- An all-star panel of tourism leaders will rethink tourism policies for the future and our youth at the upcoming Virtual Asian Leadership Conference in Korea.
- Members of the Amforth, the World Tourism Network, and the African Tourism Board are invited to virtually attend without charge.
- Rebuilding Trust and Cooperation is the theme of a panel discussion organized by Amforth under the moderation by Korean Ambassador Dho young-shim and Philippe Francoise, president of Amforth.
eTurboNews will livestream the upcoming conference. The World after COVID-19: Rebuilding Trust and Cooperation. This is the expected outcome for ideas at the conference in Cooperation with Amforth.
eTurboNews publisher Juergen Steinmetz, who is also a board member at Amforht, and the Chairman for the World Tourism Network said: “We’re excited to assist this important initiative and are looking forward bringing it to the world of tourism professionals around the world in real-time. We’re even more excited that some of our readers that are members of the World Tourism Network, the African Tourism Board, and Amforth can be part of the audience.”
Visit https://worldtourismevents.com/event/asian-leadership-conference/ to find out more and register for the June 30/ July 1 event.
Many people around the world are vaccinated against COVID-19. In some countries, such as the United States and Israel, people are taking off their masks and returning to pre-pandemic conditions. What will happen to the tourism industry in the post-corona era? The global tourism industry has virtually stopped for the past two years due to COVID-19. If cross-border travel resumes, will people travel around the world as they did before the pandemic? In this session, tourism experts such as Do Young-shim, former president of the UN World Tourism Organization (ST-EP) Foundation and World Travel & Tourism Council ambassador, will discuss the hotel and tourism industry in the post-corona era.
Speakers:
Sarah Ferguson
Founder of Sarath Trust and Children in Crisis, former Crown Princess of England Prince Andrew
Duchess Sarah Ferguson is the former wife of Prince Andrew, the second prince of Elizabeth II. She was a member of the British Royal Family for 10 years from 1986 to 1996 and was awarded the title Duchess of York by the British Royal Family. He wrote many works as a philanthropist and as a fairy tale writer. He founded the charity Children in Crisis in 1993 and the Sarah Ferguson Foundation in 2006. The foundation is headquartered in New York and works for the welfare of children around the world. Although she divorced Prince Andrew, the British royal family still treats her as the ‘mother of princesses’.
Gloria Guevara
Chief Special Advisor to Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Tourism, President and CEO of World Travel and Tourism Association (WTTC)
Gloria Guevara, Saudi Arabia’s Chief Special Advisor to the Ministry of Tourism, is the Chairman and CEO of the World Travel and Tourism Association (WTTC). She served as Mexico’s Minister of Tourism from 2010 to 2012. She holds a BS in Computer Science from the University of Anahuac, Mexico, and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management. Starting with NCR Corporation, a global point-of-sale information management system (POS) software supplier in 1989, Chairman Guevara served as a logistics and project manager for the IT industry in North America, Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa. Gloria Guevara has been in the travel industry since 1995. In particular, he held positions such as Managing Director, Customer Service & Operations, Vendor Management, and Service Solutions at Sabre Travel Network, an IT company related to the global travel industry, for 14 years and 7 months.CNN and eTurboNews named her “Mexico’s Most Influential Woman”. She is a Special Advisor to the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Travel and Tourism Industry Outlook Agenda Advisory Board, and the World Tourism Forum’s Lucerne Think Tank.
Olivier Ponti
Vice President of Insights, ForwardKeys
Olivier Ponti, Vice President of Insights, ForwardKeys is a world authority in travel industry research and travel marketing. Ponti served as research manager for Amsterdam’s marketing team. At that time, it was a great help in attracting tourism and business investment in Amsterdam. He served as Chairman of the European Urban Marketing (ECM) Research & Statistics group until June 2018. It has played a pivotal role in developing the group’s research tools and reports and establishing strategic partnerships. He holds a master’s degree in economics from the Sciences-Po of Paris and a master’s degree in tourism development from the Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne. He is currently teaching at the Department of Tourism Development at the Panthéon Sorbonne.
