At the recent CONNECT Travel Conference, a gathering of leading tourism companies and travel buyers, the industry gathering was highlighted by two outstanding sessions. The first one was an hour conversation with former USA President Barack Obama, who discussed his life in the White House, its impact on his family, and what it was like to be a former president. His discussion did not include any aspects of American politics in 2020.
Instead, a highlight of his laid back, funny, and self-deprecating presentation was his commentary on tourism, which of course was of major interest to the hundreds of travel professionals in the audience. Obama included tourism promotion as one of his key initiatives to rebuild the national economy after the 2008 economic downturn, due to its ability to quickly generate employment and improve the balance of international trade. Obama was a key advocate of the Travel Promotion Act, which established the highly successful agency Brand USA, the promotion arm for inbound Tourism to America. He was delighted to take some credit for his role in this effort. This comment was met with thunderous applause.
While the Obama appearance received the most interest at the conference, the second event, a dinner organized by Women in Travel and Tourism International (WITTI), provided recognition to a couple dozen internationally outstanding women leaders in the industry for their achievements. Among these women were eight members of Skal International, the world’s largest organization of top travel industry leaders which has chapters in over eighty countries worldwide. Laura Mandala, Founder of WITTI, recognized the following Skal International women for international awards:
- Jennifer Ackerson, Skal International Long Island, Tourism Marketing.
- Dawn Drew, Skal International New York, Travel & Tourism Media.
- Morgan Maravich, Skal International Washington, Rising Stars in Travel.
- Holly Powers, Skal International Boston, Lifetime Achievement in Travel.
- Iris Salazar, Skal International New York, Travel and Transportation.
- Julie Scott, Skal International Nairobi, Travel and Transportation.
- Phyllis Stoller, Skal International New York, Travel Blogging.
- Lavonne Wittmann, Skal International Pretoria, Mentor in Travel.
CONGRATULATIONS FROM SKAL INTERNATIONAL ISTANBUL
SKAL International Istanbul President Ayşe Önen, who published a congratulatory message about the subject in English via TOURMAG Tourism Magazine, stated the followings: “I am very pleased that many women Skalleague were known for their successful works in the travel and tourism industry and were rewarded in this prestigious organization. This news is the best proof of where Skal International is today.
AS A WOMAN PRESIDENT, I AM VERY PROUD
As SKAL Turkey, which elected a woman President of the SKAL World in 2008, Hülya Aslantaş, I also prouded very much as a woman president of SKAL Istanbul again. With the motto ‘Doing Business Among Friends’, I am extremely happy to be among the world’s oldest and well-established tourism industry leaders, founded in 1934.”
