Austria
It was a strong line-up of TUI Management and very busy schedules on the first day of World Travel Market 2022 in London – which was back in full swing for the first time after the pandemic. Key activities of Group CEO Sebastian Ebel, Group Purchasing Director Helen Caron and Thomas Ellerbeck, Member of the Group Executive Committee and Chief Sustainability Officer were meetings with several Tourism Ministers from destinations such as Egypt, Tunisia, the Balearics and the Canaries as well as Cyprus and Greece.
Sebastian Ebel also joined a press conference of Greece which was hosted by its Minister of Tourism, Vassilis Kikilias. Together with George Hatzimarkos, Governor of the South Aegean region, Sebastian spoke on the groundbreaking project that was launched together with the region: The CoLab on Rhodes – which will develop the island into the first fully sustainable destination and a blue print for other holiday destinations.
Throughout the day, TUI Management also took part in various conferences and panel discussions. Tourism being a force for good, technology as an enabler, the need for broader product offerings as well as the mega trend of “experiences are the new luxury” were key aspects Chief Strategy Officer and CEO Holiday Experiences Peter Krueger referenced when joining a panel discussing the future of travel beyond 2030.
In addition, two of TUI‘s female leaders spoke on important topics: Dawn Wilson, COO of TUI Airline, joined a discussion on women in aviation and encouraged more female talents to join the industry, in particular in engineering and on the flightdeck. Charlotte WWiebe, Group Director Sustainability, was a panelist on the subject of “Why Responsible Tourism Makes Business Sense”. Sustainability is not a burden but provides great business opportunities.
To perfectly round of a successful day, the TUI Care Foundation brought home two World Responsible Tourism Awards 2022. The TUI Care Foundation won the award for its its Tourism Recovery Programme and the COVID-19 Relief Programme for Tourism which was launched together with enpact. A Silver Award was won for zero plastic projects in Cyprus. Congratulations to the team!
