Resilience Council Activities
The Resilience Council is excited to share our list of projects, current and ongoing. It is through these types of projects we are demonstrating our goal to provide a platform for public private sector interaction towards long term resiliency.
GTRCMC
The GTRCMC in Jamaica was created by Minister Bartlett of Jamaica in response to the urgent need he bore witness to during the 2016 Resilience Council Summit. Launched as the International Travel Crisis Management Summit, now the Resilience Council, the agenda highlighted the inability of the travel and tourism to rebound rapidly and effectively from crises. Speakers detailed the lack of crisis management planning and the need to share ideas to improve preparedness and resilience. In 2017, Minister Bartlett opened the first Centre in Jamaica in conjunction with the University of the West Indies. In 2019, the second Centre was opened in Kenya in conjunction with Kenyatta University. The Resilience Council supports the activities of the Centres through knowledge sharing, networking, data exchange, global media coverage and marketing.
Project TEEM: Travel Employment Enhancement Mandate
The global travel and tourism industry has experienced tremendous growth in recent years and is one of the world’s largest and most dynamic industries. With the expansion and diversification of the global economy, travel and tourism have emerged as key components of economic development in countries around the world.
The industry saw a sharp decline in jobs in 2020 due to the pandemic but is now showing signs of recovery. According to the World Travel & Tourism Council, 1.8 million jobs were lost globally in 2020, a drop of nearly 6%. However, the industry gained back 1.2 million jobs in 2021, with a further 4.5 million jobs to be created by 2025. This would represent an overall increase of 10.5% at the global level by the end of 2025, significantly less than the level prior to the pandemic.
Demand for Talent
The need for talent in the global travel and tourism industry is expected to rise significantly over the next five years. According to a recent study by IBM ThinkForce, the sector will require a total of 8.4 million new hires by 2025. The study further predicts a shift in the skill-sets demanded by the industry, with more specialized skills such as data analysis, digital marketing and advanced customer service being increasingly sought.
Background Trends Indicate
In terms of regional trends, available data indicates that the highest employment growth in the travel and tourism industry occurred in the Asia-Pacific region, with jobs in the region increasing by over 7 million between 2013-2017. This was followed by Europe, where jobs in the sector increased by 4 million over the same period. It is noteworthy, however, that while jobs were increasing in these regions, they were also declining in other regions such as the Middle East and Africa, likely due to political and economic instability in these areas.
Age Group and Geography
The study by IBM ThinkForce predicts that the biggest surge in job growth will be seen in the 18-34 age group, with this segment experiencing a 17.5% increase in job numbers by the year 2025. The younger generation is expected to drive the sector’s growth in the future, as they are seen to be more comfortable with embracing new technologies and innovation.
In terms of geography, the report identifies both developed and emerging markets which are expected to benefit most from the job market expansion. The US, China and India are identified as the top three markets that are expected to drive growth in the sector. However, other countries such as Indonesia, Brazil and the UK are also expected to benefit from an increase in employment numbers during the 2021-2026 period.
Conclusion
The global travel and tourism industry is currently experiencing significant disruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the sector is expected to experience a job market recovery over the next five years, with total employment projected to reach 8.4 million by 2025. The biggest need for talent will be in the 18-34 age group and in both developed and emerging markets. The US, China, India, Indonesia, Brazil and the UK are expected to be among the top countries driving job growth over the period 2021-2026.
Project TEEM Purpose
Project TEEM aims to conduct industry surveys and share available empirical data forecasting employment numbers in global travel and tourism for 2021-2026. The project will identify from employers where the biggest need for talent lies, which sector, age group and geographic regions will benefit most. It is important to establish who is interested in working in the sector, why and how do we attract more individuals.
For more information contact: teem@resiliencecouncil.com
CARES Program (February 2020-2023)
The Global Travel and Tourism Resilience Council, a platform for public/private collaboration and Global Rescue, the world’s leading integrated travel risk and crisis management service provider, have created a unique travel risk and crisis management program that can also include travel medical insurance too that protects the traveller, the destination’s inhabitants, and the host nation.
By making the program mandatory for all visitors, participation costs are minimized, and traveller confidence is increased through the knowledge that all visitors to the destination have the same required protections and services.
