I ITB BERLIN CONVENTION
I ITB BERLIN CONVENTION II RESPONSIBLE TOURISM IWhat’s next, after thetourism industry’s“perfect storm”?CarolineBremner,EuromonitorTHE WORLDPOPULATIONWILL TOP 9BILLION BY2040CAROLINEBREMNERAn ITB Keynote Panel was set to look at “The Futureof The Tourism Industry in Times of Digital Disruption,Climate Emergency, and Thomas Cook & Co”.The session was to have been introduced by CarolineBremner, Head of Travel Research, EuromonitorInternational. In these times when the tourism industryis experiencing “the perfect storm”, we asked Carolinehow one should be approaching the situation.Looking long term to 2040 helpsgive a view of what the futuremay hold for the travel andtourism industry. The globaleconomy will continue to pivoteast, with Asia Pacific forecastto hold 56% of global GDP, whilstWestern Europe is forecast tolose 5% share to reach 11% by2040. The world population willtop 9 billion by 2040, and ruralpopulation will peak by 2026,as urbanisation will accelerateto account for 64% of the worldexpected to live in cities.The travel and tourism industrywill continue on its journey ofdigital transformation, wherealready 70% of airlines salesare made online, comparedto only 10% for activities andexperiences. 67% of travelbusinesses said that their toppriority over the next five yearsare big data and analytics,pointing to the growingimportance of personalisation.Artificial intelligence is anotherkey area of investment,and we’re already seeingvoice commerce emerging,driven by digital assistants,already accounting for 1.7% of alldigital sales in the US in 2019ADVERTORIALCOMPENSAID:a ground-breakingsolution forsustainable travelLufthansa Innovation Hub, the Berlin-based digital business spearheadof Lufthansa Group, has developed a ground-breaking consumersolution for using sustainable aviation fuel. Since August 2019, forthe first time, travellers have the option of replacing conventionalkerosene with Sustainable Aviation Fuel on the compensation platformCompensaid, regardless of their choice of airline.In the long run, Sustainable Aviation Fuel(SAF) is a decisive key technology formaking the future of aviation nearly carbonneutral.Sustainable Aviation Fuels can be producedin various ways reusing CO2 stocks suchas waste oils, grease or even directlycaptured from the air. The sustainability ofSAF lies in its manufacturing process: thecarbon emitted during flight operations waspreviously absorbed in the form of biomassor gas. Currently, these SAFs reduce carbonemission by approximately 80% comparedto fossil kerosene, aiming for 100% CO2reduction in the future.The Compensaid platformcalculates the pricedifference and thenLufthansa uses SAF onflights departing fromFrankfurt and SanFrancisco.Alternatively, for positive climate effectsin the long term, customers can support areforestation project in Nicaragua throughthe Swiss foundation myclimate, whichhas been a Lufthansa Group partner foreffective climate protection since 2007. TheCompensaid platform allows travellers todecide for themselves how they want toreduce the carbon emissions of their flights.A combination of the two options is alsopossible.Compensaid is the world’s first online serviceof its kind, giving customers a transparentand efficient possibility to almost completelyoffset their carbon emissions from air travelby using Sustainable Aviation Fuel. TheGroup airlines Lufthansaand SWISS havealready integratedCompensaid into theirbooking platforms asthe key compensationmethodThe newCompensaid app.12 • ITB BERLIN NEWS • THURSDAY 12 TH MARCH 2020 www.itb-berlin-news.comITB BERLIN NEWS • THURSDAY 12 TH MARCH 2020 • 13
