Bench Events announced the line-up for the second episode of its global virtual conference, Hospitality Tomorrow, taking place on Tuesday 12 May, 2020. The program will feature nine hours of content delivered by over 50 global hospitality leaders and will follow the sun around the globe with a focus on five key markets, starting at 06:00 GMT with a session on Asia and ending at 16:00 GMT with a focus on North America.

Powered by Bench Digital, Hospitality Tomorrow was launched to support the hard-hit international hospitality community during Covid-19, by offering a virtual conference platform that provides knowledge, facilitates information sharing and connects the industry. The first episode took place on 7 April 2020 and attracted 5,323 virtual attendees from 128 countries.

Jonathan Worsley, Chairman of Bench Events, said: “After the launch of Hospitality Tomorrow last month, over one thousand attendees responded to our survey and said: ‘let’s do it again’ as we need to assess the changes in our world and people – operationally, financially, and psychologically. We will continue the conversation next week in the second episode of Hospitality Tomorrow, to understand where, when and how signs of recovery can be anticipated and the role of travel and tourism in accelerating momentum for recovery. It’s crucial that we rebuild confidence in the global hospitality community.”

Special Advisor to the Secretary General of UNWTO, Anita Mendiratta, will be co-hosting the event with Jonathan Worsley and will kick off the first market focus on Asia in conversation with Pansy Ho, Chairperson of the Global Tourism Economy Research Centre.

“We are incredible fortunate to have Pansy with us next week as one of the world’s most visionary leaders in tourism and hospitality. In our market focus on Asia, we will be looking Macau’s remarkable growth story, the impact of the Covid-19 crisis and the support of the hospitality community, and discuss how the destination is re-engineering the future in line with traveller needs and expectations with regard to health security in social spaces,” said Anita Mendiratta ahead of next week’s event.

After Asia, the conference content shifts west, and Hospitality India will kick off with a ‘View from the top’ panel discussion with Puneet Chhatwal, CEO Indian Hotels Company Limited, Neeraj Govil, Senior Vice President for South Asia at Marriott International, and Vijay Thacker, Managing Director of Hortwath HTL India. 

This is followed by a market focus on the Middle East, which includes a session on industry collaboration in the UAE, moderated by Gerald Lawless, Ambassador for the World Travel & Tourism Council and Advisory Board Member of EXPO 2020 Dubai, in conversation with H.E. Marwan Jassim Al Sarkal, Executive Chairman of Sharjah Investment and Development Authority Shurooq, Raki Phillips, CEO of Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority and Ali Shaiba, Executive Director of Marketing & Communications of the Department of Culture and Tourism (DCT) in Abu Dhabi.

In between the five market focus sessions from Asia to North America, speakers will be addressing global topics on the hospitality agenda including ‘Industry performance, environmental and social resilience’ presented by Jesper Palmqvist from STR Global and Eric Ricaurte, Founder & CEO of Greenview, ‘Leadership during times of crisis’ addressed by William E. Heinecke, Chairman and CEO of Minor Hotels, A ‘Forecast into the future’ by Hala Matar Choufany, President of HVS Middle East, Africa and South Asia, ‘New trends and reinventions that will change the industry forever and become the new normal’, led by Dirk Bakker, CEO Netherlands & Head of Hotels EMEA at Colliers International, and ‘High performance living, consumer consumption and life after Covid-19’, presented by Jacqueline Gifford, Editor in Chief of Travel + Leisure and Christopher W. Norton, CEO of Equinox Hotels. The full programme is now live on the Hospitality Tomorrow website and the stellar line-up of 50+ speakers can be found here.

Hospitality Tomorrow Europe and America will provide insight into the political and diplomatic landscape in both Europe and the US and the implications of the world post lockdown, and will take a deep dive into the influence of technology on the world during and post Covid-19 and the likely impact this crisis will have on the world economy. 

The immersive conference experience will feature nine hours of interactive content and essential industry insights by global speakers on the main ‘live’ stage and in break-out sessions and roundtables, as well as live face-to-face networking and a virtual Expo hosted by the event sponsors.