Events, Organisations & Operators,

NYC & Company, President & CEO, Fred Dixon has announced that New York City will host the 50th anniversary SITEGlobal Conference from 17-20 February 2023.
The announcement was made at this week’s Society for Incentive Travel Excellence (SITEGC) 2022, which took place in Dublin this week. It also reflects the wave of optimism within the incentive travel industry as Covid restrictions are lifted.
NYC & Company is the destination marketing organization and convention and visitors bureau for NYC’s five boroughs.
Fred Dixon, NYC & Company, President & CEO, Fred Dixon, said: “We greatly look forward to welcoming SITE attendees back to the five boroughs next year.”

(Above: Fred Dixon, President & CEO, NYC & Company)
While in Dublin, @nycgo has also conducted travel trade media interviews and held a special reception for members of the Irish press, trade, airline partners and meeting planners.
SITE began in 1991, bringing 460 incentive travel professionals from 37 different countries to Dublin. That consolidated a relationship between SITE and Ireland that started way back in 1974 when Anne Wold-Graham, then an employee of the Irish Tourist Board in New York, became SITE’s first President.
If Ireland is a leading destination for incentive travel experiences, then this is due to its relationship with SITE, to the connections that were built and the lessons learned.
Woodlawn Bronx (photo: Brittany Petronella)
Founded in 1973, SITE is a professional association of 2,500 members located in 90 countries, working in corporations, agencies, airlines, cruise companies, and across the entire destination supply chain.
It brings value to its members at both global and local chapter level by networking, online resources, education, certification, and advocacy. SITE is committed to the new generation and operates a best-in-class Young Leaders program and dedicated annual conference.
New York has a numbered of hotels and resorts nominated in this year’s World Travel Awards.

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Saudi Arabia to host WTTC Global Summit in November 2022 More

At the closing session of its Global Summit in Manila, the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) announced that its 22nd event will take place in Riyadh, capital of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, from 29 November to 2 December this year.
In Manila, more than a thousand delegates, including the world’s foremost business leaders, government ministers and key decision-makers from across the global Travel & Tourism sector gathered together, to discuss how to build upon the continuing recovery.
In her farewell address Julia Simpson, WTTC President & CEO, said: “It has been a privilege to bring together so many leaders from across the global Travel & Tourism sector to the beautiful city of Manila.
“This Summit is living proof that nothing beats getting together, sharing ideas, debating the challenges, and finding consensus.
“We still have a lot of work to do to bring down post-pandemic barriers, open economies and harmonise health data for seamless travel. But the future looks bright, and the next decade is there for the taking.ADVERTISEMENT“We look forward to our 22nd Global Summit later this year in Riyadh, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, to mark the next chapter in the sector’s ongoing recovery.”
Fahd Hamidaddin, CEO and Board Member of the Saudi Tourism Authority, said “We are excited to welcome the world to experience the excitement and the energy of Saudi. We promise you that the next summit will be fresh, inspiring, and rewarding.”
Under the theme of ‘Rediscovering Travel’, tourism ministers and Travel & Tourism leaders from around the world reinforced their determination towards greater cooperation and alignment between the public and private sectors.
At WTTC’s Global Leaders Dialogue session they explored how the sector will continue to adapt to COVID-19 and emerge resiliently from the pandemic.
WTTC’s latest Economic Impact Report also revealed the Travel & Tourism sector was expected to create nearly 126 million new jobs within the next decade and Travel & Tourism’s contribution to GDP could reach pre-pandemic levels by 2023.
WTTC’s major ‘Hotel Sustainability Basics’ sustainability initiative was launched at its Global Summit, providing a starting point to drive sustainability throughout the hospitality sector to power the momentum toward responsible Travel & Tourism.
The global body also launched its new cyber resilience report, ‘Codes to resilience’, with Microsoft, for the global Travel & Tourism sector, which outlined pillars to strengthen cyber security for businesses around the world.
British adventurer Bear Grylls was the conference keynote, alongside other major speakers, including American film producer Lawrence Bender, Singapore-born American novelist and writer of satirical novels Kevin Kwan and Indonesian/Dutch environmental activist Melati Wijsen.

