6ο Συνέδριο, 2007

Born in Northern Ireland in 1956, Peter Bennett grew up in the then Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) where he completed his schooling and military service, prior to commencing his Aeronautical Engineering studies at the City University in London in 1975. Graduating three years later with a BSc Honours degree, Peter started his aviation career with British Aerospace in Hatfield, North London, where his knowledge of French ensured that much of his time was spent marketing the BAe 146 aircraft in Western and Central Africa.

Moving to Airbus Industrie in Toulouse, France, in 1983, Peter joined the marketing effort for the A300/A310 Airbus airliners in Asia, prior to moving to the sales department in the late 80's, resulting in a posting to Sydney, Australia in 1992 where he opened the Airbus office, and was responsible for Airbus sales in Australasia and the South Pacific. Moving back to headquarters in 1994 Peter joined the Asset Management division where he was responsible for trading and leasing second-hand Airbus airliners around the world , primarily in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Middle East. Since 2006, Peter has been managing Airbus sales activities with a multi-national team in Western Europe from Dublin to Athens, with much pleasure, in arguably the most linguistically and culturally diverse territory in the world.

Peter married his Australian wife Joy in 1997, and enjoys gastronomy, golf, squash and travel around the world in his spar

Born: Derbyshire, UK

Educated: English state school.

History:
After finishing A Level education, my parents emigrated to Spain to set up a family business in Menorca. Our Villa Agency in Menorca was the main Thomson and then OSL villa agent for the island.

Before starting University, I decided to take some time out and got a job as a Thomson rep for the summer..and I’m still here!

Joined Thomson in 1984 as a rep in Majorca. I have worked as an Area Manager in Italy, Turkey, Malta, Gambia and the French Alps. Joined the Senior Management team in 1996 as Regional Manager for Eastern Med. I joined the Contracting Dept in 1997 and I am now General Manager Buying – Eastern Mediterranean & ROW for TUI NE, responsible for all contracting for UK and Nordic source markets.

I am married to Jo and have 2 daughters aged 9 & 4 years, the youngest born in Cyprus!

Nancy Cockerell is founder and Managing Partner of The Travel Business Partnership (TBP), a network of market analysts and business journalists spread through more than 25 countries around the world. Many of them were former contributors to the respected Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU’s) travel and tourism publications and to their successor, Travel & Tourism Intelligence (TTI).

Nancy has more than 30 years experience working in the travel and tourism industry – in both publishing and in customised research and consultancy. She is a well-known commentator on industry trends and developments and is a frequent speaker at international conferences.

From early 1998 to the end of 1999, Nancy headed up TTI, the successor to the EIU’s travel and tourism division, for which she had previously worked on a part-time basis since early 1986. She was responsible for the development of the group’s consultancy services, as well as the launch of a number of new subscription and research reports.

Prior to joining TTI on a full-time basis, Nancy spent more than 17 years as a freelance travel industry analyst and consultant, based either in continental Europe or Hong Kong. She now divides her time between Geneva, Switzerland, and the UK.

Through TBP, Nancy publishes a monthly newsletter Travel Markets, which assesses, analyses and forecasts travel and tourism demand in leading and emerging tourism markets – by age group and other demographics, market segment, purpose, organisation, destination, and other variables.

In addition to the monthly subscription newsletter, TBP produces Special Reports on a wide range of different topics, as well as undertaking customised research for a variety of clients. These range from intergovernmental organisations – eg the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD) and the Asia Pacific Economic Grouping (APEC) – and industry associations (eg the European Travel Commission and the Pacific Asia Travel Association) to individual government bodies (including national tourism organisations such as VisitBritain, Tourism Ireland, VisitSweden, Tourism Australia and the Tourism Authority of Thailand) and all sectors of the travel and tourism industry in key markets worldwide.

Nancy is also currently a member of:

• The UNWTO Business Council Leadership Forum;
• PATA’s Advisory Council (Research Committee); and
• Green Globe’s International Advisory Council.

