COVID-19 has provided an opportunity to rethink the Mediterranean’s hotel and hospitality industry. Hotels int he region have largely retained a traditional model of operation, but the struggling industry will need to evolve to survive. This is now an opportunity to really to bring in some more innovative solutions. Some of the changes will require collaboration between stakeholders in the industry.

There is little doubt that the region’s hospitality sector is facing unprecedented pressure but there have been underlying issues that have dogged the industry for several years. The long-term decline in profitability, as a result of rising costs and declining levels of spending, represents a maturing of the regional’s hospitality sector after years of growth. This crisis presents an opportunity for the industry to come to together and rethink Mediterranean hospitality.

• Regional and global overview: what are the key trends shifts and changes?
• From war, ESG, supply chain chaos to food security: how do hospitality leaders manage these challenges?
• Hotel development picks up the pace: what Is hot at the moment?
• What can be done by the public sector to provide further tourism incentives?
• Why invest in the Mediterranean hospitality sector?
• Understanding the expectations of international investors.
• The new normal: how has COVID-19 changed the hotel operating model?
• The new normal for profitability: is it different to the old normal?
• The start-up den: companies transforming the industry
• Looking at inspiration: innovations in the hotel sector from across the world

A green transformation in the tourism and hotel sector is underway. While some changes have a relatively short return on investment and make a measurable difference to bottom line, others are more difficult to evaluate. This panel will highlight suitable strategies and effective ways to overcome such obstacles by building a strong business case for change.

• Driving and sustaining growth during uncertain times.
• The future of green infrastructure and how it will transition to the future of hospitality.
• How is the industry responding to the changing sustainability dynamics?
• There is a strong perception in the hospitality industry that says turning green is expensive with few or no revenue upsides. Is this really the case?

Eyes on Southern Europe and North
Africa:

• What is the performance and pipeline of these various markets?
• What are the investment opportunities and what are the challenges to be aware of? 

Cruising is up and running again after COVID, butchallenges remain from all quarters. These include therising cost of living and the effect on holiday taking, warin Europe, labour scarcity, plus climate change, to namea few. Once again the industry has to “dig-deep”. It istime to conceptualise and depict a recovery road map ofkey leisure sectors that is both sustainable and profitablefor the destination cities.

• • What is ahead for the cruise industry?
  • What developments can we expect to see from the cruise industry in the next years?
  • Technology transformation: is it worth your time and investment?
  • Ways to grow connectivity and opportunities, from e-commerce to API to data. On-shore power supply at ports has accelerated, but must it move faster?
  • Are governments moving quickly enough to provide the support the industry needs to meet its environmental targets?
  • It is feasible to create a common brand to promote the entire Mediterranean region?
  • How can we structure the entire territory and expand the offer to all Mediterranean ports to avoid overcrowding?