‘Vaccines are the key to unlocking pent-up travel demand’ – new Marriott CEO

In an interview with CNN’s Richard Quest, Marriott International’s newly appointed CEO Tony Capuano has emphasised the importance of a broad distribution of COVID-19 vaccines to kick-start recovery of the travel sector.

Voicing what he describes as the frustration of tourism officials around the world, the CEO maintains that “we wish we had all the tools available to solve all of these challenges ourselves. We feel that we have pulled all of the levers that we can pull, in terms of offering touchless experiences so our guests feel safe, [and] working through our loyalty program to drive demand and enthusiasm for travel.”

Ultimately, he says, “I think that broad distribution of the vaccine, [and] more open borders are going to be critical, and we only have so much influence in achieving some of those goals.”

Mr Capuano, who was recently appointed Chief Executive Officer follow the unexpected passing of Marriott President and CEO Arne Sorenson last February, continued to say that “vaccinations are the key to unlocking all the pent-up travel demand that exists – both for travellers and employees in the travel industry.”