Last week, David Scowsill hung up his hat after six years as the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) CEO. He spoke to Travel Weekly news editor Johanna Jainchill about his tenure, why the travel and tourism sector is so strong and how artificial intelligence will enhance the travel industry. Q: What were some of the WTTC's greatest achievements under your leadership?

A: The key thing is we brought all of the different areas of the sector together. We created the Global Travel Association Coalition with [the United Nations World Travel Organization], IATA, CLIA [and other travel groups], which makes sure all the global industry organizations are talking with one voice and the same set of data to make sure governments understand how important this industry is. We've consolidated the voices, the research and the sound bites. In the last five years we've seen 85 presidents and prime ministers. By educating the heads of state, when they have their own cabinet meetings they are talking from a position of knowledge. That is really important in making sure travel and tourism is taken with the importance it deserves given that we generate 10% of the GDP [gross domestic product] and 10% of the jobs on the planet.

Q: There is concern that our new president isn't as travel-industry focused as his predecessor, based on early policies like the travel ban and the proposal to defund Brand USA. How can the industry convince the Trump administration of travel's importance?

A: It took the Obama administration about two years to start thinking about this industry and a lot of work by [the U.S. Travel Association] before implementing so many pro-travel policies: faster visa processing in Brazil and China, the launch of Brand USA. What triggered that? A realization that the U.S. had lost $600 billion during the 10 years post-9/11 from lost market share. Once they realized what the U.S. had forgone, the economic argument was clear.

We are fortunate that [Donald] Trump comes from our industry and given his private interest in golf, hotels and leisure around the world, he absolutely does understand the power of this industry to create jobs and American jobs. Clearly with the travel ban attempts and what's been happening with Cuba, some things are potentially negative for our industry going forward. With any government, we have to start the process all over again.

Q: What trends do you see shaping the future of travel?

A: 2017 is very different from 2010, when I took the helm of the WTTC, with major geopolitical movements, from the Arab Spring to the rise in populism; the rising number and changing nature of terrorist attacks, particularly in Western countries; the growing economic power of China and India; the rise of the sharing economy; the move to mobile; and the awareness and almost complete acceptance of the urgency to address climate change.

Artificial intelligence, machine learning and robotics will certainly impact jobs in travel over time. Many [jobs] will become redundant, but others will be created. Service delivery in travel and tourism relies on people; it is the people [who] ultimately define the experience. Virtual reality will enhance the industry rather than compete with it. The opportunities? -- be it children learning in a classroom, training tourism workers to spot potential terrorists, learning to repair jet engines or a terminally ill person visiting the world from their bed? -- are huge.

Q: You've said despite many challenges, the travel industry is strong.

A: Yes, there are lots of reasons why. We'll grow 3% to 4% every year despite the increasing number of terror attacks, the natural disasters, the political changes and the occasional outbreak like Zika and Ebola. All of those will continue. And the executives of every company have to budget for that level of uncertainty. Something will hit them. But overall, the prospects for the industry are very good. It's driven by a movement toward Asia, more people coming to the middle class, particularly in Asia, Latin America and Africa. The fundamentals of people still wanting to travel for leisure purposes are there. For the last six years our industry has grown 1% faster than the GDP, and I anticipate that happening for the next five years.

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World Travel & Tourism Council's David Scowsill - Travel Weekly