Travel Hero Podcast: Recent Episodes
ITB
The tourism industry is full of big achievers and thrilling personalities, real travel heroes! The Travel Hero Podcast by ITB is a series of intimate talks with inspriring minds of the tourism industry about their lives, lessons learned, career tips and deep dive episodes on current trends moving the travel industry. Happy listening!
Are you interested in the role of females in Georgia? Meet the literary theoretician, translator, and doctor of philological sciences, Irma Ratiani, talking about the role of women in Georgian literature.
ExploreGeorgia
In 2016, ITB Berlin celebrated its 50th anniversary. The anniversary was the festive occasion for us to visit various destinations worldwide to thank them personally on site - under the motto "From Berlin With Love!"
50 topics or events from 50 destinations worldwide were selected as a hook for the visits, each related to tourism, politics, social issues, nature or history. 50 ITB Ambassadors (Ambassadors) from Berlin each visited a local Representative on site, with both people having a personal connection to the topic. During the personal meeting, an interview was conducted and each was presented with an ITB Buddy Bear.
Today, we are reviving these emotional stories, true to the motto: "What's up with the ITB Berlin Bears?"
Namely, we wanted to know how the Representatives have fared over the past 5 years, what they have experienced and learned, how the pandemic has impacted their work, and what their biggest wish is for the future.
Join us on this adventure!
Explore the vibrant culture immersed in the unique nature of our Host Country of ITB Berlin 2023, Georgia: Through this "300 seconds with.." episode, you'll meet the georgian fiction&screen writer, photographer, eco-guide, and birdwatcher Archil Kikodze talking about the country's birdwatching potential and the georgian folklorist, local collector and cultural preservationist - Luarsab Togonidze speaking about Georgian hospitality.
Emotionsaregeorgia
In 2016, ITB Berlin celebrated its 50th anniversary. The anniversary was the festive occasion for us to visit various destinations worldwide to thank them personally on site - under the motto "From Berlin With Love!"
50 topics or events from 50 destinations worldwide were selected as a hook for the visits, each related to tourism, politics, social issues, nature or history. 50 ITB Ambassadors (Ambassadors) from Berlin each visited a local Representative on site, with both people having a personal connection to the topic. During the personal meeting, an interview was conducted and each was presented with an ITB Buddy Bear.
Today, we are reviving these emotional stories, true to the motto: "What's up with the ITB Berlin Bears?"
Namely, we wanted to know how the Representatives have fared over the past 5 years, what they have experienced and learned, how the pandemic has impacted their work, and what their biggest wish is for the future.
Join us on this adventure!
In 2016, ITB Berlin celebrated its 50th anniversary. The anniversary was the festive occasion for us to visit various destinations worldwide to thank them personally on site - under the motto "From Berlin With Love!"
50 topics or events from 50 destinations worldwide were selected as a hook for the visits, each related to tourism, politics, social issues, nature or history. 50 ITB Ambassadors (Ambassadors) from Berlin each visited a local Representative on site, with both people having a personal connection to the topic. During the personal meeting, an interview was conducted and each was presented with an ITB Buddy Bear.
Today, we are reviving these emotional stories, true to the motto: "What's up with the ITB Berlin Bears?"
Namely, we wanted to know how the Representatives have fared over the past 5 years, what they have experienced and learned, how the pandemic has impacted their work, and what their biggest wish is for the future.
Join us on this adventure!
In 2016, ITB Berlin celebrated its 50th anniversary. The anniversary was the festive occasion for us to visit various destinations worldwide to thank them personally on site - under the motto "From Berlin With Love!"
50 topics or events from 50 destinations worldwide were selected as a hook for the visits, each related to tourism, politics, social issues, nature or history. 50 ITB Ambassadors (Ambassadors) from Berlin each visited a local Representative on site, with both people having a personal connection to the topic. During the personal meeting, an interview was conducted and each was presented with an ITB Buddy Bear.
Today, we are reviving these emotional stories, true to the motto: "What's up with the ITB Berlin Bears?"
