20 Frank Straka CEO, KÄSTL Ost-Touristi Paul Mercuri Sales Manager, Kogan Travel Safety and Value Driving Visitors to Eastern Europe Frank Straka is CEO of KÄSTL Ost-Touristik, a wholesaler and B2B group tour operator, specialised in Eastern Europe. We asked him to tell us a little more about his organisation and what he’s looking for at ITBBerlin For more than 30 years KÄSTL has been organising tailor made group tours to Eastern Europe (especially Poland, Czech Republic and Baltic States) for coach tour operators in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Western France. I AM SEEING A BIG TREND IN EASTERN EUROPE CONCERNING BUYER DEMAND Are you particularly interested in particular travel themes? I am mainly interested in health resorts and hotels that are interested in doing business with groups – so my themes are health, best agers and groups. I think that groups are very difficult at the moment as most hotels are interested in working with OTAs and prefer FIT or MICE business to groups – so it will be a difficult task. What are the main trends you are seeing in terms of buyer demand? I am seeing again a big trend in Eastern Europe concerning buyer demand. As Eastern Europe is considered a very safe destination and prices are still lower than in comparable western destinations, there will be growing demand. What are you hoping to gain from this year’s ITBBerlin? We are hoping to tighten connections with our partners from destinations and hotels and make new partnerships. In times with high competition for “rare goods” it is essential to have good personal relationships and ITBBerlin is perfect to make a lot of personal meetings. Why did you decide to join the ITBBerlin Buyers Circle, and what, for you, are the key advantages of being a member? I have been member of the Buyers Circle for the last four years. A friend advised me of the advantages which is why I applied. For me the key advantages are having a “safe harbour” at Marshall House where I can meet a lot of partners in a short time Kogan Travel Targets Luxury Travel Offering ITBBerlinNews spoke to Paul Mercuri, Sales Manager of Kogan Travel, about his business and its main focus. Kogan.com is the largest e-commerce retailer in Australia. We have a community of over 6.5 million members in Australia and it listed on the ASX in July 2016. Kogan Travel is one of the newest division of Kogan with a particular focus on packages with flights, hotel and resort offerings at market leading prices. Are you particularly interested in particular travel themes? One of our main focuses is on developing and continuing to drive large Australian outbound volume to our biggest markets, which includes China, Vietnam and Japan. We are also developing our luxury resort offerings particularly in Bali, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and the Maldives. European river cruising is also a focus. What are the main trends you are seeing in terms of buyer demand? Being an e-commerce website, our focus is about making travel as easy to purchase online as possible. We are seeing an ever-increasing demand for convenience in the travel buying lifecycle. Why can’t a ,000 THE ITB BERLIN BUYERS CIRCLE ENABLES ME TO BE CONNECT TO MORE PEOPLE WHERE TIME IS PRECIOUS. holiday be as easy to purchase as a 0 hotel room? We make this possible. We also see customers becoming more flexible in travel dates in return for amazingly priced deals and these savings are being used again to purchase more holidays. It creates a virtuous cycle. What are you hoping to gain from this year’s ITBBerlin? New contacts that we can help drive large volume in 2018 and beyond Why did you decide to join the ITBBerlin Buyers Circle? The ITBBerlin Buyers Circle enables me to be connect to more people where time is precious. The speed dating event at ITBBerlin is very important, although I think the sessions could be longer ITB BERLIN NEWS • Thursday 1 st March 2018 www.itb-berlin-news.com
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW 21 Zurab Pololikashvili Secretary General, UNWTO New Direction for UNWTO Exclusive Interview - Zurab Pololikashvili, Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organisation This is the first ITB for Zurab Pololikashvili in the role of Secretary General of UNWTO. We asked him how he is settling into the new position. I take this responsibility with a great sense of pride and humility. I feel very honoured that UNWTO’s member countries have shown confidence in me to lead this organisation, particularly at a moment when our sector faces important challenges but also so many opportunities to contribute to a more sustainable future. Tourism is one of the leading economic and social activities of our time and we have the opportunity to make a real positive impact on society. What do you see as being your greatest challenges in this role? As the leading organisation promoting sustainable tourism development, we need to support growth, but not only by growing more, but by growing better. This means taking care of our resources, creating better jobs, generating opportunities for all, paying close attention to safety issues and supporting new technologies and innovation to keep moving towards a more competitive and sustainable sector that can contribute to the universal 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. One of my priorities is to listen closely to all parties and try to respond in a relevant manner to the needs of UNWTO members and supporting them to use tourism’s full potential to build prosperity for their countries. At ITB2018 we will host a closed meeting of the African Ministers of Tourism to create a Special Programme for Africa. I want to build solid bridges between the public and the private sectors, aiming to generate concrete solutions for the sector, travellers and the communities which depend on tourism. Last year saw a remarkable 7% growth in global tourism, with momentum continuing this year. What are the main drivers of this continued growth? The positive results mirror stronger economic growth and the return of confidence in many parts of the world. The good results we have been observing for several years also tell the story of growing middle classes and more affordable travel. You arrive in the position just after the year of sustainable tourism for development. What have been the key take-aways from this year of action, and how are actions continuing into the future? The fact that the United Nations declared 2017 as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development was a unique opportunity. Making this world a better place in the true sense of the word, and not just a marketing slogan. The International Year did not end on December 31, this was really just a kick-start and we must continue building on what we have achieved. Training seems to be a growing part of your agenda. Why so? Capacity building in general has always been at the heart of UNWTO. This makes sense both vis-à-vis the growing tourist demand and also the growing relevance of the tourism sector. No matter how digital we become, travel is still a very personal and individual experience. It is critical for quality supply, and to consolidate tourism as a quality job creator. As the sector becomes increasingly relevant, we need the whole tourism value chain to become aware of what tourism really entails. We are one of the most transversal economic activities around, and we keep growing. What are the key themes being covered by UNWTO in meetings at ITBBerlin this year? This year, UNWTO will hold two major meetings at ITB: • the 8 th UNWTO Silk Road Ministers’ Meeting (Wednesday 7 March 2018, from 14.00-16.00, followed by 7 th UNWTO Silk Road Tour Operators Forum on Thursday 8 March 2018, 14.00-16.00) • and a closed Ministerial Meeting for Africa. The Silk Road Ministerial meeting will focus on the “2025 Silk Road Tourism Agenda”; the long-term tourism vision for the historic Silk Road routes. We will also present the research on the Tourism Impact of the 21 st century Maritime Silk Road. The Forum will help Silk Road tour operators better understand, engage and work with the international travel trade. This will also include a novel speednetworking session, allowing to showcase the latest products to an international audience TOURISM IS ONE OF THE LEADING ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL ACTIVITIES OF OUR TIME AND WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE A REAL POSITIVE IMPACT ON SOCIETY ITB BERLIN NEWS • Thursday 1 st March 2018
