European Tourism Forum

Digital transformation as the engine of
sustainable growth for the EU tourism sector

9.-10.10.2019 Helsinki, Finland

 

Thursday, 10 October 2019
Venue: Finlandia Hall, Mannerheimintie 13 e, Helsinki 

Programme and presentations

Chair Mr Paavo Virkkunen, Head of Visit Finland, Executive Director of Business Finland

08.30 - 09.30 Registration and welcome coffee

09.30 - 10.00 Opening Session

Opening remarks

  • Mr Paavo Virkkunen, Head of Visit Finland, Executive Director of Business Finland

Welcome address

  • Mr Jari Partanen, State Secretary, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment of Finland 

Keynote addresses

  • Ms Elżbieta Bieńkowska, Commissioner for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, European Commission
  • Mr István Ujhelyi, Vice-Chair of the Transport and Tourism Committee, European Parliament

10.00 - 11.15 Session 1: Impact of Digital Transformation on the Tourism Sector
What are the strategic and operational impacts of digital transformation on different aspects of the tourism experience, and on tourism businesses? What are the important factors for a successful digital transformation at business level? How could policy discussion support the tourism sector in its digital transformation? The session will start with two inspirational talks, followed by a moderated panel discussion.

Inspirational talks

Unleashing powers of digitalisation for Travel 4.0 and beyond

  • Mr Pekka Sivonen, Executive Director of Digital Transformation, Business Finland 

Policy as an enabler for tourism SMEs in digitalisation 

  • Ms Jane Stacey, Head of Tourism Unit, OECD

Panel discussion

Moderator: Mr Pekka Sivonen, Executive Director of Digital Transformation, Business Finland

Panellists

  • Ms Nicole Cutrufo, Lecturer – Guest Experience, Universitá degli Studi di Roma Tre
  • Mr Coley Dale, Senior Director for Strategic Partnerships, Ctrip
  • Mr Jukka Punamäki, Senior Advisor, City of Helsinki
  • Ms Doris Reinisch, Owner and Managing Director, Hotel Das Reinisch Vienna Airport

11.15 - 11.45 Networking coffee break

11.45 - 13.00 Session 2: Cross-innovation Ecosystems and Capacity Building in Tourism
How to keep agility in innovations in the micro and small business dominated tourism sector? What are the specific challenges for cross-border, inter-regional and cross-sectoral cooperation? How to encourage the inclusion of tourism in smart specialisation strategies? In the session, short presentations of the case studies will be presented, followed by a moderated panel discussion.

Moderator: Mr Sampsa Nissinen, Director of Unit, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment of Finland Case studies and panellists

European incubation networks for creativity-driven innovation

  • Ms Helena Deane, Project Manager CAST, WestBIC

Digitalisation of small travel companies: the Andalucia case

  • Mr José Luis Córdoba, Managing Director, Andalucia Lab

Sustainable innovation for the future of hospitality

  • Ms Lovisa Hedlund, Marketing Communications Manager, Metro Accelerator

13.00 - 14.00 Lunch 

14.00 - 15.45 Session 3: Data Management: A Strategic Instrument of the Digital Transformation and Sustainability of Tourism
How does digital transformation enable the management and use of data by tourism at a strategic and practical level? What should be done at EU, national, regional and local level to further facilitate the collection, use and sharing of data? What is the role of the different actors? Once the use and sharing of public or publically funded data, as well as big data are effective, how do they facilitate destination management and tourism policy planning by public authorities? In the session, short presentations of the case studies will be presented, followed by a moderated panel discussion.

Moderator: Ms Kaisa Kosonen, Digital Development Manager, Business Finland / Visit Finland

Case studies and panellists

How data enhances the customer holiday experience

  • Mr Peik Martin, Director Sales & Digital, TUI in the Nordics

Lyon, European Capital of Smart Tourism 2019

  • Ms Virginie Carton, Deputy Director, ONLYLYON Tourism and Conventions

Finland’s Digital Roadmap for tourism – On a way of becoming a smart destination

  • Ms Katarina Wakonen, Manager in Research, BI, MI & Opportunities, Business Finland / Visit Finland

Travel technology: driving optimization for the tourism ecosystem

  • Mr Simon Gros, Chair of European Technology and Travel Services Association

Making tourism statistics (more) relevant

  • Mr Carsten Olsson, Head of Unit, EUROSTAT

15.45 - 16.00 Closing Session

  • Ms Anna Athanasopoulou, Head of Tourism, Emerging and Creative Industries, European Commission
  • Ms Ilona Lundström, Director General, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment of Finland

16.00 - 16.30 Networking coffee