HOTEL & TOURISM SMARTreport #36

The fact that tourism is a force for good can never be overstressed. This has been again the underlying theme of UNWTO Secretary General, Taleb Rifai during his tenure with the organisation, a tenure which sadly comes to an end this year. Nevertheless, his legacy will continue, and no doubt be enhanced in other ways by Mr Rifai’s successor, Zurab Pololikashvili, current Ambassador of Georgia to Spain, Morocco, Algeria and Andorra, who has been appointed Secretary General of the organisation for the period 2018-2021.

In this issue, as we focus on the Americas, we look at the reality of how the United States’ National Travel and Tourism Office is working to unify the approach to tourism in this great nation, and to find as many ways as possible for those in the industry to open their arms to the world. To this end, we are very pleased to welcome Isabel Hill, Director of the United States National Travel and Tourism Office, to our pages. Our regional spotlight also focuses on the Americas.

Coincidentally, our Elite Travel Trends section also takes us to the US – more precisely to Las Vegas – Cleverdis has been attending the Virtuoso Travel Week earlier this year. And our Innovations and Technology pages take a closer look at how hoteliers can learn from the gains made by travel organisations when it comes to applying and leveraging new technologies.

We hope this issue will bring you plenty of new ideas and inspiration!