Luís Araújo, CEO of Turismo de Portugal, has been elected president of the European Travel Commission (ETC) for a three-year term.
At the head of Turismo de Portugal since February 2016, Luís Araújo leads a team of 650 people and 350 external trainers. He coordinates 20 tourism delegations covering 26 foreign markets for Portugal.
Previously, Luís Araújo was a member of the Board of Directors of the Pestana Group (Portugal's largest hotel group with more than 100 hotels in 15 countries), responsible for operations in Latin America while heading the hotel group's sustainable development department. Luís Araújo was also Chief of Staff of the Portuguese Secretary of State for Tourism between 2005 and 2007.
The European Travel Commission was created in 1948 to promote Europe as a unique tourist destination in long-haul markets, particularly in Asia and the United States. It currently has 33 members.
Taking up his functions in the very particular context of Covid-19, the newly elected president will have in particular the mission to position the ETC as the most influential voice in the transformation of the sector towards the responsible, sustainable, digital and resilient tourism of tomorrowµ.
Luís Araújo aims:
To ensure that tourism has a stronger voice in Europe and the EU, through better coordination between countries, for a rapid and sustainable recovery of the tourism sector.
In his new functions, Luís Araújo will be surrounded by the vice-presidents of the ETC. Robert Andrzejczyk, from the Polish Tourism Organization (PTO), Magda Antonioli, from the Italian Government Tourist Office (ENIT), and newly elected Kristjan Staničić, from the Croatian National Tourist Board (CNTB), will coordinate ETC promotion activities focusing on visa facilitation, connectivity and sustainability. Luís Araújo succeeds Peter De Wilde, CEO of VisitFlanders, who has held the position for six years.