NATIONALITY: German

EDUCATION: Study of Economics at the University of Berlin Graduate of Munich University ("Diplomvolkswirt" = B.Sc.[Econ])

LANGUAGE(S):Fluent in German, English, French, Italian Reading comprehension in Spanish

PROFESSIONAL STATUS: President and owner, IPK International, The World Travel Monitor Company Ltd., Munich and Malta

In the summer of 1968 Rolf D. Freitag graduated from University of Munich, Germany in the field of business sciences. He started his professional career as an assistant at the Institute for Economic- and Social-Geography of the University of Munich.

During the summer of 1970 Rolf D. Freitag founded the company IPK – according to the wishes of the University of Munich and the Bavarian Ministry for Economy and Traffic. Rolf D. Freitag was the Chief Executive Officer of IPK until 2004 and is now President of the IPK Group. Since 1970 he has realised more than 1000 projects in 50 countries worldwide.

Since 1988 the company’s "European Travel Monitor" has analyzed the travel behaviour of the Europeans; since 2000 the survey has also been conducted in non-European countries on behalf of IPK International. In the meantime the "World Travel Monitor" has become the world largest continuous tourism study of its kind, realizing more than 500,000 interviews per year in more than 50 countries worldwide.

Born 1948 in Nicosia and educated in Cyprus and the UK he started his working life as a management trainee with C&A Modes, then moved to an international trading company where he set up a citrus fruit importing section. His affinity with travel began with this organisation as he learned to sell property being developed in Cyprus.

In 1973 he set up Sunvil Holidays with John der Parthog - still his business partner today. Since that time he has worked tirelessly in and for the travel industry and his achievements have been recognised by many organisations including the Association of Independent Tour Operators (AiTO) – which he helped to set up – where he has been Deputy Chairman as well as Chairman and still retains a place on the board. He is also chairman of The Association of Greek Travel Agents (AGTA) and sits on the board of the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA).

Awards include the Gold Medal Merit Award from the Portuguese Government in 1995, Honours from both the Greek and Cypriot tourism offices at their Achievement Awards in 1999 and, more recently in 2006, the Lifetime Achievement Award by the British Guild of Travel Writers for his contribution to the world of travel including pioneering the campaign for ‘responsible tourism.’

He also sits on various boards including the Civil Aviation Authority’s Air Travel Insolvency Advisory Committee, he is a trustee of The Travel Foundation and, as AiTO’s representative, is an ardent Government lobbyist on behalf of the travel industry.

Kirsten Magasdi has been a reporter on FASTTRACK, BBC World’s weekly travel news programme, since its launch in 2002. She has been filming in more than 20 countries in Asia, the Middle East, the Caribbean and Europe. 

Kirsten’s reports have come from 36,000 feet on an aircraft test flight for broadband Internet access, to the ocean depths while diving on a conservation project in the Maldives. She has interviewed Tourism Ministers from a number of governments, along with key figures from the travel industry. She has covered the impact of the SARS virus in China and met with officials to discuss preparations for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. After the bombing in Bali, Kirsten gained an exclusive television interview with Bali’s Governor, and met with Indonesia’s Tourism Minister. Off-screen she has represented BBC World on a panel with the Greek Minister of Tourism to discuss post-Olympic Tourism strategy.

After graduating from RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Politics, Kirsten spent ten years working in daily news. She was a reporter and newsreader on network television Ten and Talk Radio 3AW in Melbourne, covering several Federal and State elections, general news and sport for Ten’s flagship show Sports Tonight. At the age of 23, she received a Quill Award for Excellence in Journalism from the Australian Press Club.

Kirsten moved to London in 1999 and worked as a producer and reporter on BBC’s Breakfast News, Breakfast with Frost and Liquid News. She also worked briefly in event promotions for the British and Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix and taught English as a Foreign Language in Prague.

Born in Australia to a Hungarian father and a Bulgarian mother, Kirsten is now married and lives in London. She has visited more than 50 countries and plans many more. She speaks German and conversational French.

Auliana Poon heads Tourism Intelligence International, Germany. 

