Sandra Moffatt from Tourism Ireland and Marco Frank from Visit Flanders have replaced Pascal Prinz in the chairmanship of the European Travel Commission’s (ETC) Canada chapter. The pair will be charged with fostering Canadian travel to Europe in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and strengthening the cooperation between the Canadian and the European tourism industry.
Sandra Moffatt has been the Market Manager for Canada at Tourism Ireland for the last 2 years and benefits from over 12 years’ experience in travel and tourism strategy in international markets. In her current Canada-based role, she has led advertising, media, partnerships, and publicity initiatives to restore visitor growth from Canada to Ireland. Moffatt was previously Trade & Business Partnerships Executive at Tourism Ireland and worked with carriers, agencies, and operator partners to drive demand for both business and leisure travel. At Centennial College Toronto, she has also led a variety of tourism and technology programmes.
Marco Frank is the Trade & Partnerships Manager of Visit Flanders North America, where he markets, sells and promotes Flanders-Belgium through the travel trade network in North America. He first took on the role of Vice-Chair of ETC’s US Chapter over four years ago, a role in which he has promoted Europe as a travel destination for North Americans. He comes to his new role with over 20 years of experience working for travel, media and technology companies such as BT/02, IMERYS, IZ-ON Media and Scenic Tours.
Since the pandemic travel between Canada and Europe has recovered steadily. In 2021, travel from Canada was down 80% compared to pre-pandemic levels, yet in 2022 it is currently only 41% down versus 2019. A total of 4.4 million Canadians are expected to arrive in the continent over the year, this makes it the 3rd largest long-haul source market for destinations in Europe.
Travel and tourism is a huge contributor to the global economy and European GDP. After a difficult couple of years in our industry, I am thrilled with this appointment. I look forward to working together with my colleagues and partners to rebuild the demand from Canada. A renewed focus on sustainability is also increasingly important, and Europe could not be better positioned to address this as we enter this next phase of tourism recovery.
Sandra Moffatt
Travel creates lasting physical and emotional relationships among people, places, and events that will make the world a better place.
Marco Frank
