- The event included more than 200 attendees and 40 professionals from Spain, Serbia, Japan, Equatorial Guinea, Belgium, Greece, Peru, Switzerland, Portugal, Mexico, the United States and the United Arab Emirates who came together to promote talent as an integral means of strengthening tourism in the global economy.
- Carlos Diez de la Lastra, General Manager of Les Roches Marbella, reiterated “the need to educate future industry leaders in the values of sustainable tourism, who will become important elements of support and wealth in communities around the world”.
The 2nd UNWTO World Conference on Talent Development: Strategies for Competitive Destinations brought together different experts from public tourism administrations, private entities and recognized academics worldwide. For three days they participated in workshops and analyzed the driving power of training and talent in the creation of a sustainable tourism that is both ethical and committed to building communities. Carlos Vogeler, Executive Director of Member Relations of the World Tourism Organization (WTO), said that the new generations of professionals should “work in coordination with the current representatives of tourism to ensure a balance and ensure the competitiveness of destinations”. He went on to say that “respect, ethics, and passion are the keys to understanding the work that is done in a sector as complex as tourism, which is already the third-most productive industry in the world.”
2nd UNWTO Global Conference on Talent Development in Tourism [Highlights]
According to Vogeler, “tourism is a tool to fight poverty, but it is vital that local residents feel and perceive that their development helps them generate wealth and grow as a society”. Far from the recent phenomenon of turismophobia, he wanted to recall that “success stories are visualized in people who, through tourism, have managed to transform the lives of their families and their peoples. It is essential that the public, private, and academic sectors work in coordination to ensure that this cohesion of interests works because we need tourists 365 days a year. ”
Carlos Diez de la Lastra, General Manager of Les Roches Marbella, assured that “we are at an exciting moment in the tourism industry. Tourism currently represents the second generation of jobs, only behind public employment, and continues to grow at 3% annually. No country is in a position to create, at the pace demanded by the hospitality and tourism sector, enough talent in the coming years. We have the opportunity to work and educate new generations and at the same time guarantee wealth in tourist destinations around the world. At Les Roches, our goal is to have an increasing ability to attract talent from different parts of the world and show that our country, Spain, is a benchmark in the creation of high-level hotel managers. ”
Organized by the UNWTO and Les Roches Marbella, with the support of Marbella Town Council, Costa del Sol Tourism Board and Turismo Andaluz, the conference, which already held its first edition in Bilbao in 2015, involved a series of presentations, networking sessions, workshops and interactive seminars, offering participants the opportunity to interact, share ideas and be inspired by innovative success stories.
Photos of the UNWTO Global Conference on Talent Development for Tourism
The common message shared by all participants was clear: We live in a people-for-people industry where talent, ethics, and the capacity for innovation are the key to reconciling development and sustainability, one of the most important challenges in the industry.
During the Conference, the UNWTO gathered student finalists from universities around the world to present their proposals for future sustainable tourism models in their regions. The Idea Competition for Talent Development for Tourism Destinations was judged by a panel of industry professionals and members of the UNWTO. The winning team came from the University of Wakayama, Japan with their entry titled “Making GCET Accessible to Younger Generations”. Other finalists were included: CENFOTUR (Perú), Cotelco (Colombia), Financial University (Russia), Universidad de Magdalena (Colombia), University of Queensland, (Australia), and Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (Spain). The full student presentations can be viewed below:
