Cinnamon’s tourism conference explores technology, innovation and authenticity
View(s):The Cinnamon ‘Future of Tourism’ summit on September 26 in Colombo will look at best practices around the world on the theme ‘Innovation, Technology and Authenticity’.
The topics will focus on practical solutions to the evolving challenges of the hospitality and tourism industry delivered by a high profile panel of international speakers, Cinnamon Hotels and Resorts said in a recent media announcement.
Doug Lanksy, an acclaimed travel writer and industry leader on travel and tourism trends and destination development, will deliver the keynote address on the theme ‘Making Destinations Ready for the Future.’ Other speakers at the conference include Sanjay Nadkarni, Director of Research and Innovation at the Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management, who will speak on the ‘Use of customer data for innovation to deliver a superior customer experience and revenue enhancement’. Jereon Gulickx, a well-travelled hospitality professional with 20+ years’ experience within the hotel and spa segment, will speak on ‘Changing the hospitality landscape of the future to make your hotel profitable.
Editor for CNN Travel, Brekke Fletcher will address the audience on ‘Understanding Tomorrow’s Traveller’ while Roy Graff, who leads Dragon Trail Interactive’s expansion into Europe, Middle East and Africa, will elaborate on the ‘Future of Chinese Outbound Tourism and opportunity in Sri Lanka’.
Cinnamon said that having successfully established its credentials as a valuable thought leadership event for the travel and tourism industry in 2015, the summit takes place bi-annually and encourages Sri Lankan and regional participation. This year’s summit is expected to attract 400 participants.
Commenting on the 2017 summit, Dileep Mudadeniya, Head of Brand Marketing – Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts, explained, “The 2017 summit in particular will be a pivotal one because it brings an eminent panel of speakers under one roof to share their knowledge and insights about the industry. We are hopeful that the dynamic sessions by the speakers will create new opportunities for participants in their respective businesses. Cinnamon has always used a sustainable approach and we believe that by strengthening the industry, we are ultimately strengthening Sri Lanka as a destination that is evolving fast to meet emerging expectations of tourists.”