Namely, we wanted to know how the Representatives have fared over the past 5 years, what they have experienced and learned, how the pandemic has impacted their work, and what their biggest wish is for the future.
Join us on this adventure!
In 2016, ITB Berlin celebrated its 50th anniversary. The anniversary was the festive occasion for us to visit various destinations worldwide to thank them personally on site - under the motto "From Berlin With Love!"
50 topics or events from 50 destinations worldwide were selected as a hook for the visits, each related to tourism, politics, social issues, nature or history. 50 ITB Ambassadors (Ambassadors) from Berlin each visited a local Representative on site, with both people having a personal connection to the topic. During the personal meeting, an interview was conducted and each was presented with an ITB Buddy Bear.
Today, we are reviving these emotional stories, true to the motto: "What's up with the ITB Berlin Bears?"
Namely, we wanted to know how the Representatives have fared over the past 5 years, what they have experienced and learned, how the pandemic has impacted their work, and what their biggest wish is for the future.
Join us on this adventure!
Wie können lokale Gemeinden beim Aufbau resilienter Tourismusprojekte unterstützt werden? Futouris-Mitglieder wie Gebeco unterstützen in ihren Projekten lokale Gemeinden und indigene Gruppen (z.B. eine Khwe-Gemeinde in Namibia) bei der eigenständigen Entwicklung und Umsetzung von touristischen Angeboten, um langfristig ein stabiles Einkommen zu generieren. Doch was, wenn keine Touristen mehr kommen? Die Corona-Pandemie mit den daraus resultierenden Reisebeschränkungen hat zu einem monatelangen Ausbleiben der Reisenden geführt und solchen gemeindebasierten Tourismusprojekten die Grundlage entzogen. Infolgedessen kämpfen viele lokale Gemeinden und insbesondere indigene Gruppen um ihre Existenz. Gleichzeitig hat die Pandemie deutlich gezeigt, welche Chancen in „community based tourism“ Angeboten liegen: wird der Tourismus als additive Einkommensquelle neben der Landwirtschaft aufgebaut und vorhandene Infrastrukturen (z.B. home-stays) genutzt, ermöglicht dies eine höhere Resilienz. Was sind wichtige Erfolgsfaktoren für ein resilient aufgestelltes CBT-Unternehmen? Was sind die Learnings aus den Projekten der Futouris -Mitglieder aus den letzten 2 Jahren mit Corona? Kann die Beteiligung von Gemeinschaften und der Nutzen des Tourismus für die ortsansässige Bevölkerung für die Reisebranche insgesamt zu einem Schlüsselfaktor in der Produktentwicklung und -vermarktung werden? In einem kritischen Gespräch treffen die Futouris-Mitglieder Gebeco und ATC Namibia auf Prof. Dr. Christian Baumgartner.
We encounter the term and concept of resilience in many aspects of life. People asked about how they’d define it, might say it is about one’s ability to bend but not break, bounce back, and perhaps even grow in the face of disadvantageous or negative life experiences. The American Psychological Association (2014) defines resilience as “the process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats or even significant sources of stress.” Sure, this definition gives you the gist – but it does not reflect the complex nature of resilience and its biological, psychological, social and cultural factors that interact with one another: Just because one adapts well to stress in a workplace, this does not mean they also do so in their personal life. At work, especially New Work, resilience plays a major part – particularly relevant in our era. The Covid-19 pandemic we have been facing for almost two years completely turned our already rapidly changing world of work upside down. It gave New Work another digitalization boost. And even companies that had long opposed digital change had to resort to digital solutions. The pandemic obviously also had an impact on tourism. Which is what Tourism Resilience is about: an industry’s need, to adapt to those current challenges. In economic jargon, self-reliance refers to the inward development of a country – meaning that it does not export raw materials but uses them in its own country. On an individual level, self-reliance is described by the Cambridge Dictionary as “the quality of not needing help or support from other people”. Therefore, self-reliance is the ability to rely on your own efforts, abilities, powers and resources, rather than that of those around you. Apart from an individual’s or a country’s, this can also be transferred to a company’s self-reliance – which is what we especially want to focus on in this podcast.
