The fastest growing travel community in Europe.
New deal europe forum 2024
Is the tourism boom in South East Europe good for the region, and can it be maintained sustainably?
Content Session hosted by ETOA
The Forum session will begin with the World Travel And Tourism Council’s latest data on tourism numbers to our region presented by Nejc Jus, WTTC's Head of Research.
The panel discussion session will follow.
Moderator:
Rachel Raed, Director of Insight & Business Improvement at ETOA - European tourism
association
Panel:
- Melissa Tilling, CEO of Sustainable Journeys by Charitable Travel
- Dritan Xhengo, MD and founder of Past & Present Journeys
- Krassimir Kiriakov, Head of the Commercial and Economic Section at the Bulgarian Embassy
- Nejc Jus, Head Of Research at World Travel & Tourism Council
SPEAKERS - NEW DEAL EUROPE FORUM 2024
Rachel Read (moderator)
Rachel Read (moderator)
Rachel Read (moderator)
Director of Insight and Business Improvement, ETOA
Rachel works with a range of partners to provide and comment on tourism data and statistics. She runs the ETOA Insight Hub, a one-stop centre for industry insight and thought leadership. Prior to European tourism association, she worked in consumer analytics and educational travel.
Melissa Tilling
Rachel Read (moderator)
Rachel Read (moderator)
Founder and CEO of Charitable Travel and Sustainable Journeys
Melissa Tilling, veteran of 37 years in the industry launched her unique social enterprise travel company Charitable Travel in 2020, with a commitment to a social purpose replacing shareholder value with philanthropy. In November 2023, in pursuit of #travelforgood, Melissa launched a new tour operator. Sustainable Journeys creates amazing holidays in the most sustainable way possible: rail enabled from the UK where possible, utilising EV self-drives and in-destination rail travel, offering locally owned and sustainably certified places to stay, spreading the wealth of tourism to secondary and tertiary destinations, and minimising the negative impacts of tourism.
Nejc Jus
Rachel Read (moderator)
Dritan Xhengo
Head Of Research - World Travel & Tourism Council
Nejc Jus is originally from Slovenia, but based in London. At WTTC he is responsible for shaping, leading and implementing the research agenda. The research is a key pillar of WTTC’s advocacy and is used to guide work in the organisation’s strategic priority areas. Nejc is also responsible for building and maintaining relationships with WTTC’s research partners.
Dritan Xhengo
Krassimir Kiriakov
Dritan Xhengo
Managing Director and Founder -
Past & Present Journeys
One of the first travel companies set up by the new generation which emerged after the fall of communism in Albania.
Dritan worked for some of the largest Internationals before starting his own travel company in 2008 with the goal of making it one of the finest of its kind in and beyond the Balkan Region.
Dritan holds a master’s degree in Business Administration from Bled School of Management.
He particularly enjoys spending time with his kids & travelling around the world.
Krassimir Kiriakov
Krassimir Kiriakov
Krassimir Kiriakov
Head of the Economic and Commercial department in the Embassy of Republic of Bulgaria in London
Krassimir Kiriakov has a longstanding successful career in international economic development. He has managed large development projects in cooperation with the World Bank, USAID amongst others. As a leading international expert in commodity based financing he implemented projects in Central and Eastern Europe, Asia and Africa. For fifteen years he was President of a very successful project management consultancy, based in Sofia.
Krassimir has served two times as a senior government official; Deputy Minister of Education and Science, and Deputy Minister of Economy and Industry of the Republic of Bulgaria.
Since 2022 he has been following a diplomatic career as Head of the Economic and Commercial department in the Embassy of Republic of Bulgaria in London.
destination presentations 2024
Destination presentations 2024
At the NDE 2024 we will feature the following destination presentations:
- Zagreb, The Capital of Croatia - Europe's best kept secret
- Bosnia and Herzegovina - The Most Exciting Destination in the World
- Montenegro - Montenegro: Wild Beauty
- Moldova - Top 10 reasons to visit Moldova
2024 Forum Partners
2024 Destination Presentations Partners
ARCHIVE: New deal europe forum 2023 Was SPONSORED BY MABRIAN
Is the New Deal Europe region the next big thing, and if so, are we ready?
Content Session
The panel discussion session followed on from 'Overlook 2023' travel statistics to the region presented by Mabrian Technologies, who we have commissioned to do the market research into tourism trends in South East Europe, which has been presented by Ana Borduzha, VP of Business Development at Mabrian Technologies.
Moderator: Tine Murn, co-founder, New Deal Europe
Panel:
- Mark Tanzer, CEO ABTA
- Marija Labovic, Acting Director, National Tourism Organisation of Serbia
- Nejc Jus, Head Of Research at World Travel & Tourism Council
- Denis Ilic, Senior Product & Contracting Manager G Adventures
ARCHIVE: SPEAKERS - NEW DEAL EUROPE FORUM 2023
Marija Labovic
Marija Labovic
Marija Labovic
Acting Director - National Tourism Organisation of Serbia
ARCHIVE: destination presentations 2023
Destination presentations 2023
At the NDE 2023 we will feature the following destination presentations:
- Slovenia - Explore Slovenia. In your own way.
