Among the topics discussed at the "Global Tourism Summit 2025", held in Rome from September 28 to 30 (see AVIONEWS), was the transportation sector in relation to travel. The panel, titled "Industry Deep Dive: Transport Across Land, Sea & Air," focused on this topic. Speakers included Pierfrancesco Vago, executive chairman of Msc Group's Cruise Division, Tony Fernandes, ceo of Capital/A AirAsia, and Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, chairman of Italo Spa. The moderator was Kelly Craighead, ceo of Vertimas.

The speakers agreed that the concepts of intermodality and multimodality are central to transportation. The discussion highlighted the importance of creating synergies between the air, rail, and maritime transport sectors to enable a flawless journey. The shared vision that emerged regarding what tourists seek today when traveling is a holistic approach on the part of the tour operators they rely on: people want to ensure that the companies or firms -the "brands"- they turn to will "take complete care of them" and "will not leave them alone". According to Vago, it is therefore essential for a company to strengthen its branding in this regard, which reflects the company's distinctive vision and the offering it offers. Also crucial, as Cordero di Montezemolo emphasized, is the purpose behind the brand: for example, in the railway sector, it is essential that the quality of life on board trains is excellent, that the service is high-quality, and that intermodal transport is ensured in a well-organized and functional manner.