Meet My Green Butler in our most recent ITB Travel Hero Podcast! What is a "green butler"? An easy-to-use sustainability management platform that uses gamification and eco-feedback to persuade guests, staff and tourist accommodation owners to effectively reduce carbon emission through conserving energy & water & cutting waste. That sounds interesting, doesn’t it? ..and it’s fit for business: As a cloud-based SMART tech solution with science-based results, it monitors multiple resource types, audits carbon and records financial savings in real-time. The amazing part is that everyone is involved: Guests and staff enjoy being involved and are highly motivated to help conserving resources - it’s actually their behavior which is in the center of this sustainable hospitality management tool. Learn more about the story behind it when our CSR Commissioner Rika Jean-Francois chats with Dr. Christopher Warren, Founder & CEO of My Green Butler
In 2016, ITB Berlin celebrated its 50th anniversary. The anniversary was the festive occasion for us to visit various destinations worldwide to thank them personally on site - under the motto "From Berlin With Love!"
50 topics or events from 50 destinations worldwide were selected as a hook for the visits, each related to tourism, politics, social issues, nature or history. 50 ITB Ambassadors (Ambassadors) from Berlin each visited a local Representative on site, with both people having a personal connection to the topic. During the personal meeting, an interview was conducted and each was presented with an ITB Buddy Bear.
Today, we are reviving these emotional stories, true to the motto: "What's up with the ITB Berlin Bears?"
Namely, we wanted to know how the Representatives have fared over the past 5 years, what they have experienced and learned, how the pandemic has impacted their work, and what their biggest wish is for the future.
Join us on this adventure!
From 8 to 10 March 2022, the ITB Berlin Convention, a leading thinktank and the largest travel industry event of its kind, will focus on solutions regarding resilience, digitisation and sustainability. Due to the coronavirus pandemic the event will take place entirely online on the brand website itb.com, and for the first time from Tuesday to Thursday. Numerous leading speakers will talk about the global challenges facing the travel industry, share their unique expertise, provide orientation and take a look at the future.
This podcast aims to preview this year’s ITB Convention and, as a kind of kick-off event, to take a look at the key topics. What will we be doing in 2022, and why? And how are we moving forward with the key topics of recent times?
*Please note: the podcast was recorded before the emerging current crisis, so no reference was made to it
In 2016, ITB Berlin celebrated its 50th anniversary. The anniversary was the festive occasion for us to visit various destinations worldwide to thank them personally on site - under the motto "From Berlin With Love!"
50 topics or events from 50 destinations worldwide were selected as a hook for the visits, each related to tourism, politics, social issues, nature or history. 50 ITB Ambassadors (Ambassadors) from Berlin each visited a local Representative on site, with both people having a personal connection to the topic. During the personal meeting, an interview was conducted and each was presented with an ITB Buddy Bear.
Today, we are reviving these emotional stories, true to the motto: "What's up with the ITB Berlin Bears?"
Namely, we wanted to know how the Representatives have fared over the past 5 years, what they have experienced and learned, how the pandemic has impacted their work, and what their biggest wish is for the future.
Join us on this adventure!
In 2016, ITB Berlin celebrated its 50th anniversary. The anniversary was the festive occasion for us to visit various destinations worldwide to thank them personally on site - under the motto "From Berlin With Love!"
50 topics or events from 50 destinations worldwide were selected as a hook for the visits, each related to tourism, politics, social issues, nature or history. 50 ITB Ambassadors (Ambassadors) from Berlin each visited a local Representative on site, with both people having a personal connection to the topic. During the personal meeting, an interview was conducted and each was presented with an ITB Buddy Bear.
Today, we are reviving these emotional stories, true to the motto: "What's up with the ITB Berlin Bears?"
Namely, we wanted to know how the Representatives have fared over the past 5 years, what they have experienced and learned, how the pandemic has impacted their work, and what their biggest wish is for the future.
Join us on this adventure!