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In celebration of Earth Day, Travelport has released the below trend report about the state of sustainability in the travel industry. Together with two of its partners, Virgin Atlantic and Trainline, Travelport shines a light on the sector’s current initiatives with a focus on creating a greener industry for tomorrow.
“Being an environmentalist should not be a competitive advantage, but rather something that the entire travel industry embraces and believes in,” said Jason Clarke, Chief Commercial Officer – Travel Partners at Travelport. “In order for the sector to become truly sustainable, we must first inform customers about the sustainable choices that they have and make those easy to understand. Next, end-to-end green options must be integrated together in a seamless manner. Finally, we must provide the consumer with the ability to offset every mile they travel. It is crucial that the industry works together in order to ensure a greener path forward in the future.”
Eco-Friendly Destinations
While the travel industry and the world at large continues to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, destinations that are viewed as environmentally friendly are gaining popularity with tourists. According to a report by ESOMAR-certified market research*, the ecotourism industry is expected to grow by 15% CAGR, surpassing a valuation of $17 billion. Trend data released from Travelport highlights how the following destinations have become more popular with travelers when compared to their 2019 rankings by booking volume:
Norway: #24 (vs. #35 in 2019)Moving up 11 places in the ranking, Norway’s official slogan is “powered by nature”. Eight tourist destinations have been certified as sustainable by the International Sustainable Tourism Initiative, and the country has an audacious goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2030. Currently, they are one of Europe’s largest providers of hydropower, and they fuel 95% of Norway’s power from that source as well.
So far in 2022, Norway has recovered more than half of its gross pre-pandemic travel activity (56%) with the top destination city, Oslo, primarily attracting solo travelers (42%) and couples (30%) with all traveler types staying 25 days, on average.
Denmark: #40 (vs. #44 in 2019)Moving up 4 spots, Denmark ranks #1 on the Environmental Performance Index*. The country’s capital, Copenhagen, is on track to be carbon neutral by 2025, which is impressive even in a city where 9 out of 10 people own a bike and use it to travel at least 1 mile per day.
Denmark has recovered nearly half of its gross pre-pandemic travel activity (49%) so far this year, with the top destination city, Copenhagen, primarily attracting solo travelers (38%) and couples (36%) with all traveler types staying an average of 20 days per trip.
Ecuador: #44 (vs. #56 in 2019)The World Travel Awards. named Ecuador the world’s leading green destination, and when compared to its popularity in 2019, the country has climbed 12 spots. As one of the most biodiverse destinations on the planet, Ecuador offers visitors access to some of the best eco-lodges in South America.
So far in 2022, Ecuador has recovered two-thirds of its gross pre-pandemic travel activity (67%) with the top destination city, Guayaquil, primarily attracting solo travelers (42%) and families (30%) with all traveler types staying 28 days, on average.
Iceland: #69 (vs. #79 in 2019)Jumping 10 places in the rankings, Iceland is almost entirely powered by geo-thermal energy, which makes it one of the greenest countries in the world. Their renewable energy program alone is said to produce the largest amount of green energy per capita. Visitors often come for incredible views of the Northern Lights or to soak in the natural heated pools of Myvatn Nature Baths.
Iceland has recovered more than half of its gross pre-pandemic travel activity (58%) so far this year, with the top destination city, Reykjavik, primarily attracting couples (48%) who are staying 10 days per trip, on average.
Costa Rica: #46 (vs. #73 in 2019)With one of the biggest jumps on the list, Costa Rica’s popularity has increased 27 spots. As one of the most eco-friendly countries in the world, 93% of its electricity comes from renewable sources. This tropical and volcanic landscape is also fiercely protected to preserve the country’s diverse wildlife and ecology, which is said to hold around 5% of the planet’s total biodiversity. Tourists enjoy coast to coast cycling trips, exploring miles of rainforest, hiking volcanic craters, and relaxing on sandy beaches.
