<\/p>\n
From the future of AI (nicknamed super intelligence) to airline competition and the growing threat of climate change, Australian travel industry leaders tackled some of the sector\u2019s biggest challenges at ATIA\u2019s Beyond Borders 2026 summit in Melbourne on Friday.<\/strong><\/p>\n Held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre on 9 October, Beyond Borders brought together senior executives, regulators and travel professionals to examine the forces shaping the industry in 2027 and beyond.<\/p>\n The event also delivered a major leadership announcement, with ATIA Chair Christian Hunter confirming CEO Dean Long would remain with the association for at least another three years.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve just entered into the new agreement that should see him connected to the association for at least the next three years,\u201d Hunter told delegates.<\/p>\n Hunter used his opening address to outline progress on Project A30, ATIA\u2019s five-year strategic framework through to 2030, highlighting the importance of unified advocacy, accreditation and data-led decision-making.<\/p>\n Long, meanwhile, took aim at the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) over its approach to credit-card surcharging and its refusal to attend the conference.<\/p>\n \u201cWe did invite the RBA to come here today. They declined. Not sure why,\u201d Long said, later quipping that the regulator \u201cwon\u2019t come and talk to anybody\u201d.<\/p>\n Artificial intelligence emerged as one of the day\u2019s defining themes, particularly during the Industry Leaders Panel: Where Travel Goes Next.<\/p>\n Moderated by Long, the discussion brought together Helloworld Travel executive director Cinzia Burnes, Flight Centre Travel Group global leisure CEO James Kavanagh, G Adventures managing director Australia, New Zealand and Asia Sean Martin, and Goldman Travel Group joint managing director David Goldman.<\/p>\n Kavanagh warned that AI could transform 71 per cent of businesses in half the time it took the internet to reshape industries, citing industry research and urging travel businesses to rethink their competitive advantage.<\/p>\n Burnes described AI as \u201cautomation implementation\u201d rather than artificial intelligence, highlighting its ability to dramatically reduce time spent on routine tasks, while Goldman emphasised the importance of preserving human expertise.<\/p>\n The panel also explored the resilience of leisure travel, with Kavanagh revealing Flight Centre had recorded its strongest July despite a challenging preceding quarter. Martin highlighted the benefits of CATO\u2019s merger with ATIA, particularly the industry\u2019s ability to advocate with a unified voice.<\/p>\n The panel also prompted a slightly pointed clarification from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade\u2019s Clare Walsh, who noted that changes to Australia\u2019s Middle East travel advice were not made in response to ATIA\u2019s advocacy campaign.<\/p>\n \u201cWe definitely do not bring our travel advice levels down because you ask us to,\u201d she said, while praising the campaign\u2019s timing and effectiveness and commending Long\u2019s advocacy.<\/p>\n Aviation competition was another major focus, with ACCC executive director David Cranston and director of enforcement Tony Hilton joining Long for the Aviation Outlook: Competition, Capacity and What Comes Next session.<\/p>\n The regulator highlighted that domestic airline seat capacity had remained virtually flat since 2015, despite Australia\u2019s population growing by almost 20 per cent over the same period.<\/p>\n The discussion also exposed the limits of the ACCC\u2019s powers to intervene in airline pricing. Long cited an example in which a one-way Melbourne\u2013Hobart business class fare cost as much as a return economy flight to Paris.<\/p>\n The ACCC representatives explained that high prices were not necessarily unlawful, even where limited competition allowed airlines to charge substantial fares.<\/p>\n Airline alliances, including Qantas\u2013Emirates and Virgin Australia\u2013Qatar Airways, were also examined, alongside Sydney Airport slot reforms intended to improve transparency, oversight and competition.<\/p>\n The From Research to Reality: What the Industry Is Seeing Next panel, moderated by ATIA director of communications and media LJ Loch, explored how changing consumer behaviour, climate disruption and technology are affecting travel businesses.<\/p>\n Intrepid Travel managing director ANZ Brett Mitchell revealed that climate change had become the company\u2019s number one business risk.<\/p>\n \u201cOur fastest growing P&L line item is the salaries and wages for crisis management,\u201d Mitchell said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s getting worse. It\u2019s our number one risk for our business, climate change.\u201d<\/p>\n Mitchell said increasingly frequent and severe disruptions reinforced the value of trusted travel professionals who could support customers when things went wrong.<\/p>\n BCD Travel managing director, Australia & Singapore Danielle Russom highlighted AI\u2019s potential to improve customer servicing and back-end operations, while Signature Travel Network\u2019s Damian Borg encouraged advisors to scrutinise customers\u2019 AI-generated itineraries rather than accept them at face value.<\/p>\n An Allianz representative also highlighted research indicating that 68 per cent of travellers surveyed in the Northern Hemisphere now consider extreme weather when planning holidays.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n kabarsula SLOT <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" From the future of AI (nicknamed super intelligence) to airline competition and the growing threat…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2815,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2814","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kabarsula"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kabarsula.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2814","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kabarsula.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kabarsula.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kabarsula.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kabarsula.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2814"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kabarsula.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2814\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kabarsula.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2815"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kabarsula.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2814"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kabarsula.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2814"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kabarsula.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2814"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}AI set to reshape the travel industry<\/strong><\/h2>\n
ACCC puts airline competition under the microscope<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Climate change emerges as Intrepid\u2019s biggest risk<\/strong><\/h2>\n