WTM Advisory Council
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A critical success factor to World Travel Market has been its ability to anticipate industry developments and trends and ensure these are reflected in the backbone of World Travel Market's strategic development. The WTM Advisory Council plays a critical role in this, pulling together industry leaders from across the globe that reflect regional interests and those of our key global stakeholders including exhibitors, buyers ,visitors, Meridian Club members and trade associations. |
The Advisory Council has also helped World Travel Market reflect on key strategic issues such as Apartheid, Responsible Tourism, 9/11 as well as helping shape the business effectiveness of the event. World Travel Market, the premier global event for the travel industry, appreciates and values the industry insight the WTM Advisory Council offers and uses this strategic body to help shape and develop the event for the future.
The WTM Advisory Council members are:
Nikki White, Head of Destinations and Sustainability, ABTA Ltd. The Travel Association
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Nikki White joined ABTA as Head of Destinations and Sustainability in October last year. Nikki has gained an impressive grasp of travel and tourism strategy over her years as Head of Strategy and Development at travel and leisure marketing experts Fox Kalomaski. Here she worked with a number of destinations as well as specialist agents, tour operators and airlines devising a range of strategic policies. Nikki’s expertise in sustainable tourism has recently been enhanced by her completion of a Masters degree in Sustainable Development. Nikki is Head of Destinations and Sustainability at ABTA which includes responsibility for sustainability, operations, health and safety and crisis management.  More on ABTA |
Esther Smith, Executive Secretary, Association of National Tourist Office Representatives (ANTOR)
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Esther Smith has over 25 years experience in various management roles within the Travel and Tourism industry. Esther is a former chairwoman of the CTO (Caribbean Tourism Organization), has been treasurer and board member for ANTOR and held the role of UK director for the St Kitts Tourist Board for many years. Esther also spent 13 years at BWIA, successfully developing the sales and profile of the airline in the UK. Success in this role prompted the St Kitts Tourist Board to persuade Esther to run the UK operation as Director of Tourism for UK/Europe for 10 years. Esther returned from the Caribbean last summer where she was tour co-ordinator for Cricket Logistics throughout the ICC Cricket World Cup, West Indies 2007. Esther is now CEO of her own Promotions Company ESP (Esther Smith Promotion) and won the contract to run the Secretariat of ANTOR in 2007 and have being instrumental in the revamped of ANTOR (Association of National Tourist Offices & Representatives) in UK. More on ANTOR |
Tracey Poggio, Chairman, Association of National Tourist Office Representatives (ANTOR)
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Tracey has worked in the travel industry for over 15 years, having started her career in tour operation for specialist European operator Eagle Tours. Moving into PR, she worked for city media and marketing agency, P.G.C. for 8 years, before becoming a founding Director of dotcom PR Ltd., a specialist online agency that went on to win the Docklands new business of the Year 1999, before it was sold. In 2002 she started her own media consultancy Redleaf Associates working with a range of media, property and travel clients. As a fellow Gibraltarian, Tracey has worked extensively throughout her career with the Gibraltar Tourist Board and currently heads up its UK marketing team. Since 2006 she has been the Chairman of the Association of National Tourist Office Representatives (ANTOR), having been its vice-Chair from 2004-2006. |
Chris Russo, President & Chairman, American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA)
More on ASTACarol Hay, Director of Marketing, Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO)
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Carol Hay is the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) director of marketing in the UK/ Europe. Carol leads the CTO’s operations in Europe, including designing, implementing and managing the organisation’s strategic marketing and public relations programmes for all European markets. Prior to joining the CTO, Carol was Antigua and Barbuda’s director of tourism for the UK and Europe, a position she held for four years. Carol has over twenty years tourism experience and has worked extensively throughout the Caribbean and Europe’s, she holds a bachelors degree in administration and a masters degree in marketing. |
Gareth James, Executive Secretary, European Tourism Action Group (ETAG)
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Gareth James was born and brought up in Truro, Cornwall and after obtaining a degree in Hotel, Catering and Tourism from the University of Surrey joined the British Tourist Authority in 1968 where he worked for 34 years. After short training spells in London, Frankfurt and Toronto Gareth was posted to the BTA office in Los Angeles where he was responsible for promoting tourism to Britain from the 12 Western States of the USA. After a short spell in London Gareth's next assignment was to Teheran where BTA was keen to capitalise on the growing interest in Britain by Iranians. After the revolution in 1979 Gareth returned to London before being posted to Sydney as Manager, Australia and New Zealand which was followed in 1988 by a seven year assignment as Manager, Canada based in Toronto. Creating a new Brand for British Tourism was the project that brought Gareth back to London as well as working with the newly devolved Scotland and Wales tourism interests to develop a coordinated inbound UK tourism effort. Gareth's final overseas posting was to Tokyo before returning to London to help revive UK inbound tourism after the events of 9/11. After retiring in 2002, Gareth took over from Bill Richards, the job of secretary of ETAG - a European organisation representing primarily SME's in the private sector. Gareth, who is married to Philippa lives in Kew,London,where they have an allotment. More on ETAG |
