Travel, Hospitality Megatrends Presented at Athens Conference

The latest megatrends in the fields of hospitality strategy, travel experience, tourism marketing and technology were presented by eight prominent professionals of the international tourism industry, during the “Tourism Megatrends Conference”, which was recently held in Athens.

Speaking in regards to Greece during the conference, Russel Kett underlined that the country is very appealing to foreign investors, as it is currently on the focus of international tourism groups.

According to the conference’s conclusions, technology and the human factor are the main elements for the creation of a special travel experience.

Serge Trigano, founder of Mama Shelter Hotels.

Among the innovative hospitality concepts presented were those of Mama Shelter Hotels and Dutch CityHub Hotels, which both focus on the development of a hospitality community. According to Mama Shelter founder Serge Trigano, the hotel chain has invested in the selection of the appropriate staff, which would serve guests with generous courtesy and interest.

On his part, CityHub Amsterdam Development Director Martial Robardet said the hotel chain has launched an application, which is providing guests with the opportunity to communicate with the hotel staff and the other guests.

CityHub is currently exploring ways of expanding to the markets of Athens, Barcelona and Paris.

Furthermore, John Goldwyn, vice president, director of planning and landscape of WATG London presented the “Edible Resort”, which includes small farms and fields to cover the nutritional needs of its guests.

In addition, Mara Marente, director of the CISET – International Center of Studies on the Tourism Economy spoke of the particular needs of travelers who visit Italy to attend the Giro D’ Italia event.

Other issues discussed were the determination of the ideal hotel room price depending on the demand; artificial intelligence and Blockchain technology.

The conference also included a workshop on social and digital tourism.

The “Tourism Megatrends Conference” was part of the Hospitality.Next series and organized by Boussias Conferences. The Greek Travel Pages (GTP) was a media sponsor of the event.