So far in 2022, Costa Rica has recovered 90% of its gross pre-pandemic travel activity with the top destination city, San Jose, primarily attracting a mix of couples (34%), families (33%) and solo travelers (27%) staying 15 days, on average.
Greener SkiesAviation is recognised as one of seven hard to abate sectors and accounts for 2-3% of global emissions worldwide (as of 2019). For more than 15 years, Virgin Atlantic has been an industry leader in sustainability. To reinforce its commitment to sustainability through innovation, transparency and accountability, the airline recently announced its carbon targets to achieve net zero by 2050:
By 2026: 15% gross reduction in CO2/RTK achieved through continued fleet transformation and operational efficiency
By 2030: 15% net reduction in total CO2 emissions, including 10% of fuel sourced from sustainable aviation fuel
By 2040: 40% net reduction in total CO2 emissions
Virgin Atlantic has already reduced its CO2/RTK by 17% (2019 vs 2007) as result of fleet modernisation and operational efficiencies. It operates one of the youngest and cleanest twin-engine fleets in the skies, with an average aircraft age of just under seven years and 68% next generation fleet. This increases to 100% next generation by the beginning of 2027 which will further reduce the airline’s C02/RTK to 30% of the 2007 baseline.
Beyond fleet transformation, Virgin Atlantic is committed to working with new technology innovators to seed, support and adopt the breakthrough technologies capable of delivering change. As a long-standing advocate for Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), Virgin Atlantic has been partnering with LanzaTech since 2011, flying the world’s first commercial flight operated on sustainable fuels in 2018, supporting efforts to build the first U.K. SAF plant by 2025, and partnering with Neste Oyi to bring 2.5 million liters of SAF to London Heathrow in the first half of this year. It also continues to support new technology innovation, most recently working with partners Storegga Geotechnologies and Carbon Engineering to accelerate the use of direct air capture of CO2.
“We know that, as an airline, we have a pivotal role to play in protecting the planet, while connecting people across the globe and strengthening crucial trade connections,” said Luke Ervine, Head of Sustainability at Virgin Atlantic. “For more than a decade we’ve been leading the way in the decarbonisation of the aviation industry. As we emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic, our focus on our carbon targets, paired with global collaboration across the sector and beyond, will help us reach net zero emissions by 2050. There is a long road ahead, but we’re committed to pioneering change and being transparent on our progress.”
The Rise of RailWith a focus on shrinking the region’s carbon output, certain countries within the European Union are considering and/or implementing short-haul flight bans. Last year, France became the first to enact a national ban on short-haul domestic flights where a train journey of two and a half hours (or less) was an option. It speaks to a broader global trend which focuses on the entirety of a journey as opposed to packed, destination-centric itineraries. Rail journeys are often seen as the hero of this movement, and as the world’s leading independent rail travel platform, Trainline partners with hundreds of rail carriers to offer its customers millions of travel options across 45 countries.
According to Trainline, the transport sector is the largest contributor to UK domestic greenhouse gas emissions, contributing 28% of UK domestic emissions in 2018. The main source of these emissions is the use of petrol and diesel in road transport. Similarly, in Europe, transport accounts for more than a fifth of greenhouse gas emissions, almost 72% of which come from road transport.
Rail offers travelers a greener alternative, generating less than 1/20 of the CO2 emissions of air travel and approximately 1/7 of the CO2 emissions compared with car travel, per passenger*.
On average, Trainline customers save over 1.5 megatons of CO2 emissions each year by using rail instead of road. The company also states that 60% of Britons feel a sense of pride to travel by train, knowing it’s better for the environment.
“Awareness of the carbon footprint of travel is at an all-time high, and as business travel starts to resume in high numbers again, we have the ideal opportunity to encourage a significant change in travel habits,” said Liz Emmott, Global Distribution Director for Trainline Partner Solutions. “The decision is no longer about price alone, but also how travel is contributing to companies’ net-zero commitments. By making sure rail options are readily available and attractive, we have a great opportunity to support the switch to rail.”

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The most famous golf course in the world was the backdrop for the American Society of Travel Advisors’ (ASTA) first-ever Travel Masters, held earlier this month, at St. Andrews, Scotland, the home of golf and the 2022 British Open in July. This invitation-only leadership event brought together agency owners and supplier executives at the renowned Fairmont St. Andrews, where close to fifty participants gathered for a once-in-a-lifetime experience to golf on the Castle Course and Old Course.
“We are a mission-driven organisation comprised of over 17,000 U.S. based travel advisors who rely on us to represent them at all levels of government, within the industry and to the traveling public,” said Zane Kerby, President and CEO of ASTA. “The Travel Masters brought together executive leaders, from both the supplier and agency community, who believe in this mission and who believe in ASTA’s advocacy. The generous support of our partner sponsors; BCD and United Airlines, American Airlines, Celebrity Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Lines, Signature Travel Network, and Viking, literally made this event possible. Their presence builds ASTA and strengthens our ability to fulfill our mission.”
Ken McNab, Managing Director at the Travel Company Edinburgh and ASTA’s UK chapter president, spotted and made ASTA aware of the opening at St. Andrews back in 2020, working with ASTA’s late Bob Duglin. Ken, along with his compatriot, Angelina Fairgrave at the Travel Company Edinburgh, worked tirelessly to bring the Travel Masters program to life.
“ASTA’s commitment to support this event brought Scotland an open door to improve our international traffic through the stream of our U.S. trade partners,” said McNab. “The team at The Travel Company Edinburgh and In2Scotland believe that the refreshed relationships developed through our partnership will help us face the new world of travel together. With the success of this event, we can focus on strengthening trade and ties with the U.S. and our partners through ASTA.”ADVERTISEMENTSupporting ASTA’s advocacy mission through executive leadership was the primary focus of this inaugural event in St. Andrews. Jennifer Wilson Buttigieg, Co-President of Valerie Wilson Travel, a Froch Company, is the co-chair of ASTA’s Government & Political Affairs Committee and the driving force behind gathering industry advocacy support as Honorary Chair of the Travel Masters event.
“I am a long-standing partner and advocate for ASTA,” said Wilson Buttigieg. “I was honored to be a part of this inaugural ASTA Travel Masters event. With two major industry shifts occurring: (1) a rebound in travel as we migrate from pandemic to endemic globally and (2) the heighten role of the travel advisor – it is critical that we continue to speak in one unified voice. This event was a fantastic forum to discuss, share and raise money. We still have a long way to go, and this is one of many initiatives. Please get involved!”
St Andrews Links – Old Course is nominated as Scotland’s Best Golf Course 2022 by World Golf Awards.

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Future Travel Experience has announced that Enterprise Ireland is an official Headline Partner of the co-located FTE EMEA, FTE Ancillary & FTE World Airport Retailing Summit events, taking place at the RDS in Dublin on 7-9 June. The Irish government organisation, responsible for the development and growth of Irish enterprises in world markets, will provide a unique platform for aviation and travel vendors to showcase their solutions through a dedicated Enterprise Ireland Pavilion on the main expo hall.
Gavin O’Connell, Development Adviser, High Potential Start Ups (HPSU’s), Enterprise Ireland, said: “We are excited to be part of the upcoming FTE Dublin show, where we can showcase an array of client companies, and provide them critical exposure to the world’s leading airlines and airports, as part of our efforts to help Irish businesses start, grow, innovate and win export sales through our international network.”
The FTE Dublin mega-show will attract over 800 senior air transport and travel sector executives from around the world, who will be inspired on the most innovative digital, customer experience, future mobility and commercial approaches. Under the theme of “Scaling Innovation”, the three co-located events will champion bold new ideas, solutions, collaboration and innovation efforts to ensure we achieve an industry recovery that makes air transport even stronger in the long-term. Attendees will have access to multiple conference tracks, a major end-to-end exhibition, co-creation workshops, tours, briefings, startup content and showcases, and a unique social and networking programme in the heart of Dublin, including a Closing Party at the Guinness Storehouse.
Among the confirmed speakers are high-level executives from Ryanair, Wizz Air, Lufthansa, Ferrovial, Fast Future Research, Manna Drone Delivery, Finnair, All Nippon Airways, Turkish Airlines, Aeroporti di Roma, Aena, Swedavia, McKinsey & Company, Avalon, Swoop, SunExpress, Cebu Pacific Air, AirAsia, Fraport, Cathay Pacific, Dublin Airport, Alaska Airlines, Transavia, easyJet, Istanbul Airport, Heathrow, Tax Free World Association (TFWA), Avinor, Amazon Web Services, and many more.
» View the full FTE EMEA conference agendaADVERTISEMENT» View the full FTE Ancillary conference agenda
» View the full FTE World Airport Retailing conference agenda
All three co-located shows are free for airlines to attend, and low-cost for other industry stakeholders.

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The Palacio de Congresos de Palma hosted the Summit of Sustainable Destinations organised by UNWTO in partnership with the Mallorca Tourism Foundation. The conference has shared the best practices of environmental, social and economic sustainability developed around the world by leading organisations and companies in these initiatives.
Catalina Cladera, the President of Consell de Majorca, Isabel Oliver from the Office of the UNWTO Secretary-General and José Hila, Mayor of Palma, opened the event of which was followed by more than 300 attendees in-person and online. Closing the summit were Closed the summit the vice president of the Spanish Government and Minister for Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation, Nadia Calviño; and the president of the Balearic Islands, Francina Armengol
Cladera expressed her pride that Majorca is “the world capital of sustainable tourism during the celebration of this international summit” and assured delegates that “we want it to continue beyond this summit”. During her speech, the president highlighted the potential of the island as a benchmark of sustainability within the tourism sector. The president added, “Majorca is a leading, quality destination around the world, year-round, with pioneering laws in waste management and tourism.
Representing UNWTO, Isabel Oliver highlighted the importance of “promoting sustainable tourism that respects human rights” and highlighted the weight of Majorca as a benchmark in terms of sustainability for “its ability to innovate, the professionalism of its entrepreneurs and the management of its governments”. The Mayor of Palma, who announced the recent approval of the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan for the city, highlighted the “need to bet on sustainability to improve the experiences of tourists and the quality of life of its residents, being a shared work between public administrations, the private sector and citizens”.
Calviño stressed the importance of making public investments now, as well as the need to work collaboratively with the private sector to modernise a sector as important for Spain as the tourism sector and to continue to place the country in a position of leadership. She further emphasised that Spain will be able to recover 80% of international tourists of 2019 this summer under the leadership of the Balearic Islands, which this Easter has already exceeded the figures for 2019 in some segments.ADVERTISEMENTPresident Armengol ended the closing ceremony by highlighting the importance of the new tourism law that is being processed by the Parliament focused on sustainability from the triple perspective of business competitiveness, environmental sustainability and care for workers.
Discussion of international expertsOn the first day, the Minister of Transition, Tourism and Sports, Andreu Serra, commenced the conference with the presentation “Majorca, leading the transition towards regenerative tourism”. This was followed by the first round table of the summit on institutional experiences in water management. Speakers included such as Miquel Mir, the Balearic Islands Minister of Environment and Territory, Jaume Mata, the Head of Sustainable Tourism for Visit Valencia, and Asad Riza, the Deputy Minister of Tourism of the Maldives Islands. Aniol Esteban, Director of the Marilles Foundation, and Stefan Gössling, professor of Linnaeus University School of Business and Economics, also participated. The moderator was the Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Tourism of the University of the Balearic Islands, Tolo Deyà.
Representatives of the private sector also discussed solid waste management, including Sandra Benbeniste, Director of Sustainability of EMEA -Iberostar Hotels, Miguel González San Roman, the Director of Business Development at Minsait/Indra, and Antonio Pérez, the Mayor of Benidorm.
In addition, the experiences of civil society in the United States have been heard, with Nina Bellucci Butler, CEO of Stina, and Andy Schroeder, co-founder of an ocean plastics recovery project. The round table was moderated by Toni Munar of Turismoconsulting.
In the afternoon, the forum began with presentations on circular economy, moderated by José María de Juan, from Koan Consulting. The panel involved the views of Enrique Martínez, President of Segittur, Antoni Riera, Director of the Impulsa Foundation, Jaume Ordinas, the auditor of Hotels Garden, and Elif Balcı Fisunoğlu, the deputy director of the Tourism Promotion and Development Agency of Turkey.
The day ended with the block of analysis of data for the decision making in initiatives of touristic sustainability. The debate was moderated by Dolores Ordóñez, Director General at AnySolution, and was attended by Dirk Glaesser, Director of the UNWTO Sustainable Development Programme, Luis Javier Gadea, Director of Tourism Research, Development and Innovation at Segittur, José Javier Ramasco, CSIC Researcher at IFISC (CSIC-UIB), Sergio Guerreiro, Director of Knowledge Management and Innovation of Tourism of Portugal, and Carlos Cendra, partner at Mabrian Technologies.
The second day of the forum was attended by the Minister of Economic Model, Tourism and Labour of the Balearic Government, Iago Negueruela, who participated with the presentation “Social Circularity and other axes of the Balearic tourism model”. This was followed by a round table on Human Development, with the participation of Catalina Alemany, CSR manager of Riu Hotels, Lola Herrero, professor and director of the Jean-Baptiste Say Institute, ESCP Europe, José Mañas, founder of Wireless DNA, Estelle Antognelli, director of Tourism and Congresses, Tourism and Convention Authority of Monaco, Manuel Butler, director of OTS in London and Juanma Martínez, director of projects and culture of sustainability at Green&Huma.
Finally, the island councillor for Transition, Tourism and Sports, Andreu Serra, the president of FEHM, María Frontera, Mark Tanzer, executive director of ABTA, Miguel Sanz, director general of Turespaña, and Norbert Fiebig, president of DRV, presented the conclusions of the conference in a debate moderated by Michael Collins, director of TravelMedia.ie.
HackathonParallel to the second day of the summit, a hackathon was held at the same Palacio de Congresos. The event was aimed at professionals, researchers, and students with an interest in and commitment to sustainability. They worked in groups on problems linked to three major challenges: water, food, and mobility. Each challenge will have a winning group, which will receive €5,000, to be divided equally among the members of each team.

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The Summit, organised by UNWTO in collaboration with the Italian Ministry of Tourism and the Italian National Tourist Board, will provide a unique opportunity for young people aged between 12 and 18 to share their vision for the future of the sector. For one week, 100 young delegates will network with and work alongside politicians, leading figures from across the tourism sector as well as from the worlds of entertainment and sports.
Against the backdrop of the BIT travel trade show in Milan, UNWTO Director for Europe Alessandra Priante joined representatives of the project partners to share more details of the landmark Summit. The inaugural event will be held around the theme of International Sustainable Tourism. The program will include interactive activities oriented towards the Sustainable Development Goals and how they interact with tourism, during which participants will learn how to build a sector that combines sustainability, culture, gastronomy, innovation and climate action.
Empowering the next generationUNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili says: “The Global Youth Tourism Summit is a unique platform to celebrate and empower the next generation of tourism leaders. It will help build a lasting legacy by providing young people with the skills and knowledge they need to transform tourism not only in their communities but everywhere.” UNWTO Director for Europe Professor Priante added: “Tourism offers opportunities to the youth. But youth gives tourism the opportunity to become stronger and more resilient. We are extremely proud of the first generation of GYST-ers, who already show their promise and commitment to transform tourism – starting from their local communities.”
High-level participationIn Milan, the organisers confirmed that several Italian Ministries will be involved (education, foreign, south), as will a number of key UN institutions, including FAO, UNICEF and ITU. The Summit will bring together major international players convened by UNWTO, including the Global Tourism Economy Research Center of Macao, the Bella Vista Institute of Higher Education in Switzerland, the Azerbaijan National Tourism Agency, Hilton International, Mastercard Europe and MSC Crociere. Confirmed institutional guests will include Commissioner Gabriel, the UN’s ENVOY for YOUTH Jayathma Wickramanayake, some of the UNWTO Ambassadors for Responsible Tourism Valeria Mazza, Didier Drogba, Gino Sorbillo and many other international VIPs and influencers.
Hosts anticipate ‘unique experience’“A moment of osmosis between past, present and future can only benefit Italy which is being reorganised and reborn. We believe in the contribution and enthusiasm of the generations of tomorrow, not only for the lessons they can teach us and for the necessary comparison of what will come next, but also because new opportunities arise from this dialogue, not only in terms of tourist offerings, but also in terms of tourist training,” says Enit President Giorgio Palmucci.ADVERTISEMENTFelice Casucci, Councillor for Tourism of the Campania Region adds: “The institutional chain must be compact at a time when it is necessary to have a broad vision and focus on young people for a great international message of peace. Sorrento is a unique opportunity to put together a highly recognised tourist destination with a narrative that is open to the territorial contexts and regional identity values among the most exclusive and attractive in the world.”
The Mayor of Sorrento, Massimo Coppola says: “Our city is honored to host the first edition of Global Youth Tourism. The objective of the event is to bring participants, selected and from all over the world, to live a unique experience, promoting the comparison and ensure that the new generations can pursue the mission of environmental sustainability. To animate it will be young people aged between 12 and 18 years, who will confront themselves and contribute to the definition of the World Tourism Agenda 2030.”

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As a growing MICE destination in the region, Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority announced new progressive initiatives to support their Meetings, Incentive, Conference and Event (MICE) offering, further strengthening the Emirate’s position on the international map.
Ras Al Khaimah has hosted several prestigious international and regional events over the past years with Al Hamra International Exhibition & Conference Centre being named the first safe meeting facility in the world, as certified by Bureau Veritas. With a dedicated outdoor event venue at the Jais Adventure Park and extensive facilities across the Emirate’s portfolio of hotels, each venue has specific elements that provide guests an inspiring overview of Ras Al Khaimah’s culture, hospitality, and unique offerings.
Having partnered with prominent associations such as the World Travel and Tourism Council and Deutscher Reiseverband pre-pandemic, the Arab Aviation Summit was the first in-person event to be held in 2021 due to the Emirate’s safety and hygiene initiatives implemented across its venues. The Emirate also played host to the Global Citizen Forum’s acclaimed annual summit in 2021, bringing together some of the world’s leading minds including country leaders, philanthropists, activists, acclaimed artists and athletes, entrepreneurs and top-tier economists, as well as hosting the Schweizer Reise-Verband’s (Swiss Travel Association’s) first annual General Assembly since the pandemic, welcoming 180 leading Swiss travel agents and tour operators. Most recently, the Emirate welcomed the World Tourism Forum Lucerne’s International Start-up Innovation Summit and is set to host several association events and conferences this year including The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), marking the first time that the not-for-profit travel trade association has hosted its Annual Summit in West Asia.
To further attract associations, the Emirate has launched a series of new initiatives to further support business tourists and MICE groups in 2022, which include:Flexible rates at Al Hamra International Exhibition and Conference Centre facility (2700 sqm)
Incentive Program (rebate on accommodation rates*)
Waive of Permit fees
Free PCR Test for the delegation
Free extension of hotel stay and meal plan for those who tests COVID positive
Free medical coverage for those who need medical attention at Ras Al Khaimah hospital
Reduced delegate rates for the attractions With a growing corporate tourism offering, Ras Al Khaimah is cementing its reputation as a leading MICE hub in the region, with visitors able to experience a unique mix of culture, nature and adventure, combined with an extensive hospitality offering and close proximity to Europe, Asia and Africa.
“With our impressive portfolio of hotels offering an array of first-rate meeting and events facilities, plus our world-class Al Hamra Exhibition Centre, specifically designed to provide a new level of flexibility to host all types of events, Ras Al Khaimah is perfectly suited for the MICE travel sector. With high profile and successful events behind us, we are focused on further strengthening the appeal of the Emirate within this segment and look forward to welcoming even more business travellers in 2022,” said Iyad Rasbey, Executive Director, Destination Tourism Development at Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority.

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