Travellers know that if an emergency occurs, they have services and protections in place. Destination residents gain peace-of-mind that additional medical support infrastructure can offset impact on their local health care system. Destination economies receive a boost as local jobs are created to support the program and local tourism businesses benefit as traveller confidence increases and inbound numbers increase. Destinations that have implemented the program will have the advantage of established benchmarks gauging tourism resilience strength compared to competing destinations that do not institute visitor protection programs.
If a COVID-19 or other emergency medical situation arises, government officials have partnered with Global Rescue, the world’s only integrated travel risk and crisis response provider, to immediately address the situation. The project will be replicated in other destinations as an ongoing Resilience Council initiative.
A World For Travel – Nimes Forum, 27 – 28 October
A World for Travel returns in 2022 for the second edition of this reinvigorating event. Building on the learnings from the Evora Forum in 2021, travel leaders will return to discuss the 5 Urgent Acts and how their businesses are recalibrating to ensure that industry is rebuilt in a sustainable and equitable way, with the people and the planet at the forefront of their thinking.
In Depth Country Summits
In the past two years, the Council has held country-specific summits at the request of governments such as Jordan, Nepal and South Africa. Due to Covid-19 these activities have been curtailed but an event in Ras al Khaimah is scheduled for 2022.
The Council relishes these opportunities to do a deep dive into the travel sector of specific countries. Depending on the needs of the country the Council focuses internally or looks to develop the country’s brand externally, or sometimes both. Themes explored include:
Internal: share of wallet, trade association effectiveness, product development, historic and cultural representation, local inclusion, environmental focus, economic opportunity, training, entrepreneurship, growth, GDP contribution, government support, NGO interaction and communications.
External: Which markets are most profitable; which sectors need bolstering; what messaging is successful; which medium should be focused on; new markets to address; profitability; bi-lateral agreements.
Virtual Industry Leadership Activities
January – The year began with the Resilience Council helping to launch USAID PROJECT TURIZAM LAUNCH in the Balkans which is a 5 year project to rebuild and re-envision the destination of Bosnia Herzegovina. Lee Hayhurst, Executive Editor of Travolution moderated a session held during the project launch webinar(Jan 25 – 26) on which technology is needed for the travel trade in country to adopt as they move forward. Throughout the year, RC will continue to support the Project through media and B2B market access for businesses in the country.
February – GTRCMC (Caribbean/US and Global)– The Resilience Council worked with the Centre to create an important thought leadership webinar around vaccines and necessary actions countries must take as they begin to reopen to travel.
March – The ITB was held virtually between March 9-12 this year. As per last year, the Resilience Council provided important thought leadership content for the world’s largest travel event. The RC created and facilitated content for 5 sessions which are available via the ITB’s On Demand platform until the end of May. [please add the link here]
May – Travel Industry Thought Leadership: The Resilience Council provides content for the Arabian Travel Marketplace on the 16-19th of May. Ushering our partners on Travolution and PATA all three sessions are keynote and held in person. RC utilizes these sessions to focus on the connection between travel and health, technology leading the industry recovery and lessons learned from eat to west.
August – WTM Latin America (Sao Paulo, Aug 10-12) has invited the RC to provide content for this year’s event around sustainable travel and cultural tourism. By working with WTM Latin America we are able to ensure our global perspective stays balanced and allows our partners to have exposure on every continent.
September – Project Sustainability – The A World for Travel, Evora Forum is an annual initiative being launched in partnership with French media giant, Eventiz. The event has been in the making for 2 years, having been postponed twice due to Covid-19. In partnership with Eventiz and the Portuguese Tourismo du Portugal on September 16-17, the hybrid event consolidates the partners’ resources around the transformation of the travel sector to finally incorporate sustainability into the main stream. This initiative is a 2 day event bringing together all corners of the industry, public and private sector players and governments to consolidate the activities that are occurring around the world on sustainability for the travel sector. The project will continue annually.
The Resilience Council is proud to be involved in the newly launched Global Travel Week powered by Connections. Between September 27 – 30 the event will showcase its worldwide portfolio, where the travel industry will come together to network, do business and cooperate through tourism. Experience three quality events under one roof – Global Travel Week, Connections Luxury and Travolution – with the opportunity for delegates to attend shared seminars and enjoy shared experiences. The Resilience Council is delighted to be contributing a content session to the event.
