it is the consumer that leaps quickly to new brands that satisfy their demands," Scowsill said.

"Indeed, the dismantling of existing business models, fuelled by today's enabling digital technologies, is cutting a disruptive swathe through so much or our industry, from hotels to cruising to car rental to airlines."

He noted that the fast growth of mobile applications is rapidly changing consumer habits, and not just amongst younger travellers.

David Scowsill, president of the World Travel & Tourism Council.

The theme of this year's WTTC Global Summit is 'Disruption and Reinvention,' which were discussed by leaders from across politics, celebrity, business and the tourism sector.

"Social media has come of age as a powerful two-way communications channel, which is a significant force to be reckoned with," he added.

"The traditional is being contested and disrupted by the shock of the new."

Scowsill said, "In response, established industry players continue to reinvent the way that they do business."

The WTTC is the global authority on the economic and social contribution of tourism. It promotes sustainable growth for the industry, working with governments and international institutions to create jobs, to drive exports and to generate prosperity.

The two-day Global Summit 2015, which is the most influential annual gathering of tourism leaders, is being hosted by the Comunidad de Madrid and Ayuntamiento de Madrid, supported by the Ministerio de Industria, Energía y Turismo del Gobierno de España.

Speakers include José Manuel Barroso, former president of the European Commission; Ana Botín, executive chairman, Banco de Santander; Petra Nemcova, founder, Happy Hearts Fund; and Richard Leakey, founder, Turkana Basin Institute.