Did you know that tourism accounts for around 11% of global GDP and employs one in every ten people?
But the positives and negatives of the industry are a fine balance. Get it right and it could improve the lives of communities. Get it wrong and you’ll see the locals turn against a vital part of the economy.
“It's very important that when a destination is going to grow, the authorities manage it with the local community,” explained Bulut Bağcı, president of the World Tourism Forum Institute.
“Tourism cannot be desirable without the local community.”
In this episode of The Big Question, Bulut joined Angela Barnes in the studio to share his insights on the future of the tourism industry.
Investment is vital for any business to develop and flourish, and across all industries, a huge injection of cash into AI technology is leading the charge towards change and innovation.
The AI revolution is happening everywhere, including in the tourism industry. And with AI comes the ability to quickly collate and analyse huge datasets.
“After 2030, the most important thing is that the industry has to be focused, it has to be managing its data well,” Bulut told The Big Question.
“If you know the data, if you know who is coming to your country, which destinations they visit, which transfer they use…we have to align all this data together. Can you imagine [the possibilities] when this data is collated?”
In a rapidly changing geopolitical landscape, tourism isn’t always at the top of the governmental funding ladder, as defence and security are often prioritised for investment.
However, Bulut stressed that investment in security, whilst it may not seem connected, is the first step to a strong tourism industry.
“If you cannot keep your country secure, how will you promote tourism? It's impossible; Security is part of tourism, it’s the first pillar.”
The Big Questionis a series from Euronews Business where we sit down with industry leaders and experts to discuss some of the most important topics on today’s agenda.
Watch the video above to see the full discussion with the World Tourism Forum Institute.
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