In 2016, ITB Berlin celebrated its 50th anniversary. The anniversary was the festive occasion for us to visit various destinations worldwide to thank them personally on site - under the motto "From Berlin With Love!"
50 topics or events from 50 destinations worldwide were selected as a hook for the visits, each related to tourism, politics, social issues, nature or history. 50 ITB Ambassadors (Ambassadors) from Berlin each visited a local Representative on site, with both people having a personal connection to the topic. During the personal meeting, an interview was conducted and each was presented with an ITB Buddy Bear.
Today, we are reviving these emotional stories, true to the motto: "What's up with the ITB Berlin Bears?"
Namely, we wanted to know how the Representatives have fared over the past 5 years, what they have experienced and learned, how the pandemic has impacted their work, and what their biggest wish is for the future.
Join us on this adventure!
In 2016, ITB Berlin celebrated its 50th anniversary. The anniversary was the festive occasion for us to visit various destinations worldwide to thank them personally on site - under the motto "From Berlin With Love!"
50 topics or events from 50 destinations worldwide were selected as a hook for the visits, each related to tourism, politics, social issues, nature or history. 50 ITB Ambassadors (Ambassadors) from Berlin each visited a local Representative on site, with both people having a personal connection to the topic. During the personal meeting, an interview was conducted and each was presented with an ITB Buddy Bear.
Today, we are reviving these emotional stories, true to the motto: "What's up with the ITB Berlin Bears?"
Namely, we wanted to know how the Representatives have fared over the past 5 years, what they have experienced and learned, how the pandemic has impacted their work, and what their biggest wish is for the future.
Join us on this adventure!
Clio Muse Tours was awarded for the eighth Sustainable Development Goal – Decent work and economic growth. Launched in 2014, Clio Muse has developed advanced technology tools and content for thematic tours focusing on gastronomy, architecture and dark tourism, among many others. It has developed over 300 virtual tours, offering tourism and culture professionals the opportunity to create audio and virtual tours of landmark sites, as well as city walks and roadtrips. In our newest episode we asked Daphne Tsevreni, Co-Founder & CFO of Clio Muse Tours: "What were the biggest challenges for you in combining tourism and sustainability?"
Meet Lisa Zink, the 27th Stollenmädchen from Dresden who is the official representative of Dresden’s Stollen Baking. The Dresden Christstollen® is a delicious Christmas treat first recorded in 1474 and part of the Christmas tradition in Saxony. The original Stollen can be recognized by its golden seal of quality.
Chemnitz- the capital of culture 2025 – is full of surprises.
In our latest "300 seconds with.." podcast episode you will get to know Dr. Sabine Maria Schmidt, who is the curator of the Chemnitz Art Collections talking about upcoming art highlights, especially focussing on the art movement of “The Bridge” as three of the founding members were born and brought up in and around Chemnitz. A “must see” for art lovers!
This is a dive deep into sustainability and digitalisation. Recent natural disasters and severe weather events have increased the urgency to act. The tourism industry in particular has an enormous impact on global warming - so it is only understandable that we in this industry need to pay special attention to it. The last time the world faced a similar upheaval was with the digital revolution some 20 or 30 years ago. Willy Legrand and Lea Jordan talk in this episode about the important concepts of digitalisation and sustainability. Together they will address the question "Is Sustainability the New Digital?".
Das Erzgebirge auf dem Stoneman Road entdecken mit Celina Distler, einer jungen gebürtigen Fränkin, die ins Erzgebirge gezogen ist und von der Natur und vor allem den Bike-Tracks der Region ganz begeistert ist. Auf dem Stoneman Miriquidi erlebte Celina 162 km pure Mountainbike- Emotionen mit 2 Ländern, 9 Gipfeln und 4.400 Höhenmetern inmitten idyllischer Natur.
Oliver Winter has made the most of the time: he and his staff are ready for Post-Corona! On its way to becoming Europe's first zero-emission hostel chain, the Berlin-based company is already looking at a "sustainability agenda" with more than 170 measures. There are, of course, obstacles to overcome in the process. So we asked Mr. Winter: "What challenges do you face and how do you overcome them?"