She led the teams that developed the tourism policy and strategy for the new South Africa in 1996; developed strategies for trend-setting companies such Sandals International (Jamaica) and Conservation Corporation (Africa); and developed the “tourism begins at home” programme that sparked the turn around in the Bahamas tourism industry in the early 1990s.

 Auliana Poon also headed Tourism Intelligence International’s technical support team in implementing the Euro 6 million Eco-Tourism Development Programme (2003-2006) in the Commonwealth of Dominica and in St. Vincent and the Grenadines (2007-2009). 

In 2005, Poon undertook the competitive assessment of the Barbados Tourism Industry; developed the framework for the management and promotion of the Abu Dhabi tourism industry (2004); the Singapore Tourism Board (2003-2004) and developed the Marketing and Human resource development strategies for Mozambique (2004-2005).  She lead the team that developed a UniVisa System (along the lines of Schengen) in the Southern African Region.

 Auliana Poon (apoon@tourism-intelligence.com) is a trained economist, graduating with a B.A (hons) and and M.Sc (Economics) for the University of the West Indies. She attended one of the leading European Schools, the Science Policy Research Unit at Sussex University (England), where she graduated with a D. Phil (Tourism & Technology) in 1988.

 She is the author of Tourism, Technology and Competitive Strategies which one reviewer claims “should certainly be on the compulsory reading list for all those seeking to advise and direct strategic plans for both old and new tourism destinations”.

 Auliana Poon delivered keynote addresses to many conferences and in many destinations including Singapore, Iceland, Germany, Portugal, Norway, Finland, and many others.

Nov. 2006 Director General, IH&RA
To International Hotel and Restaurant Association
Present IH&RA is a global trade association representing the hospitality
industry worldwide. Its members are national hotel and restaurant associations as well as chains representing some 50 brands and independent operators. Officially recognized by the United Nations, IH&RA monitors and lobbies all international agencies on behalf of the industry.

Jan. 1993 Director General, Israel Hotel Association
To July 2006 Association is the representative body of Israel’s hotel industry. It represents hotels before national and international institutions and organizations, national and local government bodies, protects the rights of hoteliers and is active in the promotion, development and expansion of tourism in Israel
.
Member of the Board; Executive Committee – Secretary, International Hotel & Restaurant Association (IH&RA)
Member of the Board; Israel Hotel’s Professional Training Center
Member of the Board; Commercial & Industrial Club
Member of the Board; Israel-America Chamber of Commerce & Industry
Member of the Board; Israel-Britain Chamber of Commerce & Industry
Member of the Board; SKAL Club Tel-Aviv
Member of the Chief Executives of the Federation of the Israeli Economic Organizations
Chief Executive; Federation of the Israel Tourism Organizations

1989-1992 Director General, Ministry of Tourism, State of Israel
Senior civil servant, reporting directly to the Minister of Tourism and responsible for carrying out government policy on tourism.
Chairman, Tourism Development Corp.
Chairman, Eilat Offshore Development Co., Israel Tourism Development Company
Member of the Board of Directors, Israel Airport Authority
1987-1988 Consultant, International Investments and Trade
1983-1986 Israeli Consul and Trade Commissioner to the United States, Consulate General of Israel in New-York.
Directed export and trade activities of regional offices in Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, Houston, Philadelphia and Miami.
1981-1983 Israeli Consul for Economic Affairs, Director of the Investment and Export Authority for the Western United States, Consulate General of Israel in Los Angeles.
1979-1981 Chief Advisor to the Israel Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism
1978-1979 Assistant Director General, Israel Export Institute
1975-1978 Israel Deputy Trade Commissioner and Vice Consul to the United States, Consulate General of Israel, New-York
1972-1975 Director of Export Promotion, Foreign Trade Division, Ministry of Industry and Trade, Jerusalem

Education
1972 Graduated with honors, Commercial Attaches Program, organized by the Ministries of Trade and Commerce, Foreign Affairs and Finance
1973 1968-1971 BA, International Relations, Economics and Business Administration, Hebrew University, Jerusalem.

