23 Feb 2026
As the next crisis looms, Travel & Tourism faces a failure of leadership
Bangkok – In my 45 years of reporting on Thai, ASEAN and Asia-Pacific Travel & Tourism, I have covered multiple crises. Three of the most devastating were the 1997 financial crisis, the 2004 tsunami and the 2020-2022 Covid pandemic.
Each left a swathe of destruction, with Travel & Tourism being particularly badly hit. At the core of each recovery campaign which followed was the setting up of an early warning system to provide advance notice of the next crisis. Hence:
(+) The 1997 Asian financial crisis led to the setting up of currency swaps and protective measures to ward off speculation and maintain fiscal and monetary stability. Those early warning systems have helped protect Asia from further crises, both internal as well as external ones such as the European sovereign debt crisis of 2009-2010.
(+) The 2004 tsunami also was followed by the establishment of early warning systems comprising of satellites, watchtowers, SMS alerts, etc., to give people time to get to higher ground and minimise human casualties.
(+) The Covid pandemic, and various other health crises, such as SARS, also proved the value of early warning and rapid-response systems. When the first signs of Covid emerged, medical teams mobilised post-haste to set up monitoring systems at the airports. This curbed what would otherwise have been a rapid spread of the virus.
The authorities responsible for disaster management, national finance and public health have all learned their lessons.
Travel & Tourism leaders have not.
Today, there is plenty of early warning about the possibility of an attack on Iran.
In addition to the massive human suffering and casualties, it will trigger a massive ripple-effect impact across economies, societies and global geopolitics.
Travel & Tourism will take a major hit. It will be followed by economic destruction, societal polarisation, terrorism, and of course increased security measures and curbs on free speech, protests, etc.
Is any of this new? No. There is plenty of historical and empirical evidence to show clearly that conflicts of any kind have a serious impact on Travel & Tourism.
In spite of that, Travel & Tourism industry leaders are doing / saying nothing to avert it. They claim it is out of their control.
Hogwash.
As this is a looming manmade disaster, it can be averted by man. It is not an act of God, like a tsunami or an earthquake.
The silence of these lambs makes them guilty of a serious dereliction of duty.
Why do they choose to become leaders in the first place? To market themselves? Line their pockets? Give fancy speeches? Coin “visionary thought-leadership” slogans?
Whom do they represent? Themselves? Their private business interests? Their political parties? Their prime ministers?
No, they represent the people. And when hundreds of millions of people who work in Travel & Tourism and are yet again at risk of losing their jobs, leaders are legally and morally obliged to defend them, especially if it requires speaking truth to power.
In other words, the job of Travel & Tourism leaders is to save the jobs of their constituents, especially at the rank-and-file level.
Merely mounting “resilience and recovery” campaigns later is not going to cut it.
Willfully sweeping this openly onrushing threat — no different from a financial crash, a tsunami or a virus — under the carpet makes them unworthy of their leadership roles.
Since the 1980s, early warning bells have been sounded about climate change, a slower-moving but equally life-threatening disaster. The response has been far more vigorous and energetic. Travel & Tourism leaders of all shades have championed the cause with great gusto.
Much has been said about the emergence of women leaders. Today, for the first time, both the two apex global tourism organisations, UN Tourism and the World Travel & Tourism Council, are headed by women. Another major tourism organisation, the Pacific Asia Travel Association (which claims to be the “Voice of Asia Pacific Tourism”), is headed by an American.
When are they going to do their jobs?
Travel & Tourism is set to feel the heat from a confluence of crises, all of which can be linked back to the Trump regime: The unilateral imposition of tariffs, the scandalous Epstein revelations, the Clash of Civilisations, and more.
An attack on Iran will make everything far worse, especially for the rank-and-file, the very people whom Travel & Tourism leaders are supposed to represent and defend.
Indeed, it is time for the rank-and-file workers and Young Gen, whose jobs and livelihoods are again at stake, to rise up and demand accountability.
All leaders are keen to ensure their place in history. They all want to be recognised for their “legacy” and “achievements.” The millions of people working in Travel & Tourism now need to tell them that their place in history is as good as damned if they ignore these early warnings.
As for those who lose their jobs, I would strongly urge them NEVER to return to Travel & Tourism. An industry with leaders who cannot be trusted to stand up for their constituents is an insecure, unsafe, unstable industry to work in.
Not a good career prospect by any chance.