Panel Session

Prosperity through connectivity: Tourism and regional sustainable development

With tourism expected to grow in both developed and emerging economies:

• How can improved transport connectivity enable tourism development at local and regional levels?
• What are examples of connectivity projects that have spurred tourism, job creation and sustainable regional development? 

Connecting vehicles and infrastructure

Vehicle-to-vehicle communications and vehicle-to-infrastructure technologies, as well as alternative technological solutions (i.e. long range communication), are transforming motor vehicle transport by making road systems safer and more efficient within and across regions.

• What infrastructure will be needed for connected and automated vehicles of the future?
• How can related data be shared in a controlled and secure manner?
• What is the role of international cooperation, including international standardisation?

Ensuring regional air connectivity

• What is the role of governments in support of regional air connectivity?
• What are the costs and benefits of government intervention in the market for regional air connectivity?
• What policies supporting domestic air connectivity are proving cost-effective?
• How can aviation stakeholders work together and leverage new technologies to improve efficiency, security, and travellers’ experiences?

Supply chain connectivity in a changing global economy

Transport connectivity is essential for the emergence and expansion of global value chains.

• How are changes in the global distribution of economic activity affecting trade flows? What do these changes mean for international transport and logistics and supply chains? What are the implications for the environment?
• How do these changes manifest themselves in different regions? What are specific regional solutions?
• How can new opportunities for data generation and sharing shape the transformation of logistics chains (e.g. maritime sector, multimodal transport, etc.)?  

Resilient connectivity: Minimising the impact of network disruptions

Ensuring adaptation and resilience of transport networks remains high on the policy agenda across ITF member countries, especially in the wake of natural (such as climate change related), political and economic events.

• What are effective strategies for increasing resilience and improving network reliability?
• How can built-in redundancy, enhanced management capacity and preparedness contribute to more resilient transport networks? How can international cooperation and contingency planning for resilience enable this?

The session may feature a diverse set of case studies, such as of Euro-Asia supply chains.

Maximising regional value through maritime connectivity investment

• Do maritime subsidies enhance regional growth, well-being and land-side connectivity? If so, in what ways?
• How can foreign investment in maritime assets create positive local spillover effects?
• What is the impact on ports and related policies?

Connecting regions through rail

• How can rail systems connect regions over short and medium distances across borders, within a country and at the urban level?
• When is high-speed rail the right option? What are effective investment strategies to ensure that high-speed rail is well integrated with other transport systems (i.e. local rail, metro systems), as well as across regions and borders?
• Rail vs. air travel: what are the advantages and drawbacks (e.g. environmental and economic impacts of competition)?