The monthly Ground Control Podcast goes in-depth with industry insiders from travel, transportation, and hospitality. Presented by World Travel Market, Mozio, and GroundControlHQ.com and hosted by David Litwak. 

Website: https://www.groundcontrolhq.com/

Thank you for listening to our joint episode with The Big Travel Podcast!

We are no strangers to the term “sustainability”. Over the past decade, being environmentally conscious has been trending and rightly so- it’s time to make a change. So how can we be more responsible when it comes to travelling? In this episode, we are joined by Lucy Siegle, esteemed journalist and climate change campaigner, discussing carbon emissions and potential “greenwashing”.   The travel industry is undoubtedly a high-level contributor to climate change, so we’re taking the bull by the horns and asking, “What can we do differently?” Whilst there’s no quick fix, there are definitely things we can do for damage limitation, while the industry continues to strive for cleaner and more efficient ways to travel.   At WTM, we understand the urgency and are keen to look into how we can support companies to deliver more responsible ways to travel. If this is something you are interested in, please get in touch or take a look at our Responsible Tourism sector for more information. Thank you to Lucy for this incredibly candid interview, and we look forward to hearing your feedback. Don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe!   WTM Website: https://bit.ly/2uXmpaE

Travel has seen its fair share of ups and downs this year, from the collapse of big travel businesses such as Super Break and, more recently Thomas Cook, to the success felt by Sri Lanka after their national airline reopened their global routes. We are joined by Antonia Stratford, Head of Public Affairs at UKinbound, and Kelly Cookes, Leisure Director for Advantage Travel, to discuss their insights on travel trends from 2019 and how they are impacting the industry.   With a report from Visit Britain revealing that 30% of inbound tourists will travel to the UK for a famous filming location, and a higher demand for ‘classic British cuisine’, new travel trends are starting to emerge. With the uncertain political climate and a need for innovation in terms of sustainability, it is more important than ever for businesses to adapt and evolve and this is something we have seen throughout the year. You can find a recent industry report from UKinbound on the impact of Brexit and new immigration policy on tourism here.   This is our last episode of 2019- it has been a pleasure and we look forward to releasing our new episodes in 2020. Have a wonderful Christmas!

This episode was recorded LIVE at the World Travel Market, London- the biggest travel trade show in the world. We had a fantastic time and would love to share with you some of what we got up to!   With the likes of Game of Thrones and Star Wars garnering millions of die-hard fans, what better way to attract new visitors than through TV and film? Lisa Nand interviews a brilliant panel of Judith Webb, Tourism Northern Ireland, Donovan White, Jamaica Tourism Board, Colin Piper, Discover Dominica Authority and Dr Abed Al Razzaq Arabiyat, Jordan Tourism Board. Between them, they have hosted filming for Aladdin, Game of Thrones, Pirates of the Caribbean and James Bond.   A lot of money is poured into marketing campaigns, but as a filming destination, it is possible to secure massive reach across a number of demographics that wouldn’t normally be accessible. We discuss how these destinations originally secured the filming contract and the process of harnessing their traction and using it to boost their profile within the travel and tourism sector. Not only does it promote their destination, it also creates new jobs and supply chains within the area, and lays foundations for future filming projects.   As always, please let us know what you think and don’t forget to subscribe FOR FREE on Itunes, Google Podcasts, Spotify and all good podcast streaming platforms.

With travel being the second biggest spend for 16-35’s over items like bills and food, it’s no wonder that pop culture royalty such as MTV are branching out. The popularity of music festivals is growing year on year and this success has been felt by Maltese festival, Isle of MTV who ran their 13th event to 30,000 music fans in July. This level of tourist influx is a challenge for any destination, so we talk to Russell Samuel, VP of Created & Integrated Marketing for Viacom Velocity International, about how they worked with the Malta Tourism Board and local businesses to accommodate the festival goers and source all the necessary equipment and materials.

Viacom are the umbrella company for a multitude of brilliant platforms, including MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodean to name a few. Russ discusses how they use their variety of branding to appeal to a range of demographics and to ensure that their impact on Malta is not just specific to the week of the festival, but that the effects are felt all year round. They have also recently introduced a new vertical into their marketing strategy called ‘MTV Travel’ giving fans the opportunity to browse destinations based on their interests within pop culture. It is a clear model of how businesses are using the zeitgeist to grow their business and travel is the perfect branch in which to explore this.

Enjoying our podcast? Then you’ll love our conferences at WTM where we cover a variety of topics from Responsible Tourism to Aviation to Social Media, including a session with MTV dedicated to the impact of Music Tourism! Register as a visitor here and don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to make sure you’re up to date on what’s been happening in the travel world!

As we strive for a more inclusive and diverse society, is that being reflected in how we meet the needs of travellers? Improved accessibility is something that the majority of us will require at some point in our lives, and for people living with disabilities, this need is far more urgent.

With the introduction of new technology such as touch screens, our guest speaker Amar Latif has seen travel accessibility move backwards instead of forwards. Amar is blind and is CEO and Founder of Traveleyes; a company that pairs sighted with non-sighted travellers for incredible trips around the world. He is joined by the wonderful Clare Jenkinson, Senior Destinations and Sustainability Manager at ABTA to discuss their perspectives on how the travel industry needs to improve its customer care and adapt to facilitate everyone. Not only is it a human right but, with the purple pound worth £250 million, it also makes great business sense. We talk about practical ways to improve how your business deals with accessibility and what we can do as a community to give more people the opportunity to travel.

If you're interested in hearing more about accessibility in travel, check out our blog post https://news.wtm.com/accessible-tourism-matters-for-everyone-not-just-the-wealthy/ written by Responsible Tourism Expert, Harold Goodwin. Let us know what you think!

With around 3.5 billion people actively engaged in social media, it has become integral to the success of a business, particularly within the travel and tourism sector- but how can brands harness that power? Our host, Lisa Nand, speaks to CEO & Co-Founder of Traverse, Michael Ball, and blogger Julie Falconer, from A Lady in London (www.aladyinlondon.com), about how working with an influencer and content creator can grow your reach exponentially whilst providing customers with an authentic product review. As Michael says, “are you more likely to book a holiday based on an advertising campaign or a recommendation from a friend?” and that is precisely the trusted dynamic you tap into when you utilise influencer marketing.

Found this helpful? Then you'll love our blog post about the necessity of #ad and #spon and the impact they've had on content creators. Check it out here: https://news.wtm.com/instagram-embraces-the-age-of-spon-and-ad-with-branded-creator-content/   Interested in finding out more? BorderlessLive, taking place at Tobacco Docks 6th & 7th September, is a global event providing a platform for influencers, brands and the travel community to come together to create and inspire. Tickets are in high demand- but we are giving away 2 for free! All you have to do is screenshot yourself listening to this episode, then post the picture on your Instagram story tagging @borderlesslive with the hashtag #WTMinsights for your chance to win. We will pick a user at random and announce the lucky winner on Monday 19th August. Good luck and we’ll see you there! https://www.borderlesslive.com/

In a competitive industry like travel and tourism, how can companies ensure that they appeal to all demographics? This month’s Pride celebrations have been particularly poignant, marking the 50th anniversary of the transformative Stonewall riots in Manhattan. In a fascinating interview with Out Now’s founder and CEO Ian Johnson, we discuss how the LGBT+ tourism sector has grown exponentially over the past decade and what companies can do to ensure that their rainbow flag is flying 365 days a year.    Reed exhibitions is vocal in its support of the LGBT+ community with our successful NYC exhibition PROUD Experiences.