• Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts will host the summit to mark World Tourism Day

The Cinnamon Future of Tourism Summit will be held on 26 September as a one-day conference that will deliberate and draw examples from the best practices around the world on the theme Innovation, Technology and Authenticity. The topics will focus on practical solutions to the evolving challenges of the hospitality and tourism industry delivered by a high profile panel of international speakers.

Executive Editor Travel – CNN, Brekke Fletcher will deliver the keynote address on the theme ‘Understanding Tomorrow’s Traveller’. Fletcher currently oversees CNN’s worldwide coverage of travel whilst managing a network of more than 800 travel contributors and insiders around the globe.

Other eminent speakers at the conference include Dr. Sanjay Nadkarni – the Director of Research and Innovation at the Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management, who will speak on the use of customer data for innovation to deliver a superior customer experience and revenue enhancement. Jereon Gulickx is a well-travelled hospitality professional with 20+ years’ experience within the hotel and spa segment. His expertise ranges from streamlining cost and operational models, strategy, yielding, business development, and marketing to digital marketing. He will elaborate on changing the hospitality landscape of the future to make your hotel profitable. Roy Graff, who leads Dragon Trail Interactive’s expansion into Europe, Middle East and Africa, will elaborate on the Future of Chinese Outbound Tourism and opportunity in Sri Lanka, while other topics at the conference include disruptive innovation, the future of hotel revenue, fighting for your market share, digital and influencer marketing trends, selecting the right technology and investing in innovation.

Having successfully established its credentials as a valuable thought leadership event for the travel and tourism industry in 2015, the Summit takes place bi-annually and encourages Sri Lankan and regional participation. This year’s Summit is expected to attract 400 participants.

Commenting on the Future of Tourism Summit 2017, Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts Head of Brand Marketing Dileep Mudadeniya explained, “The 2017 summit in particular will be a pivotal one because it brings an eminent panel of speakers under one roof to share their knowledge and insights about the industry. We are hopeful that the dynamic sessions by the speakers will create new opportunities for participants in their respective businesses. Cinnamon has always used a sustainable approach and we believe that by strengthening the industry, we are ultimately strengthening Sri Lanka as a destination that is evolving fast to meet emerging expectations of tourists.”

With responsible travel and tourism gaining momentum, it is crucial that the industry is aware and educated of the best practices to be adapted. Technology and innovation are vital for the development of brands and adopting to global standards. The Summit serves as a platform for the industry in Sri Lanka and the South Asia region to optimise their potential and awareness of such trends.

The Cinnamon Future of Tourism Summit Colombo is powered by Mercedes Benz is endorsed by PATA with CNN Travel as the international media partner. The destination partner for the conference is the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, official airline partner Sri Lankan Airlines, mobile partner Mobitel, digital partner Xiteb, national media partners Daily Mirror, Daily FT and Sunday Times. The Summit is also supported by MillionSpaces, STR Global with Ceylon chamber of commerce as the strategic partners, Inbound travel partner Walkers Tours, Domestic Airline partner  Cinnamon Air, AV partner Citrus Events, Outdoor media partner Emerging Media and Hotel News Now as the media partner.

Source : http://www.ft.lk/travel-tourism/Cinnamon-Future-of-Tourism-Summit-2017-explores-technology–innovation-and-authenticity/27-640128