Travel has always been at the heart of Richard Styles’s adult life. He started his career as a travel agent, went on safari to Africa and met an Irish lass called Grainne. He then took a role with Flight Centre Travel Group (FCTG) in Singapore so he could live in the same city as Grainne, which worked out well, as now they are married with two children.
Over an eleven-year period, Richard held a number of senior roles with FCTG in Australia and Singapore before taking the role of Regional Director of Sales for Hotelbeds in Singapore, where he worked for five years, which then led him to his current Melbourne-based role as Regional Sales Director for Qatar Tourism.
We caught up with Richard to talk about The FIFA World Cup Qatar™ and leadership for a new era.
What’s happening in your business, and how does the forthcoming period look?
We are in a period of transformation at Qatar Tourism. As a destination in the Middle East, we’re not that well known. Everyone knows Qatar, but they don’t really know what there is to do in Qatar.
In terms of promoting ourselves as a destination, we are not trying to be the next Dubai or Abu Dhabi. We have our own identity, and that is to provide our visitors with an authentic Middle Eastern experience that mixes Qatari culture and breathtaking landscapes, all in a modern, sophisticated metropolis.
In November, the eyes of the world will be on Qatar as we host the first FIFA World Cup in the Arab world. We are expecting over 1.2 million visitors and a global TV audience of over 5 billion, so this will be Qatar’s chance to shine.
In terms of product offering, the focus for the forthcoming period is our promotion of the World’s Best Value Stopover, which allows travellers to stayover in Doha’s tunning 5-star hotels for around AU$30 per night has resonated with travellers, and we are getting a lot of take up of the offer.
What are you excited about right now?
The FIFA World Cup Qatar™ kicks off in November. Usually, Qatar has around 2 million visitors annually, but this November, we expect to welcome around 1.2 million guests for the World Cup in one month! So it will be incredibly busy but wonderful.
What are the biggest challenges for travel?
I’m sure everyone is saying this, but staffing shortages. We lost so many great people from the industry, and those that are left are run off their feet.
Another challenge is the time it’s going to take to get the industry back to optimal speed again. As an industry, we were cocooned for so long it’s got to take some time to get it going again.
What about the biggest opportunities?
Creating more sustainable tourism options. During the period of hibernation, we had some time to think about how we wanted things to change from a sustainability standpoint. As an industry, we have to stay true to these ideas and make them happen.
How important is leadership right now? What should leadership look like?
Good leadership provides calmness and stability when conditions are evolving. At the moment, we are facing supply and labour shortages, and this is frustrating. For me having a robust plan helps me block out the noise so I can concentrate on what’s in my control.
I believe leading with purpose and being very clear on roles and responsibilities is always pivotal but vitally important right now. Understanding your people and knowing what makes them tick has always been an important lever for me to get the best out of my teams.
What would you like to see change? Or more of?
I’d love to see more people visiting Qatar. We have so many amazing things to see and do, such as shop with locals in the traditional working souq, swim with whale sharks, or visit the National Museum of Qatar or Khor Al Udaid, the inland sea.
How critical is collaboration in the industry?
Collaboration has never been more pivotal. It brought us all together during the pandemic, and we need to ensure we continue working on it.
Covid made us realise how much we need to collaborate. I went to CLIA360 last month in Sydney, and the energy in the room was electric because we were all back interacting human to human. It’s not B to B anymore; it’s H to H.
Do you think enough emphasis is being placed on sustainability in travel and addressing the climate crisis?
Qatar is focused on sustainability, and The FIFA World Cup Qatar™ will be the most sustainable World Cup ever.
With eight stadiums spread out over 75kms connected by an underground metro and electric bus network means that teams and fans don’t have to travel vast distances.
Most stadiums are also demountable and will be scaled down and repurposed for other uses post the world cup, such as health care, hospitality and community football projects across Africa. This innovation is a cornerstone of the post-World Cup legacy.
What are your personal learnings from the pandemic?
Patience! And don’t relocate to Melbourne at the beginning of a pandemic.
What is your message to the industry?
Be resilient. We went from zero enquiries over the pandemic to the phone ringing off the hook, so we have to take deep breaths and forge on.
We need to take inspiration from the graceful duck: above the surface, smiling, gliding along smoothly, but below the surface, kicking like hell and getting the job done.
You can find out more about Richard or get in touch via LinkedIn