Daniela Wagner has over 20 years experience in the global travel and tourism industry. After making her debut in the traditional tour operating sector, she successfully launched the European Tour Operators Association (ETOA) in the 1990s, spent 6 years at the World Travel & Tourism Council as Vice President Corporate Affairs and 4 years as Global Managing Director of OctopusTravel, a hotel intermediary with a turnover of 350 million USD and a presence in over 40 markets. She now runs a successful consultancy helping companies to move into new markets.

One of her most recent projects has been with Tralliance Corporation, the .travel Registry, for whom she has established a global partners programme. She is also a partner in ITO AG, a Swiss-based consulting firm that advises public and private sector clients on marketing, international distribution and project planning and implementation.

Daniela is a linguist (fluent German and French) by training and lives in the UK with her family.

y.

Started his career in hospitality at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Montreal and then joined Pullmantur, one of the leading Tour Operators in Spain, in a number of executive roles, such as Planning and Contracts Director, Commercial Director and Deputy Managing Director.
In 1991 he joined RCI, the global leader in vacation exchange and travel membership products, to open the Spanish subsidiary as Managing Director. In 2002 he became Vice President and Regional Managing Director for RCI in Southern Europe, covering Spain, Portugal, France and Benelux. He is currently Vice President, Industry Relations for Group RCI, which is part of Wyndham Worldwide.
A graduate in Tourism Business by University “Rey Juan Carlos” in Madrid and a post-graduate in Business Administration by Business School IESE of the University of Navarra – Spain. Chairman of the affiliate members (non government sector) of the UNWTO (United Nations World Tourism Organisation). Chairman of the spanish chapter of OTE (Organisation of Timeshare in Europe) and founding member of the Spanish Association of Experts in Tourism – AECIT - and member of the International Association of Experts in Tourism – AIEST –.
Carlos Vogeler is also a professor at “Rey Juan Carlos” University in the Dpt. Of Business Economics and the author of university text book: “The Tourism Market: Structure, Operations and Processes”, as well as numerous articles on tourism related matters published by travel and tourism publications. He is also co-author of the book “50 years of spanish tourism. A historical and structural analysis”
He has been awarded the Silver medal of Tourism and the “Soleil d’Or” award by the french government and the Johan Strauss medal by the Tourism Comitte of the city of Vienna.

Koray Yetik who was the Managing Director of Dedeman Hotels & Resorts International in Turkey until the end of 2006 and now the Secretary General of Turkish Tourism Investors Association (TYD), completed his Middle and High School education at TED Ankara College, and his higher education at Ankara University with a BA degree in Management.

He moved to the United States in 1982 with his family, to get a better understanding of management in the world of business. He continued his education in the Hospitality Industry and received his diploma for International Hotel and Restaurant Management from ATI Institute where he was also a part time lecturer, as well as his international CRDE & CHS designations and additional diploma from AH&MA, University of Michigan campus USA.
He also is a certified sanitarian for the State of Virginia, USA.

He went through numerous Team Motivation and Leadership trainings, as well as courses related specifically to the Hospitality Industry, some of which are Hospitality Law, HR Management, Marketing Communication and Yield Management.

His career path in the United States encompasses seven years with the Executive Club Suites in Virginia, where he held various positions leading up to Asst.Director of Operations for multi properties.

Later he joined a hospitality real estate investment company, where he worked at several properties in their portfolio in upper management positions such as Asst. GM and GM posts, including Ramada, Holiday Inn and Best Western. Under his leadership, the properties received highest quality assurance scores, and International Director’s awards from chain headquarters.

Since returning back to Turkey in 1999, he has been working with the Dedeman Group, the first 5 years being Director of Operations. During this period he created and implemented Performance Review Standards, Bonus and Incentive Programs, Quality Assurance Programs, “De-Care” Preventive Maintenance Programs for DHRI. While carrying this responsibility, he also acted as GM for two major Dedeman flagship properties (Istanbul and Antalya), during the crisis years 1999 and 2001.
He demonstrated excellent productivity in crisis management. In the meantime he introduced Hotel Franchise and Management contracts and concepts to Dedeman.

