The “exchange among experts” took place for the seventh time – and offered a varied program of speeches, speed dating, theme workshops and a lot of networking. Around 50 participants met on Friday, 29 November 2019 at the “Haus am Dom” in Frankfurt am Main.
The mixed group of participants consisted of members of the TourCert community, project partners, external guests and of course the TourCert team. The purpose of the meeting was to exchange ideas, discuss current topics, make contacts and get news about TourCert.
Dr. Peter Zimmer, TourCert shareholder and consultant, warmly welcomed the guests and guided them through the day in a good mood. TourCert Managing Director Marco Giraldo briefly presented current topics and segments, reported on our anniversary celebrations and the figures of the TourCert Community. In addition, he referred to already established and planned strategic partnerships in the field of sustainable tourism.
As a keynote speaker at this year’s TourCert Forum, Dr. Martin Lichtl, Managing Director of the communications agency .licht Ethics & Brands, gave a lecture entitled “Fascination Sustainability in Tourism” and gave us insights into his expertise in the field of “Ethical Marketing” using practical examples. These were discussed with the audience in a lively manner.
After a short break we went on with the speed dating. At two long rows of tables the participants got to know each other at lightning speed on the questions “Who am I?”, “What is on my mind regarding sustainability?” and “What am I looking for?” – each in just 2 minutes. The time passed rapidly, but offered the opportunity to have already exchanged a few words with at least half of the participants. The conversations could then be deepened during the lunch break that followed.
Strengthened, we then moved on to the second part of the day, which was marked by workshops. Three of the four workshops took place as part of the fairwärts project by TourCert & KATE Umwelt & Entwicklung. Fairwärts, the competition for sustainable travel, started its third round last week. The topics dealt with in the workshop are at the same time the competition categories: Sustainable service chain, fair encounters and biodiversity in tourism. The fairwärts project is supported by Engagement Global, an initiative of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Protestant Church Development Service.
Niklas Bolenz, Regional Coordinator Rhineland-Palatinate of “ServiceQualität Deutschland”, discussed with the participants the topic “Designing the customer journey in a sustainable way – fair along the service chain in hotels and destinations”. At the same time, Jara Schreiber, coordinator of the Roundtable Human Rights in Tourism, explained the new tool “Get started” in the workshop “Human Rights Responsibility – How can tour operators measure risks and impacts in their destinations?
After a coffee break and some fresh air, we continued with the workshop “Networks in Tourism – Potentials and Benefits of Excellence Initiatives and Clusters”, led by Cilia Mayer, Project Manager at TourCert. At the same time, the other half of the participants worked with Herbert Hamele, President of Ecotrans e.V., on the topic “Preserving the diversity of nature – biodiversity in tourism”.
The topics were diverse and everyone found something that was at their interest. Whether tour operator, destination or accommodation, everyone could contribute and take benefits with them. The summary and presentation of the results in the plenum also proved this.
The feedback for the day in Frankfurt was very positive, the atmosphere very good – there was a lively exchange. So another exciting TourCert Forum came to an end. Once again we would like to thank all participants and contributors!
Further impressions of the event can be found here.
Tags
Exchange, Experts, Networking