Bill Maxwell, Director and Treasurer, Institute of Travel & Tourism (ITT)
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Bill has 30 years experience in the travel industry specialising in contracting and business relationships. He started his career with the National Bus Company and worked with Wallace Arnold Group as Trade Relations Director. He has a long history of liaising with hoteliers and various other suppliers in the United Kingdom and Europe. Bill sits on the ABTA Code of Conduct Committee, as well as ABTA's Members Committee and UK Tourism Advisory Committee. More on ITT |
Philippe Forest, Country Manager for United Kingdom and Ireland, International Air Transport Association (IATA)
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Philippe Forest is French nationality, speaking four languages (French, English, German and Swedish), with over 28 years of experience in the Air Transport Industry in prestigious corporations such as Pan Am, Lufthansa and British Airways Plc., where he reached solid achievements in operations. On 1st June 2010, he has been appointed Country Manager for United Kingdom and Ireland on behalf of IATA. Philippe Forest studied Economics at the Technical University of Berlin, Germany. |
Ian Hawkes, Executive Director UK Chapter, Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA)
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Ian has over 40 years' experience in travel industry sales and marketing having worked for BOAC, Qantas and latterly, AB Airlines and a couple of long haul tour operators. As managing director of Core Marketing Ltd., he is the Executive Director of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) UK Chapter and provides the administrative services for the Association of ATOL Companies (AAC). His managerial experience includes both UK and European sales and marketing with particular emphasis on advertising, pricing and promotion. More one PATA |
Nigel Vere Nicoll, Chief Executive, African Travel & Tourism Association (ATTA)
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Fellow of The Royal Geographical Society (1972) |
Tom Jenkins, Executive Director, The European Tour Operators Association (ETOA)
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Tom graduated from Bristol University with a BA in English & History. Following this he embarked on two years post-graduate research at London University’s Courtauld Institute. Before taking the reins at ETOA, Tom held a number of management positions at American Express, ultimately being responsible for all aspects of the company’s inbound leisure travel for scheduled tours, independent vacations and customised itineraries. Prior to joining American Express, Tom was a Director of Equinox Travel and before that he spent 5 years as a tour manager working for American Express and Thomas Cook. Under Tom’s stewardship, ETOA’s scope of activities have broadened considerably, close relationships have been built with numerous legislators and other trade bodies and membership has more than doubled. He has been responsible for championing tourist access to historic cities, for initiating a Europe-wide coach safety code and for leading a campaign that successfully blocked changes to EU VAT legislation that would have jeopardised 5,000 tourism jobs in Europe. Tom is a ‘Tourism Expert’, often called upon by a variety of media including GM TV, BBC TV, CNN, CNBC & Radios 4 & 5. |
Ken Robinson, Chairman, Tourism Alliance (TA)
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Ken Robinson describes himself as "a tourism enthusiast", and is an independent adviser who speaks and writes on tourism topics. He is Chair of the Tourism Alliance (2009/10) and a Board member of Tourism South East. His goal is to be a pragmatic pioneer of new initiatives, strategies and solutions to optimise the economic and social benefits of tourism. He believes Britain’s intrinsic tourism assets require political commitment to help the industry compete globally, and realise its potential. Past Chair of the Tourism Society, and of it’s Think Tank, he was awarded the CBE for services to Tourism in 1997. More on TA |
Dermot Blastland, Managing Director, TUI UK & Ireland
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On 3rd September 2007, Dermot Blastland became Managing Director – TUI UK & Ireland for TUI Travel PLC after the successful merger of TUI Tourism (incorporating Thomson Holidays) and First Choice Holidays PLC. This coming October, Dermot will be leaving his position as Managing Director and will take on a new role, reporting directly into Chief Executive Peter Long, leading the Group's Sustainable Development and Social Responsibility initiatives. TUI Travel PLC is Europe's largest leisure travel company and one of the largest in the world. In the UK and Ireland, the combined business will serve more than 7.5 million customers every year and employ more than 19,000 staff. TUI Travel Mainstream UK and Ireland also has a combined fleet of 82 aircraft, making it the UK's third largest airline. Its retail business consists of 928 shops nationwide. Dermot is the Director responsible for Sustainable Development on the Group Management Board. He has previously held positions as Managing Director of the Mainstream Sector of First Choice Holidays PLC, Managing Director of First Choice Holidays and Flights, Ski, Lakes and Mountains and President of Signature Vacations - First Choice's Canadian Division. Prior to joining the company in February 1988, he was Commercial Director at Thomson and subsequently Managing Director of Portland Holidays. |
Mary Rance, CEO, UKInbound (UKI)