After being promoted to Managing Director position in 2004 profits went up 100 % compared to previous years, with substantial revenue increase. He performed excellent productivity in asset management and expense control. Besides creating Dedeman Loyalty Club Program, Mr.Yetik was also deeply involved in the business development process of DHRI. His smart negotiation skills and expertise has recently brought six new hotel management contracts for Dedeman Group.

He was a panelist and speaker at various International Hotel and Real Estate
Investment Forums.

Currently he holds memberships in Skal Club, Corporate Governance Association of Turkey.

Mr.Yetik, ex National Basketball Team player, is married with two children, enjoys tennis, skiing and golf.

Jose Luis Zoreda is a Spanish citizen graduated in Economics from the University of Barcelona, Spain (1972) and holds an MBA degree from IESE Business School in Barcelona, Spain (1975) as well as a PMD (Program for Management Development) from the Harvard Business School in Boston - USA (1992).

Since 2001, José Luis Zoreda is the CEO of EXCELTUR, the Spanish Alliance for Tourism Excellence, a five year old lobby group formed by the 24 most relevant Spanish tourism companies from all the various subsectors of the industry (airlines, hotels, travel agencies, TTOO, Rent a car, etc.) with an operational presence in over 175 countries, representing at the end of 2006 an aggregated turnover of 26 billion Euros, and a workforce of over 200.000 employees.

Among others ,the basic aims and objectives of EXCELTUR are to enhance the socio-economic perception and recognition of tourism as the most relevant sector of the Spanish economy and to foster in close cooperation with the Public Sector authorities, the best conditions for the Spanish tourism industry to prosper and improve its long term competitiveness .

Before setting up EXCELTUR, Mr. Zoreda was involved from 1997-2001 with the World Tourism Organization, where he created and served as the first Chief Executive Officer of its Business Council (WTOBC). Prior to joining WTO, and for twelve years, he formed part of the Board and was Assistant to the Chairman of the Sol Meliá Hotel Group, the leading Spanish hospitality group.

Mr. Zoreda’s professional travels have provided him an extensive knowledge of over 100 countries and tourism destinations around the world, having written and edited various books, reports and articles on tourism issues. He is also frequently invited to lecture on tourism policy, IT & Internet, marketing and investment issues, which has taken him as speaker to forums and conferences in more than 40 countries of Europe, Asia, Africa, and North & Latin America.

Presently Mr. Zoreda lives in Madrid and also holds board and advisory positions in various Spanish and international tourism related companies.

In 2000, Alexandros Kouris co-founded Critical Publics, a group of four communication companies in Athens and London that consequently merged with PRC Group – The Management House in 2004. Alexandros is now shareholder and Executive Director Designate of PRC Group and is currently Head of its Communications Business Unit.
Prior to founding Critical Publics, Alexandros had gained over 10 years of experience in senior positions for the international networks of TBWA, BBDO and JWT. He advised leaders and successfully carried out landmark branding, reputation management and strategic communications projects for various organisations in Europe and the Middle East across a diverse array of market sectors and industries ranging from financial services and telecoms to the diplomatic sector and tourism.
Alexandros since October 2006 is co-directing the team of consultants assigned to produce Greece’s new 5-year destination marketing strategy and branding system. His approach, insight and methodology is crystallised in his book “Destination Brand Equity – A Toolkit for Marketing to Visitors”. Inter alia, he is the co-creator of “Kerasma”, Greece’s highly celebrated international culinary ambassador brand.
Alexandros is the youngest member ever to join the Greek Association of CEOs and holds a degree in business administration from Deree College, the American College of Greece, and professional training qualifications from the Chartered Institute of Marketing, and INSEAD.

