Travel pundits talk plumbing, pandemic and emerging tech

Pandemic learnings are only good if the travel industry is prepared to apply them.

There are already concerns that the chance to reset and come back better, not just for the sake of the planet, will be lost.

Those with years of experience building travel businesses look back now at the often slow pace of change and still see failings and gaps in some of the basic plumbing of travel.

The Pundits and Predictions session at Phocuswright Europe 2022 was a rapid run-through of many of the challenges and challengers facing the industry.

Sustainability was on the agenda, although the net-zero target of 2050 was blasted as unrealistic.

Emerging technologies such as blockchain and metaverse were said to be "irrelevant" and "a joke" by some panelists.

Topics up for discussion also included data and the importance of turning it into something meaningful for consumers.

The panel, which was moderated by Lorraine Sileo of Phocuswright, included Rod Cuthbert, board member of Veltra and founder of Viator; Tim Hughes, vice president of corporate development for Agoda; and Timothy O'Neill-Dunne, principal at T2Impact.

Watch the full session here: