KOTA KINABALU, 4 November 2022: ‘Tourism Futures Reimagined’ will be the theme for the 6th World Tourism Conference (WTC) 2022 happening in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, this month.
Key speakers and tourism industry professionals from around the world will gather at Sabah International Convention Centre (SICC) from 28 to 30 November 2022. To date, close to 800 international and local participants from over 40 countries have secured their registration to the much anticipated World Tourism Conference. Foreign dignitaries, Malaysian government departments and agencies, tourism professionals, academicians, and NGOs are on the list of attendees.
The right honourable Datuk Seri Panglima Haji Hajiji bin Haji Noor is expected to attend the opening ceremony. Sabah State Government is hosting the official WTC 2022 Dinner on 28 November 2022.
The World Tourism Conference will explore four main topics during sessions featuring 24 multinational invited speakers. The keynote presentation will be delivered by Prof Dato ChM Dr Mazlin Mokhtar – Deputy Head (Research) United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network-Asia, Sunway University.
Session 1: Decoding Tourism Futures – Foresight & Scenarios
The session will feature Javier Ruescas, Senior Programme Officer UNWTO; Dr Wouter Geerts- Head of Research Skift; Dr Johanna Loehr – Postdoctoral Research Fellow Griffith University; Dr Ian Yeoman – Professor of Tourism Futures Victoria University of Wellington and Lau Yin May – Group Chief Marketing Officer Malaysia Airlines.
Session 2: Discovering Niche Opportunities for Growth
The session will feature Dr Laszlo Puczko – CEO & Co-Founder of Health Tourism Worldwide (Hungary); Dr Amran Hamzah – Professor in Tourism Planning Universiti Teknologi Malaysia; Jane Lim – Vice President of Global Market Tripadvisor, Mich Goh – Head of Public Policy Southeast Asia Airbnb and Yusno Yunos – CEO & Founder Evenesis.
Session 3: Redefining Tourism Success
Inspiring Stories are the key topic for discussion in session 3. His Excellency Dr Abdulla Mausoom – Minister of Tourism of the Republic of Maldives; Gary Bowerman – Director of Check-in Asia; Martha Domenech – Director-General Tourism Catalunya Spain; Brent Anderson – Regional General Manager Tourism Australia; Natalie Kidd – Chief People and Purpose Officer Intrepid Travel, Albert – Co-founder Traveloka and Chin Yoon Khen – Founder & CEO LokaLocal are in the speakers’ line up.
Session 4: Rebuilding Tourism Resilience and Readiness
Speakers include Dr Raymond Rastegar – Researcher & lecturer at the University of Queensland Australia, Carol Mackenzie – Group Head of Crisis Management & Business Continuity TUI Group, HC Chan – CEO of Sunway Malls & Theme Parks, Emanuel Tutek – Partner, Bluerock Consulting Austria & Croatia, Dr S.Mostafa Rasoolimanesh – Director Centre of Research and Innovation in Tourism (CRiT) Taylor’s University and Prof. Jafar Jafari – Professor of Hospitality & Tourism University of Wisconsin-Stout.
Representing Sabah on the exclusive WTC stage will be Dr Maklarin Lakim, Director of Sabah Parks and Jessica Yew, Co-founder and Director of Sticky Rice Travel.
“The Community-based Tourism Roadshow will also be held in SICC concurrently from 27 to 29 November 2022. This will be a perfect opportunity for our district offices & district tourism associations to showcase their tourism product and initiatives. Likewise, a convenient platform for our international delegates to get to know our efforts in uplifting the community’s economic potential via tourism,” commented Noredah Othman, Chief Executive Officer of Sabah Tourism Board.
Official WTC Link: World Tourism Conference 2022
For information on Sabah, visit www.sabahtourism.com.
(Your Stories: Sabah Tourism Board)
