18 RESPONSIBLE TOURISM
18 RESPONSIBLE TOURISM Rika Jean-François CSR Commissioner at ITB Berlin Environment, equality, rights and respect Rika Jean-François, CSR Commissioner at ITB Berlin – on Responsible Tourism at ITB Berlin We asked Ms Jean-François what the highlights have been… During this year’s ITB we once again celebrated International Women’s Day, which had been recently declared a National Holiday in the city state of Berlin. There is hope. We are working on it. I am proud to have gathered many excellent and engaged women especially at our 2 nd Gender Equality in Tourism Seminar and at the 4th ITB-IIPT “Celebrating Her Awards” which took place at the Palais in the eve of that new, remarkable Berlin Holiday. Male allies are always welcome – we still have a long way to go. On 8th March, we hosted a SheTrades panel in the Palais and welcomed many special female guests at our renowned ITB – Blue Yonder Responsible Tourism Network Event in the evening at 6 pm in hall 4.1b. Another subject close to your heart is Human Rights in Tourism. Please tell us more. At ITB, we foster dialogue and controversial discussions, ITB BERLIN NEWS • Friday 15 th March 2019 as they pave the way to awareness. Violations of human rights are manifold; may they be because of age, gender, looks, colour of skin, disability, medical condition, economic status, origin, sexual orientation. It is important to address each one of them and to search for solutions rather than looking away. Tourism can help to open doors and to fight discrimination. It will even pay: On ITB Thursday we had a vibrant discussion on whether respecting human rights could economically benefit a destination. Indigenous rights and the challenge to promote an indigenous tourism which is a respectful and communitybenefitting, an often neglected subject, were addressed on Wednesday. One of the biggest challenges of the future is climate change. A 16-yearold girl from Sweden, Greta Thunberg, has become a global leader, skipping school on Fridays to demonstrate against the environmental sell-out – shaming and opening the eyes of all of us. School children from all over the world are joining in. Climate change, innovative mobility and changing customer demands were other key topics. What was discussed there? The ITB CSR Day, among other significant subjects, also addressed the pollution of our waters: 10 million tons of litter is dumped into the sea per year. This is not only having a negative impact on idyllic beach holiday destinations and tourism but on our ecosystem as a whole. To support best practices, ITB is proud to give out the ITB Earth Award to the Republic of Palau, a destination showing global leadership in combatting environmental degradation in the frame of the Sustainable Top 100 Destination Awards Ceremony that took place on Wednesday in the Palais. “There is no business on a dead planet!” Thank you for not looking away, thank you for participating and getting involved! ENHANCING TRAVELLERS’ EXPERIENCE AND MAXIMISING THE BENEFITS OF TOURISM FOR LOCALS WITH SOCIAL IMPACT TOURS Anula Galewska, Responsible Business Manager, Urban Adventures, Australia took to the stage in the Adventure Hall (4.1) to shed light on a case study of “In Focus” tours by Urban Adventures, followed by practical tips on how to design one’s own social impact tours that maximise benefits for locals and enhance traveller’s experience. Social impact tours can make travel into a transformational experience, letting travellers explore places from a completely different angle and support causes they truly care about. In Focus grew from Urban Adventures’ desire to give back to the communities. Their topics range from supporting Syrian refugees in Istanbul, to helping Kenyan women start their own businesses, to reef conservation in the Maldives. Each tour focuses on a local issue and community inneed. While the experiences vary in each destination, they all bring travellers face-to-face with a local issue and a program designed to address that issue. BEST CASES FROM INDIA Also on the adventure stage, Jayanthi Raghavan, Founder, Travel Responsibly and Sustainably, India delivered bets practices from India and featured destinations for responsible and sustainable tourism. The presentation included a quick peep into four states in India, and included a short video of each destination, followed by a case study from the destination. The case studies will include Best practice cases of homestays, community tourism, rural tourism, wildlife conservation, projects that give an alternative source of income to artisans, help conserve and promote languishing arts etc www.itb-berlin-news.com
19 BROUGHT TO YOU BY Arie Linsker CEO and COO, JetaLimo Delivering luxury to a broader demographic JetaLimo targets glamping and family travel Paul Gorman Senior Manager – Owner Engagement, Luxury Escapes ITB Berlin News spoke to Arie Linsker, CEO and COO at JetaLimo. We asked him about his company and focus at ITB Berlin. JetaLimo is a fast track and transfers integrator connecting travellers and agencies to its travel suppliers across the globe What are the main trends you are seeing in terms of buyer demand? There is no easy way to pre-book a transfer in advance at a remote location. JetaLimo was the first to introduce the real-time, seamless booking of this great airport solution. To date we cover over 275 airports and only a handful of competitors have joined in the auto-provisioning of these solutions. What are you hoping to gain from this year’s ITB Berlin? Over the last three years of participation at ITB Berlin, JetaLimo has recruited 271 affiliates worldwide who are the backbone of our operation. We believe in strong, profitable relationships with our local providers, without compromising on quality and pricing for our clients. We hope to recruit as many as an additional 75 affiliates this year to buy services from the across the globe. Are you interested in particular travel themes? There are two travel channels we are interested in this year, glamping and family travel. We’ve seen tremendous amount of growth in these two channels over the past few months. How important is the speed dating organised at ITB for you? I strongly believe that the speed dating during ITB is the single most important event of the entire show. It creates the perfect energy for conducting fast pace business and achieving the utmost results in just a few hours. WE HOPE TO RECRUIT AS MANY AS 75 ADDITIONAL AFFILIATES THIS YEAR How important is ITB Berlin for you as an event and why? We attend other shows around the world, but if we look at the ROI, the value for money at ITB is far superior than that of any other travel show on earth. Everybody comes to Berlin, and we always make a point of being there as well Paul Gorman is Senior Manager – Owner Engagement at Luxury Escapes, an e-commerce platform based in Australia. ITB Berlin News asked him about his business and its main focus. Luxury Escapes is at its core a strategic marketing acquisition platform that works with our selected partner hotels to deliver new guests (and incremental revenue) from outside their existing distribution channels. What are the main trends you are seeing in terms of buyer demand? Our market demands a great experience, and if I look at the Australian and New Zealand Markets it is becoming more prevalent that consumers are more savvy about what represents a great deal. CONSUMERS ARE BECOMING MORE SAVVY ABOUT WHAT REPRESENTS A GREAT DEAL What were you hoping to achieve at this year’s ITB Berlin? I set out to introduce Luxury Escapes to a broader market and drive new campaigns with new hotel partners in regions that we have not showcased as yet. Are you interested in particular travel themes? I am focused on higher end luxury hotels and resorts, looking for independent and more boutique management companies that have hotels and resorts in locations that we believe we can drive new business to. How important was the speed dating organised at ITB for you? It is important, however, as I am looking for a certain type of product, it would be good to be able to segment the speed dating into product genres as I believe this would enhance the experience and ensure that most meetings are relevant to what both sides of the table are looking for. Why did you decide to join the ITB Berlin Buyers Circle, and what, for you, are the key advantages of being a member? I have been a member of Buyers Circle now for four years, and each year it has allowed me to be far more efficient in my time management at ITB. It is such a big show with a lot of ground to cover, Buyers Circle allows to be more strategic in my planning ITB BERLIN NEWS • Friday 15 th March 2019