Liz Ortigera
CEO, Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA)
Liz Ortigera, CEO of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), is an expert with more than 25 years of global experience and knowledge in management, marketing, business development, and partner network management. Ortigera’s career spans multiple industries, including travel and lifestyle, technology, financial services, and pharmaceuticals. He has worked for a number of multinational companies such as American Express and Merck, as well as IT companies related to software as a service (SaaS), e-commerce, and education. He served as Regional General Manager for 10 years for Amex (American Express)’s Global Business Travel Partner Network in the Asia Pacific. Ortigera earned a double degree in chemical engineering from Cooper Union and chemistry from New York University (NYU). He also received an MBA from Columbia Business School.
Taleb Rifai
Former Secretary-General of the United Nations World Tourism Organization
Taleb Lipai, former Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization, is the first Jordanian-born United Nations Secretary-General. From 2006 to 2009, he served as the deputy secretary-general of the United Nations World Tourism Organization, and from 2010 to 2017, he served as the secretary-general. During his tenure as secretary-general, he increased the contribution of the tourism industry to the rapidly changing global market and reorganized the tourism agenda and evaluation system. Prior to the UN World Tourism Organization secretary-general, he served as the CEO of a Jordanian state-owned cement company and succeeded in privatizing a state-owned enterprise for the first time in Jordan. He also served as Jordan’s Minister of Tourism.
Martin Bath
Chairman and CEO, World Tourism Forum (WTFL) Lucerne
Martin Bass is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the World Lucerne Tourism Forum. Martin Bass began his career in 1994 with the hotel and food company Movenpick Group. In 1997, he was appointed secretary-general of the Movenpick Group and oversaw legal, real estate mediation and personnel services. After that, he became interested in tourism and lodging, and in 2001 tried to manage hotel facilities and promote social media. In 2003, he chaired the Tourism and Transportation sector at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Lucerne. In 2009, the World Lucerne Tourism Forum was planned and organized to promote the tourism industry in collaboration with representatives and ministers of each country. He is conducting global consulting on tourism promotion and hotel management.
Francesco Frangialli
Former Secretary-General of the United Nations World Tourism Organization
Francesco Frangialli is the former Secretary-General of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (WTO). He served as the World Tourism Organization’s Vice-Chancellor from 1990-1996, and was re-elected for three consecutive terms from 1998-2009. He made the World Tourism Organization, a non-governmental organization (NGO), a subsidiary of the United Nations. During his tenure, he adopted the World Tourism Code of Ethics, which is the basis of ‘responsible travel’ to preserve the economy, nature and culture of the country to which it travels. He also argued that tourism should be a key element on the international agenda in order to achieve sustainable development and the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. Secretary-General Francesco served as Professor Emeritus at the Faculty of Hotel Management at Hong Kong Polytechnic University until 2016, researching international tourism and travel. A representative paper is <Considerations on International Tourism>.
Sheika My Bint Muhammad Al Khalifa
Bahraini Minister of Culture
Sheika Mai Bint Mohammad Al Khalifa, former Minister of Culture of Bahrain, has developed cultural infrastructure for the preservation of Bahraini’s relics and heritage and sustainable tourism industry. She founded the Shaikh bin Mohammed Al Khalifa Cultural Center and has been Chairman of the Board of Directors since 2002. It also established the Bahrain Port Sight Museum and major cultural attractions in Bahrain. She was ranked #6 among the most influential women in the Middle East in 2014. She contributed to the designation of the pearl industry on the island of Muharraq, Bahrain, as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In recognition of this achievement, she was awarded the 2015 Arab Woman of the Year award. King Hamad of Bahrain also awarded her the Order of the First Class. In 2020, he was appointed secretary-general of the World Tourism Organization.
István Ujhelyi
Member of the European Parliament
Istvan Ujhelyi, a former member of the Hungarian National Assembly, graduated from the Faculty of Law at Szeged University and joined the Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP). He served as Minister of State through the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development. From 2006 to 2010, he chaired the National Tourism Commission. After being elected to the European Parliament in 2014, he was elected as the chairperson of the Tourism Committee of the Transportation and Tourism Committee. In 2019, he was appointed Vice-Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament.He oversaw tourism policies such as ‘EU-China Tourism Year 2018’ and ‘European Tourism Capital Project’. He also established and chaired the European-China OBOR Cultural Tourism Development Committee.