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Mary Rance, Chief Executive UKinbound since September 2008, is responsible for the strategic and operational management of the Association and its lobbying activity with Government and opinion formers in the inbound industry. Mary has a career leading membership and business organizations in a range of sectors. As London Regional Director of the CBI until 2005, responsible for the largest Region of the CBI, Mary first became involved with many travel industry members and lobbying on transport issues including aviation policy. Mary graduated in law from Birmingham University, is married and has two daughters. More on UKI |
DR. Zoltán Somogyi, Executive Director, World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)
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Dr. Somogyi worked in the biggest Hungarian Travel Co. Ltd. IBUSZ from 1974 - 1990. After 1990 Dr. Somogyi established his own private enterprise (Law Office of Somogyi & Szentes) using his experiences in the very special field of tourism law. In 1996 he was appointed to the Ministry of Economy as Under-Secretary of the State in charge for tourism. Returning to the private sector in 1999 he became parallel to the assistant professor of the Budapest College of Economics. Early in the new millennium Dr. Somogyi has returned the public service, from 2002 as the Chairman of the Hungarian National Tourism Agency, then as the President of Hungarian Tourist Office, and at last as State Secretary for Tourism. In 2007 he was appointed Ambassador of Hungary in Montenegro. But appreciating his experience and contribution to the work of the Organisation, he was elected to the World Committee of Ethics of the UNWTO. Since 1 January 2010 Dr. Somogyi is appointed to the post of the Executive Director of the World Tourism Organization responsible for memberships, relations and services. |
Laurence Bresh, Marketing Director, VisitBritain (VB)
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In September 2009, Laurence took up the role of Marketing Director for VisitBritain, the national tourism agency. He is responsible for global consumer and B2B marketing including the award-winning suite of VisitBritain.com web sites. A key part of his role will be to maximise the opportunities presented by the Olympic & Paralympic Games in 2012. For the previous year Laurence held the role of Regional Director, Europe with strategic responsibility for VisitBritain’s operations and marketing in 18 countries. Before that he held the position of General Manager of England Marketing at VisitBritain, in which capacity he led the 20-strong team responsible for the marketing of England to the British and in key European markets. The role involved all aspects of through-the-line marketing, the development of the suite of enjoyEngland.com web sites and VisitBritain’s tourist information centre strategy. Laurence has worked in senior communications and marketing roles for the last 15 years, starting at food retailer Safeway Stores plc. Later he moved to the British Tourist Authority in the role of Head of Campaigns where he was responsible for global marketing. He then worked in a business-to-business capacity as the Head of Marketing for the UK’s leading e-learning agency, Epic Group plc, where he also provided online marketing consultancy to some of the UK’s top 100 plc’s. Before taking on marketing roles, Laurence worked as a journalist for London Weekend Television and several national newspapers. |
Sally Chatterjee, CEO, Visit London
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Sally joined Visit London April 2007. She began her career with Unilever, and has since held a number of senior positions in telecoms, media and retail. She led the creation of Tesco Mobile, Europe’s second largest virtual mobile operator, as well as doubling Tesco’s telecoms revenues and profits in less than two years. She also headed British Telecom’s £4 billion consumer voice business, overseeing sales, marketing and customer service. Sally holds a BA in Law and Accounting, and is an INSEAD MBA graduate. More on Visit London |
Jean Claude Baumgarten, President & CEO, World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC)
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Born in Strasbourg in May 1942, Jean-Claude Baumgarten graduated from the French business school, l’Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales. Jean-Claude has been President & CEO of the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) since the end of 1999. He previously held different positions at Air France, which he joined in 1970 as Assistant Regional Manager in Los Angeles and New York. After a number of different postings, mainly in Asia, he was promoted to Executive Vice President of Commercial Operations and a Member of the Executive and Strategic Committee in 1993. He also represented Air France on the Board of Governors of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the Executive Committee of the Association of European Airlines (AEA). In February 1996 he became Executive Vice President of Corporate, International & Industry Affairs. And from December 1997 until July 1998, prior to leaving Air France, he held the position of Advisor to the Chairman. After his departure, Jean-Claude established a company in New York with American investors under the name of CREWE Associates. This involved consultancy work and start-up advice for new businesses. Jean-Claude Baumgarten has received many awards for his achievements and contribution to air transport and tourism. He is a Chevalier dans l’Ordre National de la Légion d’Honneur, as well as an Officier de l’Ordre National du Mérite and a Chevalier des Arts et Lettres. He is advisor in Foreign Trade to both the French Government and the Chairman of the Tourism Commission. He was presented with the Gold Medal for Tourism by the Portuguese Government in 2004 and 2008 and the Anita Garibaldi Gold Medal by the Government of Santa Catarina in 2009. |
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