We asked Simone Jacke: "What does luxury in tourism mean when paired with authenticity and respect to location?”
Those who have a winemaker as a father are raised in the vineyards: Matthias, what does it mean to have your own vineyard in Saxony?
"Tourism Declares Climate Emergency: How can you join this movement and how can businesses and individuals take action to reduce their carbon emissions and the like?"
"Gothenburg: a true pioneer in sustainability! What can we expect from Gothenburg as 2020 European Capital of Smart Tourism in terms of sustainability, Mrs Thorstensson?"
"How does the 2020 European Capital of Smart Tourism Malaga approach digitalisation and will this be the future of tourism after COVID-19?" Insights from the International Economic Development Director & European Capital of Smart Tourism Spokesman, City of Málaga, Spain
"Are there new trends in digitalisation evolving in the travel and hospitality industry right now? And if so, which trends are we talking about exactly?" Here are valuable insights on trends by industry expert Lea Jordan.
"How can tour operators and travel agencies prepare for the rise in global travel demand, and what role does digitalization play then?" Insights and tips from a founder and CXO of a forward looking creative agency.
"North Rhine-Westphalia: trendsetter, creative and inspiring – what does the region have in store for urban explorers and city lovers?" Join this 300 second audio tour through the urban areas of North Rhine-Westphalia.
"Sustainability and adventure travel: is it a dream come true in Georgia?" The Goletiani siblings from Georgia have the answer!
„Why is Saxony Germany’s no.1 cultural destination?“ Insights about a German state full of touristic highlights - this is the Official Culture Destination of ITB Berlin NOW: Saxony
"How can global air transport get back on its feet, Mr. von Randow?“ Insights by an expert from the German Aviation Association on the future of air travel.
"Verändern Millennials das Reisen von morgen?" Die Antwort haben Frau Braun und Herr Beyer! Sie sprechen über Kernergebnisse einer Studie zum Reiseverhalten von Millinials (German only)
"Dear Richard, what exactly defines LGBT+ travel and why is it so important for tourism providers to actively include all identities?" Insights on LGBT+ travel from Greater Fort Lauderdale.
"The life of a travel blogger in times of COVID-19 – what are the changes and chances, Viktoria?" Insights from a travel blogger and travel enthusiast.
"Which forms of travel do Facebook user appreciate the most, Mr. Raschke?" Insights from Facebook, build technologies that help people connect with friends and family, find communities, and grow businesses.
"What do you say, Ms. Bremner: Will we recognize the travel industry once COVID-19 is cured?" Insights from Euromonitor, the world's leading independent provider of strategic market research.
"The future of trade shows: where are we headed, Mr. Ruetz?" Insights from ITB Berlin, the World's Leading Travel Trade Show.
Ian and Philip didn't know they'd meet each other for this podcast episode but we knew exactly one topic that unites them: Communities! Out came a very open first meeting and some very useful insights on how to build and engage communities.
We gathered a bunch of experts to answer the question on how to travel responsibly in times of flight shame, overtourism and the like. While 'atmosfair' sheds light upon offsetting flights, we get useful tips on how to chose a sustainable tour operator by 'forum anders reisen' and receive insights from 'visit Berlin' on their strategies undertaken to make new neighbourhoods and activities sexy for tourists. There's many lessons learned and one crucial shout out to all travellers: it's time to RETHINK TRAVEL!
Mandy tom Dieck and Timothy Young will introduce AR/ VR within the tourism and cultural heritage context, discuss its opportunities and challenges and provide a number of use cases, its outcomes and lessons learned. Future scenarios and possible developments will be highlighted as part of this talk.
This is a dive deep into the world of NEW luxury tourism. CEO's of well-known hotel brands share their perspectives on how to enhance the experiences of their luxury guests. You'll take away crucial insights on how to build a luxury brand considering the challenge of keeping brand promises and differentiated souls without simply duplicating. The discussion gets heated up once the terms "digital detox" and "digitalization" come up...