Dimitrios Papadimoulis
Vice President of the European Parliament
Dimitrios Papadimoulis, Vice-Chairman of the European Parliament, is a Greek politician representing the ‘Left-Nordic Green Left’ in the European Parliament. He is a member of the European Parliament’s Budget Committee, the Economic and Monetary Committee and the European-American Relations Delegation. He is considered one of the most powerful politicians in the European Parliament. He was named one of the top 10 most influential MPs in the European Parliament for 2020.
Oh Se-hoon
Mayor of Seoul, Korea
The 38th mayor of Seoul. Mayor Oh Se-hoon graduated from Korea University Law School and passed the 26th Bar Exam. After that, he worked as a lawyer and university professor before entering politics. He was elected as the 16th National Assembly member and served as the 33rd and 34th mayor of Seoul.Mayor Oh planned Sebitseom and Dongdaemun Design Plaza as a public transportation transfer system in the metropolitan area and Design Seoul industry. He was also the first in the world to be awarded the United Nations Public Administration Award (UNPSA) for four consecutive years.
Elena Kountoura
Member European Parliament
Elena Kountoura , Member of the European Parliament, is a politician who served as Greece’s Minister of Tourism. He entered the Greek Parliament when he was elected to the Athens parliament. She is a member of the Transport and Tourism Committee of the European Parliament, the Special Committee on AI and Digital Age, and the Korean International Relations Delegation. Prior to entering politics, she worked in several positions, including international model, director of women’s magazines, and track and field athlete.
Do Young-shim
Chairman of the UN Sustainable Development Goals Advisory Committee, World Travel and Tourism Association (WTTC) Ambassador
Do Young-shim, chairman of the UN Sustainable Development Goals Advisory Committee, has been taking the lead in resolving social imbalances in underdeveloped countries and African regions through the development of the tourism industry for over 20 years. Chairman Do has led the World Tourism Organization Step Foundation, the first UN-affiliated organization in Korea, since 2004. The Step Foundation was established with the goal of eradicating poverty through a sustainable tourism industry in underdeveloped countries. Chairman Do has been trying to make Korea known to the world. He served as chairman of the ‘Visit Korea Year’ promotion committee in 2001, cultural cooperation ambassador for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade from 2003 to 2004, and tourism and sports ambassador for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in 2005.
Philippe Françoise
General Manager of Amport, International Association for the Development of World Tourism
President Philippe Francois is currently the general manager of the World Association for Hospitality and Tourism Education and Training (AMFORH), an international association for the development of the global tourism industry. He has been active in international organizations related to tourism, hospitality and restaurants since 1992. He has participated in more than 130 international projects, including human resource development, sustainable territory design and planning, and the establishment and development of professional associations. In 1994 he founded FRANCOIS-TOURISME-CONSULTANTS, a company providing international consulting services in the field of sustainable development and human resource management. He holds an MBA in tourism planning and design from the University of Bordeaux, France.
Mario Hardy
Former CEO , Asia Pacific Tourism Association
Mario Hardy is the former CEO of the Asia Pacific Tourism Association (PATA). He has served as an advisor to the board of directors at Vin Capital, a Malaysian venture capital firm, Sirium, a British aviation intelligence and analytics firm, and the International Association of Business Executives (GCBL), a non-profit organization that promotes collaborations between world-class entrepreneurs. Since 2013, he has been working as Managing Director of MAP2VENTURES, a venture investment company in Singapore. He was also invited as a speaker at the ‘Digital Tourism Summit 2020’, the largest tourism industry conference in the Asia-Pacific region.
Maribel Rodriguez
Senior Vice President, World Travel and Tourism Association (WTTC) Membership, Advertising & Events Department
Vice-Chairman Maribel Rodriguez is in charge of advertising at the World Travel and Tourism Association (WTTC). From 2014 to 2019, he oversaw Southern Europe and Latin America at the World Travel and Tourism Association (WTTC). He has served as Public Relations Officer and Director of Travelodge Hotels in Spain and has served on the Madrid Hotel Commission and Tourism Commission. Currently, the ‘#Women Leading Tourism’ campaign is underway. She holds a BA in Industrial Psychology from the University of Salamanca, Spain and an EMBA from the Pontifical University of Comillas.
For more information and to register go to https://worldtourismevents.com/event/asian-leadership-conference/
Amforht president Philipple Francoise was recently on eTurboNews Daily News mentioning this event: