Events, Organisations & Operators,

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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Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority, representing the Northern Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates, held a 2-city roadshow in India. The 4-day networking event in Delhi and Mumbai received an overwhelming response with over 400 travel trade, MICE, wedding specialists and leading media. The 2022 Roadshow successfully showcased key highlights and upcoming tourism developments in Ras Al Khaimah that will help facilitate additional traveller demand from India.
The event kicked off in New Delhi on April 4 th followed by Mumbai on April 7 th where the tourism authority delegation, led by Iyad Rasbey, Executive Director, Destination Tourism Development at Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority, met business partners and media.
Commenting on this year’s roadshow, Iyad Rasbey said “It was great to reconnect with our travel partners in India since the start of the pandemic. India is a very viable and highly valued travel market; last year alone it was the third largest international source market for Ras Al Khaimah, welcoming over 30,000 visitors. This is considerable given that the Indian market was largely closed or restricted last year. We aim to increase this and go back to pre-pandemic tourism numbers through promotional activities geared towards leisure travellers and incentives targeting MICE, destination weddings and other celebrations.”
Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority announced a tourism strategy that will see the destination become the regional leader in sustainable tourism by 2025. It maps out key steps for the Emirate to secure long-term sustainability that will drive overall tourism growth objectives and contribute directly to national and international climate change and environmental policy commitments. An investment of USD $134 million is geared towards 20 sustainable tourism developments across the Emirate especially on Jebel Jais where our projects have been designed to not just protect the mountain ecosystem, but to enhance it. By creating attractions that preserve the Emirate’s culture and local communities, guests will be able to enjoy authentic experiences that will see them leaving a positive impact in Ras Al Khaimah when visiting.ADVERTISEMENTOn new and upcoming destination attractions in 2022, the Jais Sledder, the region’s longest toboggan ride were highlighted amongst a line-up of upcoming enhancements on Jebel Jais like the Jais Wings (paragliding) and Jais Mountain eco-golf. New sustainable accommodation includes Earth Altitude, an eco-based pop-up hotel concept and Cloud7 Camp Jebel Jais, the ultimate sustainable glamping experience. In addition, a brand-new tethered hot air ballooning experience in Manar mall, RAK airventure, which will offer panoramic views of the city above the beautiful mangroves and a Scallop Ranch at Al Hamra Marine will offer oyster/scallop diving, live cooking, family and kids’ experiences, and cultural activations.
Expanding the destination’s portfolio of world-class hotels, the Emirate recently welcomed the opening of InterContinental Mina Al Arab with 351 rooms, the largest Hampton by Hilton globally, with more than 500 rooms and Radisson Al Marjan Island with 388 rooms. Operated by global hospitality brands, a series of new hotels and resorts will be launched across the Emirate over the next three years including Marriott, Movenpick, Anantara, Sofitel and Conrad, adding 3,525 keys to the current 7,720 keys in Ras Al Khaimah.

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The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the Basque Culinary Center (BCC), the Japan Tourism Agency and the Nara Prefectural Government have the pleasure to announce that the 7th UNWTO World Forum on Gastronomy Tourism will take place on 13-15 December 2022 in Nara, Japan.

Building on UNWTO’s work on advancing innovation across the tourism sector, the Forum represents a unique opportunity for experts from across the growing field of gastronomy tourism to share new ideas and best practices.
More information on registration and the provisional programme will be available shortly.

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As hoteliers evaluate their group business opportunities for 2022, a new report from Amadeus combines hotelier insights with Amadeus business intelligence data to reveal the key trends that will guide the group travel and events market in the year ahead.
According to Amadeus’ Demand360® data, 2022 is showing a significant rise in group travel booking rates. As of March 17, 2022, the on-the-books group performance in the US for 2022 already exceeds final group performance for the prior two years, a 122% increase over 2020 and a 50% increase over 2021. With nearly 8 months to go in the year, there’s significant opportunity to close the gap to pre-pandemic levels.
The five trends that will define group travel in 2022 are:
1.    Changed group travel requirements: Amadeus MeetingBroker™ data reveals that significant changes in group travel will persist in 2022.In 2019, 58% of event RFPs were for groups of 50 people or less, which increased to 63% in 2022. In addition, the average lead-in time for an RFP has shortened from 223 days in 2019 to 193 days in 2021.
Hotels in non-traditional destinations are seeing increases in group travel bookings. In 2022, we see Anchorage, AK and Tuscaloosa, AL in the top 20 US markets, while urban areas like San Francisco are still experiencing lower occupancies when compared to pre-pandemic activity.
2.    Lean teams have to do more with less: Both sales and operations teams will have to restructure and adapt to handle a higher volume of smaller deals with reduced staff.The return of the group market dictates a restructuring of sales teams to win new business. Reward structures also need to correlate with salespeople bringing in new business and those nurturing relationships with existing clients.
There has been a shift to selling centrally and executing locally with sales teams now having a direct connection with the on-property experience.
3.    Hybrid and in-person meetings are here to stay: Hybrid meetings and events are now an established part of business travel as facilitated by significant technology enhancements.Hotels need to reassess their processes and identify where they can outsource to third party tech experts to free up staff to focus on guests.
The in-person experience at a hybrid event matters more than ever to ensure guests feel value in attending. Similarly, hotel event managers can stand out by helping planners new to hybrid events tie together the in-person and at-home experiences.
4.    Meeting planner relationships are even more crucial: Nurturing planner relationships will be key in this climate defined by tough negotiations.Speed of RFP response will remain important as volume increases. Amadeus data shows that RFPs from meeting planners increased by 51% in 2021 compared to 2020.
Fully integrated systems will be key to winning business with access to real-time market data playing a central role in successful RFP negotiations.
5.    Innovative partnerships are unlocking more potential: New alliances between hotels and businesses are helping to broaden reach and secure bookings.Hoteliers with strong data insights into guest profiles place themselves in a better position to negotiate interesting partnerships to grow new revenue streams.
Modern technology and CRM solutions are enabling hotels to refer and share bookings across portfolios, or independent hotels with similar profiles.
Daniel O’Keefe, SVP Hotel Property Solutions, Hospitality, Amadeus comments, “While the picture for 2022 is still evolving, there is cause for realistic optimism in the US, where signs are pointing towards a continuation of the momentum that built around group travel in Q4 of 2021. One of the key takeaways from this report is the importance of both historical and forward-looking data as a prerequisite for overcoming a number of the challenges facing meetings and events executives during a pandemic. In the context of reduced sales and operations teams, accurate data and information is critical, and teams need the expertise to act on it efficiently. At Amadeus, we’re ready to equip hoteliers with the tools they need to access and understand this crucial resource.”
Dana Cariss, Vice President of Revenue Strategy, CoralTree Hospitality, says, “Continued innovation across our industry in the face of uncertainty is driving our recovery. Hotels are striking new partnerships to take advantage of changes to some company’s ways of working to remain competitive. Meeting planners are reacting to dynamic shifts in the fundamentals of group travel and the persistence of hybrid or remote working. This offers a new opportunity for hoteliers to turn to modern technology to help adapt to the changing market.”
In partnership with Salesforce, this paper leverages insights gathered from Amadeus’ MeetingBroker™ and Demand360® business intelligence data as well as interviews with hoteliers, industry experts, and Amadeus executives to aid hospitality professionals in preparing for the return of group business.

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