Tag Archives: Heart of Europe Travel Summit

In collaboration with premium partner Lufthansa Group, more than 200 regional and international key decision makers from the travel trade industry attended the travel trade networking event, to celebrate the conclusion of the ‘Heart of Europe’ Travel Summit; a joint networking-event hosted by the national tourist boards of Germany, Switzerland and Austria prior to the Arabian Travel Market exhibition (ATM) for the very first time.  Entitled “Reach for the Stars”, the lavish evening event took place on the rooftop of the Five Palm Jumeirah Hotel, offering its high-level guests  an outstanding view of the Dubai skyline. Heinrich Lange, Senior Director Sales, Gulf, Afghanistan and Pakistan, Lufthansa Group, said, “We are delighted to have concluded the Heart of Europe Travel Summit with a tremendously successful networking evening. The GCC is a key focus market for us at Lufthansa Group in view of the strong growth prospects for travel from the GCC to Europe, Switzerland, Austria and Germany in particular, and the event offered us an excellent platform to strengthen our relationships with our customers and partners to reinforce our commitment to this region.” Highlighting the thrills the European neighbouring countries have to offer, guests were welcomed to experience an authentic culinary journey at the dedicated German, Swiss and Austrian food corners, while being entertained by a live band who traditionally performs at the world famous Oktoberfest in Munich, ‘Die Kirchdorfer’ who played famous tunes from the three countries aiming at inspiring guests to make Germany, Switzerland and Austria their summer holiday destination of choice. Emphasising the importance of flights connectivity between Europe and the GCC countries, the premium partner Lufthansa Group is proud to be one of the first aviation companies …

Demonstrating their commitment to the Gulf region, the European national tourist boards of Germany, Switzerland, Austria and France are hosting an exclusive networking event in Dubai this April, ahead of Arabian Travel Market (ATM). In a combined effort, Atout France’s travel trade workshop ‘Marhaba’ will kick off its two-day event on April 24 while the national tourist boards of Germany, Switzerland and Austria will take over on April 26 and host the ‘Heart of Europe Travel Summit’ at Sofitel, The Palm Resort & Spa, Dubai. More than 40 tourism suppliers from France and 80 from Germany, Switzerland and Austria – ranging from local tourist boards, hotels, destination management companies, airports, shopping facilities, transport companies as well as medical clinics – are looking forward to developing knowledge about the destinations, and also providing travel trade from the GCC with the opportunity to source products to enhance their holiday offerings for the summer season and beyond. The four tourism boards expect an attendance of over 100 buyers from the GCC region. Highlighting the importance of the travel trade industry in the Gulf region, Sigrid de Mazieres, Director–Gulf Countries, German National Tourist Office, said, “We are excited to collaborate with our European neighbouring countries, and to facilitate business relations between our touristic partners and the local travel trade through this new innovative platform.” The travel trade workshops will include pre-scheduled B2B appointments, cutting-edge presentations and extensive social programmes to experience the destinations’ hospitality and networking opportunities with participating decision-makers. “We believe that one of the many challenges facing the travel trade industry today is to keep abreast of the growing and changing needs of travellers from the region. This joint and unprecedented event …