Timothy O'Neil-Dunne gained foothold in the travel industry at an early stage, was on the start up team of Expedia and considers himself as an "agent of change". He is very clear about the bright and dark sides that the travel industry brings and shares his thoughts on the importance of listening and transformations in life.
Why Gopinath Parayil (short: Gopi) is a true travel hero? He pioneered when founding one of the first travel companies from India with focus on responsible tourism: The Blue Yonder. They like to call themselves a "Development Intervention Organisation" aiming to create better places for people and communities to live as THE basic foundation for tourism to be sustainable. Listening to Gopi's story he might transform your way of travelling, too.
Get ready for the new TripAdvisor! Face to face with Stephen Kaufer, CEO of TripAdvisor, this interview during ITB Berlin Convention reveals insights into the world's largest travel platform. You'll get to know the importance of trust and sharing experiences in this business and gain first hand knowledge about TripAdvisor's plans on becoming the starting point of every journey.
Andy Owen Jones, CEO and visionary Co-Founder of bd4travel, is talking about the importance of using Big data and AI to understand customer's current and future behavior. How he "fell" into travel technology and finally brought bd4travel to life? He'll tell you!
"Anyone can belong anywhere" - That's what Airbnb is about. The President of Homes of Airbnb, Greg W. Greeley talks about his work at Amazon prime and how he started at Airbnb. The mission of Airbnb: Meaningful and memorable travel as well as a personal connection with the people you're visiting. Get inspired by Greg's story!
Invent, improve and understand your customers' needs – of today and tomorrow. In this talk Jens Wohltorf, CEO of Blacklane, emphasizes the value of Concierge Service and the transformation of future mobility. How to be ready for the future, Jens?
Put your headphones on and listen to Angel Zhao giving latest business insights about the Alibaba ecosystem and its newbie Fliggy which has been recently launched as the new Chinese shopping platform. Trip.com and Fosun round off the panel to bring you up to date. Enjoy!
Travel and tech - these are the two passions of our travel hero Monika Wiederhold, Managing Director at Amadeus Germany. During the interview she reveals how 9/11 changed her personal and professional life and why Mahatma Gandhi is her personal super hero. Monika's advise to future travel heroes? Stay curios and travel!
Learn from the "Uber story" in this episode with Christoph Weigler, General Manager, Uber Germany. Christoph claims that we should start to move away from owning a car to using mobility as a service in the future, about "Doomsday" in future mobility, opportunities in rural areas and about his personal super hero: his daughter. Why he doesn't own a car himself? He'll tell you!
"What’s the most dreaded question in an earnings call, Mark Okerstrom?" – this is how Philip Wolf starts the conversation at this years ITB Berlin Convention and it only gets even more honest from here. Canadian Mark Okerstrom, CEO of the Expedia Group, shares insights into one of the world's leading travel companies. The CEO reveals their efforts in putting the "A" back in "OTA", what the next 20 years of travel are all about and what he truly thinks about industry competitors like booking.com
Verena Keimer calls herself a travel enthusiast. She's always been fascinated by the travel industry. Stepping into various jobs in her life always adapting to new environments she knew that the key is exchanging with people and learning from these chapters. That's what brought her to where she is now - an inspiring woman for young talents of the industry.
Andrew Nelson talks about his life at National Geografic Traveler and the strength of storytelling. According to Andrew the most important thing in travel is to take time and enjoy yourself and to meet and understand people from other countries. Be curious to listen to some of his inspiring and instructive anecdotes.
This is Kash Bhattacharya on his life as a travel blogger, author and travelholic. He talks about his mission on the transformation of hostels and why being in a hotel is a real experience today! He has the travelled the world and his answer on the most amazing country he's ever been to comes quick like a shot.
Inspiring Charlotte Lamp Davies talks about women in the travel tech industry, equal opportunities of man and woman alike and about the importance of mentoring and role models. According to Charlotte the two things you need if you want to be successful: Integrity and communication skills, because in the end your reputation will be everything!
The Travel Hero Podcast by ITB features intimate talks with inspiring minds of the tourism industry.