- Montenegro - Montenegro: Wild Beauty
- Kras and Vipava Valley - Western Slovenian destinations: Karst, Vipava Valley and border city of Nova Gorica
ARCHIVE: Partnerships with New deal europe
Partnerships with NDE to develop tourism in the Greater Balkans
Presentations of NDE partnerships.
At the NDE 2022 in London we will present the following partnerships:
09.15 Kenny Smith and Julia Feuell - Online Travel Training (OTT) Watch here.
09.30 Anna Borduzha, Mabrian Technologies Watch here.
09.45 Armin Roelcke, Tour Amigo Watch here.
10.00 Sean Taggart, European Tourism Association (ETOA) Watch here.
10.15 Finn Bolding Thomsen, Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) Watch here.
ARCHIVE: NDE FORUM 2020
Supporting Each Other: sharing strategies and best practices
New Deal Europe 2020 Forum was our keynote seminar dealing with the main issue in travel. We assembled senior travel industry figures, both buyers and suppliers, to address the issues affecting them, and discuss how to get through the Covid crisis. The debate shone a light on best practices to keep travel businesses afloat and suggested strategies to attract new business.
Speakers
- Jennifer Tombaugh, President of leading US tour operator, Tauck
- Andrea Godfrey, Brand Manager of Regent Holidays, the first UK travel company to operate in Albania
- Dominic Burke, Managing Director of Travel Centres, the leading independent travel agency consortia in Ireland
- Antonia Urlić, Executive Director of Croatian luxury hotel brand, Stories Hotels
- Alp Ozaman, the New York based Regional Marketing Manager of Turkish Airlines
Moderator
- Lee Hayhurst, Executive Director of Travolution
2021 Forum Partners
ARCHIVE: NDE FORUM 2021
New Deal Europe 2021 Forum - our keynote seminars dealing with the main current issues in the travel and tourism industry.
The Restart - What to expect
- Primary Research from News UK into consumer confidence Tom Scott
- Global Overview by Oxford Economics Helen McDermott
- News Update on the Global Travel Taskforce Katie McGonagle, Features Editor, Travel Weekly
Destinations' presentations
- I FEEL SLOVENIA with Slovenian Tourism Board by Z. Vincetic Watch video
- Bosnia-Herzegovina with USAID Turizam by A. Lakic, F. Caluk, J. Jamakosmanovic Watch video
- Moldova with Invest Moldova by R. Verbeniuc, R. Dee Watch video
SPEAKERS and moderator
Jennifer Tombaugh
Jennifer Tombaugh is President of Tauck, the family-owned US-based tour operator serving all seven continents with more than 170 guided travel experiences and events for culturally curious travelers on land, small ship and river cruises. Jennifer oversees Tauck’s Worldwide Operations, Brand Management, Reservations, Guest Relations, Global Sales, and Digital & Direct Marketing teams.
Andrea Godfrey
Andrea Godfrey has worked for Regent Holidays for a total of 22 years starting in sales after graduation, and after a break working in Ukraine, returned to a General Manager role. In recent years, her role has involved mostly product and contracting in a wide variety of destinations from Iceland to Russia, including Ukraine and the Balkans.
Dominic Burke
Dominic Burke
Dominic Burke, Managing Director of Travel Centres has 40 years' experience in the travel agency sector in Ireland.. Travel Centres is Ireland's largest grouping of independently-owned and managed professional travel agents.
Antonia Urlić
Lee Hayhurst - moderator
Dominic Burke
Antonia Urlic is the Executive Director of Croatian upscale hotel brand, Stories Luxury Hotels. She has previously held senior marketing and promotions roles at Valamar Hotels and Croatian Airlines and was the director of the tourism sector at the Croatian Chamber of Commerce.
Alp Ozaman
Lee Hayhurst - moderator
Lee Hayhurst - moderator
Alp Ozaman is an accomplished airline executive with 18 years of travel industry experience and has been the Regional Marketing Manager for Turkish Airlines in New York for the last 11 years. His role also encompasses tour operations and corporate sales. In addition Alp is a lecturer in the Hospitality Department at the School of Professional Studies, New York University. More info.
Lee Hayhurst - moderator
Lee Hayhurst - moderator
Lee Hayhurst - moderator
Lee Hayhurst has been one of the leading figures in British travel trade journalism over the last 14 years. As the Editor and Executive Director of Travolution, he is at the forefront of the technology and digital revolution in travel. Lee is a regular contributor to the UK’s leading trade magazine Travel Weekly and has covered various travel sectors including cruise, travel agents and tour operators. He regularly moderates both Travolution and partner events and conferences.