Call for Speakers | Tourism in Transit

CITYDNA AUTUMN CONFERENCE – TEL AVIV, OCT 19-22, 2022

Attention all passengers: This is a Call for Speakers! We are calling on all City Destinations Alliance members, partners, experts, lead thinkers & doers to join us in transit – on the way to transition or back to our starting point? Hold on tight, it will be a bumpy and challenging ride! We have almost (hopefully) passed the end station of the COVID express, but did we miss the Build Back Better connection? Instead, we are now facing new roadblocks and broken bridges with hyperinflation, global recession, war in Europe and rising geopolitical tensions. At the same time, we are navigating new hype curves of technology (are we all getting off in the Metaverse?) and searching for the right platform to embark on the high speed for the net zero journey. Mind the generational gap, as you make your plan – the GenZs and the Alphas may have a different destination in mind. Is this an era of change or a change of era? Are we stuck in transit or shifting towards transition?

With this Call for Speakers, City Destinations Alliance invites potential speakers to submit their proposals to join the “Tourism in Transit” conference, taking place in the non-stop city of Tel Aviv from Oct 19–22, 2022. We are looking for speakers to help us explore where tourism is heading, whether we as destinations got lost in transit or if we are on the right track towards meaningful transition for positive impact and contribution.

With “Tourism in Transit”, we want to ask questions like:

  • Is the destination still a geographical location? Or is it categories of personal interests and motivations, a personal transformation in search of well-being, togetherness, (dis-)connectedness, and the right to retreat? What does it mean for destination marketers when the end destination is no longer a place on the map, but perhaps rather a place within ourselves?
  • What is destination management under the low-carbon imperative? What role does the DMO play in our transition commitment to a low-carbon economy? Have we seen the end station of airline collaboration and long-haul marketing?
  • Lost in metaverse transit – or is this really a new, parallel reality to consider as destinations? Will your next competitive benchmark be with your metaverse twin-destination? Or can the metaverse become your strongest asset for marketing real-world experiences? Who is to tell what is real anymore?
  • What algorithmic meetings can tell us about next stop for corporate meetings? Sure, as humans, we thrive on real contact with each other… but somehow our days are fully booked with screen time and virtual connections. Has big tech algorithmicized our efficiency and professional relations for good? Will our re-found joy of presential meetings last? And now that trade shows are back, what has actually changed?
  • Looping in transit between marketing & management – or transitioning to something entirely new? A lot of talk and discussion has gone into the M-discussion, but with what organisational consequence? In some places, the DMOs are transitioning into new forms of organisation and purpose. As part of the journey, is DMOcratic participation the required ticket to ride?

These and many more questions will be guiding our conversation in Tel Aviv. If these questions match your new initiative or latest research, or if you have even better questions to ask to city destination leaders in transit(ion), please submit your proposal to this call.

If you answer this call, you are excited to prepare for an interactive and co-creative format. We welcome any great ideas for formats or different approaches to presenting, sharing, and learning together. Please also note that the conference will be in English, no translation will be available.

We always look for quality content and topicality. We strive for diversity in gender, cultural background, in geography and more. We welcome and encourage leads and submissions from everyone. This also includes speakers of varying exposure and experience – the important thing is that you tap into the theme and have something to share.

Please submit your proposals and leads to CityDNA associates and conference designers, Group NAO before June 24, 2022: nao@groupnao.com

CityDNA and Group NAO reserve the right to select the best suited proposals regarding the theme of the conference! Expect to hear from us mid-July.