RT Forum Guest Speakers
Geoffrey Lipman is Director and chief disruption architect of greenearth.travel, a global think tank network, promoting green growth and travelism (travel & tourism) and specializing in strategy, innovation and funding. He is President of ICTP (International Council of Tourism Partners) & Associate of Cosmos China.
Lipman is Adjunct Professor at Victoria University Australia, Visiting Professor at Oxford Brookes University UK and Senior Tourism Research Fellow at George Washington University US. He is a Member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council. He has written and lectured widely on tourism strategy, sustainability and airline liberalization. In 2012 he launched at the Rio+20 Earth Summit a new compendium of leadership ideas from nearly 50 of the best thinkers inside and outside the sector. “Green Growth & Travelism; Letters from Leaders”
Lipman joined the International Air Transport Association in the 1960s and rose to become its Executive Director before his appointment as the first President of the World Travel & Tourism Council from 1990 to 1999. Between 2006 and 2010, he served as Assistant Secretary General and spokesperson of the UNWTO, the World Tourism Organization and prior to that acted as Advisor to the Secretary General. He has served on Boards and Advisory Committees of public & private sector groups in Africa, Europe, Middle East & Canada, as well as EU Commissions on Airline Liberalisation and on Tourism Employment.
Jens Thraenhart is a global tourism and hospitality strategist. He has been doing travel online marketing since 1995, and established his consultancy Chameleon Strategies in 1999 with the mission to help firms ‘adapting to an ever-changing environment’.
Jens remarkable experience in key strategic positions (in North and Latin America, Europe, Middle East, and Asia) in e-commerce, marketing, change management, CRM strategies and corporate strategy has been recognized with prestigious awards from industry associations including the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI), the Association of Travel Marketing Executives (ATME), and the Canadian Marketing Association (CMA). Travel Agent Magazine recognized him as one of the ‘travel industry’s top 100 rising stars’ in 2003. He was listed as one of the ‘25 Most Extraordinary Sales and Marketing Minds in Hospitality and Travel’ in 2004 and 2005.
Based on his ability to leverage social media and digital marketing strategies, he developed a unique ‘think global-act local’ methodology. Partnering with a Chinese travel technology company he created the brand strategy advisory firm Dragon Trail, and launched the online resource portal and community ChinaTravelTrends.com (Twitter: @cnTravelTrends). His blog “TourismInternetMarketing.com” is widely respected and frequently quoted.
With nearly 20 years of experience in hospitality and tourism, he has served on various industry boards, including both the Global Board and the Americas Board of Directors of the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI), as well as Global and the North America Board for the International Federation for IT and Travel & Tourism (IFITT).
Erika Harms is the Executive Director of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC). In this role, Ms. Harms manages and oversees the implementation of activities under the framework of the GSTC, a cutting edge initiative that provides a clear set of standards, protocols, processes and measurements for how businesses can better the planet and practice sustainable tourism. Ms. Harms has focused on creating platforms to bring together the private and public sector in support of the United Nations’ conservation priorities, and has spearheaded initiatives such as the World Heritage Alliance for Sustainable Tourism and the Partnership for Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria. She serves as a judge of several awards. In 2008, Conde Nast Traveler recognized Ms. Harms as a “Trail Blazer” in Sustainable Tourism and in 2010 she received the HSMAI award for Top 25 Most Extraordinary Minds in Sales and Marketing. Ms. Harms holds a degree of Attorney at Law and a master’s degree in Business Administration and Natural Resource Management from INCAE, Central American Institute of Business Administration, in Alajuela, Costa Rica. Born in Costa Rica, Ms. Harms’ native languages are Spanish and German.
[message type=”custom” width=”100%” start_color=”#9DAAC7″ end_color=”#9DAAC7″ border=”#BBBBBB” color=”#333333″]Participate in the Responsible Tourism events at ITB Asia 2012. Don’t miss out on this chance to meet inspiring people who’ve made a difference in their destinations via tourism. Wild Asia together with other amazing sustainable tourism partners will be at the Responsible Tourism Center booth (Exhibition Hall, L7455). Come meet us and we’d love to have a chat with you! [/message]
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