• Γεννήθηκε στην Πάτρα
• Απεφοίτησε από το τμήμα Πολιτικών Επιστημών και Δημόσιας Διοίκησης του Πανεπιστημίου Αθηνών
• Ολοκλήρωσε τις Μεταπτυχιακές Σπουδές στο τμήμα Πολιτικής Επικοινωνίας του Πανεπιστημίου CITY του Λονδίνου με διπλό πτυχίο MASTERS στην Πολιτική Επικοινωνία και στα Μέσα Μαζικής Επικοινωνίας και με τίτλο μεταπτυχιακής εργασίας «Πολιτική Επικοινωνία και Διαφήμιση των ελληνικών πολιτικών κομμάτων».
• Εισηγητής σε θέματα Επικοινωνίας στο Συνέδριο της Εκπαιδευτικής Επιτροπής του ΝΑΤΟ στο Βερολίνο
• Διετέλεσε Εκπρόσωπος του Φοιτητικού Συλλόγου στο Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών
• Στέλεχος της ΜΑΚΙ, της ΟΝΝΕΔ, και της Νέας Δημοκρατίας.
• Ομιλεί και γράφει Αγγλικά και Ιταλικά.
• Δίδαξε Πολιτική Επικοινωνία, Ειδικά Θέματα Επικοινωνίας, Πολιτικές Επιστήμες και Έρευνα Αγοράς στο Τμήμα Δημοσιογραφίας και Marketing του Ευρωπαϊκού Εκπαιδευτικού Οργανισμού
• Συμμετείχε σε πολλά Επιστημονικά Συνέδρια στην Ελλάδα και στο εξωτερικό.
• Διετέλεσε Διευθυντής της Γραμματείας Πολιτικού Σχεδιασμού, Επικοινωνίας και Ιδεολογίας της Νέας Δημοκρατίας
• Διετέλεσε Εκπρόσωπος Τύπου της Νέας Δημοκρατίας από τον Απρίλιο του 1997 έως τον Αύγουστο του 2000.
• Εξελέγη Βουλευτής Επικρατείας της Νέας Δημοκρατίας στις εκλογές της 9ης Απριλίου 2000.
• Εξελέγη Βουλευτής της Β΄ Περιφέρειας της Αθήνας της Νέας Δημοκρατίας στις εκλογές της 7ης Μαρτίου 2004.
• Μετείχε στις Διαρκείς Κοινοβουλευτικές Επιτροπές: Δημόσιας Διοίκησης, Δημόσιας Τάξης και Δικαιοσύνης και Παιδείας και Μορφωτικών Υποθέσεων.
• Επανεξελέγη Βουλευτής της Β΄ Περιφέρειας της Αθήνας της Νέας Δημοκρατίας στις εκλογές της 16ης Σεπτεμβρίου 2007.
• Ορίστηκε Υπουργός Τουριστικής Ανάπτυξης την 18η Σεπτεμβρίου 2007.

Aris Spiliotopoulos
Greek Minister for Tourist Development

• Graduated from the Department of Political Science and Public Administration of the University of Athens (1985 – 1989).
• Completed his postgraduate studies in the Department of Communications Policy, City University, London with a Masters degree in Communications Policy and Mass Media (1990 –1992). Title of postgraduate dissertation: “Communications Policy and Advertising of Greek Political Parties in the three Electoral Contests of 1989 – 1990”.
• Doctoral candidate in the Department of Communication and Mass Media of the University of Athens.
• Honoured by the State Scholarship Institute.
• Speaker on communications issues at the NATO Education Committee.
• Served as representative of the Students Union at the University of Athens (1985 – 1989).
• Leading member of MAKI, ONNED and Nea Demokratia.
• Speaks and writes English and Italian.
• Taught Communications Policy, special Communications issues, Political Science and Market Research in the Department of Journalism and Marketing of the European Education Organisation (1992 – 1993).
• Took part in many scientific conferences in Greece and abroad.
• Has had articles published in many newspapers and magazines.
• Served as Head of the Secretariat of Political Planning, Communication and Ideology of Nea Demokratia (1994 – 1996).
• Was appointed Press Spokesman of New Democracy (April 1997-August 2000).
• Was elected Member of the Greek Parliament (April 2000).
• Was reelected Member of the Greek Parliament (Elections: March 2004 and September 2007).
• Appointed Minister of Greek Tourism (September 2007)