Brussels, 11 June 2010. Ms Petra Hedorfer, CEO of the German National Tourist Board (GNTB) was unanimously elected President of the European Travel Commission at the organisation’s 78th General Meeting in Brussels on 10 June. Ms Hedorfer succeeds Mr Arthur Oberascher of Austria for a three-year term. Also elected at the meeting as the organisation’s Vice Presidents were Peter De Wilde (Toerisme Vlaanderen, Belgium), Dr. Ivan Rona (Hungarian National Tourist Office, Hungary) and Dimitrij Piciga (Slovenian Tourist Board, Slovenia).
Thanking Mr. Oberascher for his commitment and vision during two terms as President, Ms. Hedorfer singled out his initiatives to bring the organisation into the internet age, an emphasis on market intelligence, and the enlargement of ETC’s membership in eastern and southeastern Europe.
Outlining the goals of her presidency, Petra Hedorfer stated “ETC’s role today and in the future will be to support member national tourist offices in their intercontinental marketing activities based on market analysis with the aim of positioning Europe as a travel destination strongly against competing destinations. ”The UN World Tourism Organization’s long-term forecast predicts that, although Europe will retain the lion’s share of world arrivals, this share will decline by 2020 to 46 per cent from 60 per cent in 1995. Outbound tourism from North and South America, which today accounts for 56 percent of European arrivals, will decrease to 48 percent in 2020. Travel from Asia is expected to develop dynamically, with Asian arrivals in Europe expanding robustly from 39 to 47 percent.
“As Europe’s share of the global tourism market contracts, it is vital for ETC to re-evaluate its activities taking advantage of new developments in the distribution and marketing of tourism products”, explains Petra Hedorfer. ”We will adjust our focus to give greater emphasis to emerging markets in the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) economies. ETC will also continue to be a leader in market intelligence, the basis upon which all our activities must be founded. ”As CEO of the German National Tourist Board, Petra Hedorfer has been responsible for the promotion of Germany as a travel destination at home and abroad since November 2003. She joined the organization in 1998 as global head of marketing, and was appointed to the board as CEO for marketing in 2000. Previously, Ms Hedorfer, experienced in intercultural management, worked for an international retail company.
