Alessandra Priante

President of the Italian Government Tourist Board (ENIT SpA), Italy

Alessandra is the President of ENIT SpA, the Italian Tourism Board. In this role, she Presides the Board of Directors, designs the strategy and represents the Company abroad.
As an Economist with extensive international and diplomatic experience, she served as Director for Europe at the United Nations Agency for Tourism (UN Tourism), being the first woman and first Italian in the agency’s history to hold such a prestigious position. In this role, she managed the agency’s most significant region, comprising 43 Member States representing 51% of the global tourism market. During her tenure, she enhanced Member States’ satisfaction by introducing dynamic and effective projects and work methods, engaging the global private sector significantly, thus contributing to increased financial contributions to the agency.
Alessandra also adeptly managed the pandemic period – the most severe crisis for the global tourism sector – spearheading impactful initiatives such as the Global Tourism Crisis Committee and various global technical committees, positioning UN Tourism at the heart of European and global institutions. During this productive professional period, she positioned Italy at the center of global initiatives, from the global communication campaign for tourism recovery (#RestartTourism) launched on July 1, 2020, in Rome, to the organization of the first World Summit of Youth on Sustainable Tourism in Sorrento.

She is a graduate of Bocconi University in Business Economics, with two Master degrees including an executive MBA from Luiss Guido Carli University, fluent in six foreign languages (bilingual in Italian and English) and with a great passion for the public sector, she resumed the reins of the national tourism policy in 2015 after an exceptional five-year diplomatic mission in the Persian Gulf as a special envoy of the Government. The diplomatic project, that she herself conceived, aimed at promoting Italy’s cultural and educational heritage in the UAE, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain. The mission stemmed from Alessandra’s excellent results achieved in the early 2000s in the field of cultural heritage and audiovisuals, where she served as head of studies and international relations.

Upon her return, she quickly restored Italy to a central position in key international platforms, from UNWTO (World Tourism Organization) to OECD, Europe, and the BlueMed, Eusair, and Eusalp strategies. As an expert in policy, particularly in economic and financial analysis, Alessandra coordinated the construction of a robust national database and contributed to the drafting of the national strategic plan 2017-2020, governance reforms, and the challenging transition of tourism from culture vs. agriculture in 2018. In addition to this demanding role with the government in 2018-2019, she served as head of international relations and protocol at MiPAAFT.

Author of numerous publications, she has taught at various Italian universities and is currently an associate professor at Luiss Business School and a Research fellow at the Corporate Strategy Research Center at Luiss Guido Carli University. She is passionate about music, cinema (also a member of the European Film Academy), art, and good cuisine. She loves her work, reading, traveling, her family, friends, and AS Roma!

Eva Stewart

Expert in travel and tourism, Co-founder and Partner at GSIQ

Eva is a seasoned expert in travel and tourism research with over 16 years’ experience turning data into decisions for organisations around the world. She has held senior positions at major research houses like Euromonitor International and Oxford Economics, and YouGov. Her client portfolio spans hundreds of national, regional and city DMOs alongside major North American and European airlines, international hotel groups and travel operators, helping them sharpen brand and marketing strategies.

As Co-founder and Partner at GSIQ – an international insights agency – Eva leads award-winning primary research teams helping destinations and travel businesses from America to Australia. She has co-published studies with the World Travel & Tourism Council and the Travel & Tourism Research Association, and is widely recognised as a thought leader, a frequent keynote speaker, and regular media contributor on the trends shaping the global travel landscape.

Shaon Talukder

CEO & FOUNDER, Geotourist

Award-winning Chief Executive Officer with extensive experience driving innovation across leisure, travel & tourism, smart cities, and property sectors. Passionate about creating smart, accessible solutions that make life easier. A proven innovation entrepreneur, leading a multi-award-winning, world-class team, recognised as a disruptor in Travel Technology by TechNation, Euromonitor International, and Entrepreneur Magazine.

An experienced public speaker, delivering insights from Google HQ to World Travel Market and global stages, addressing disruption and solving major challenges in the travel industry using technology and data. Advisor and startup mentor in travel technology, helping early-stage ventures grow and scale. Guest lecturer at multiple universities across the UK and internationally on tourism and innovation. Founding member of the Male Allyship Group by Women in Travel and DEI mentor. Leadership roles with the Tourism Society, Tourism Management Institute, and other key industry organisations.

Olga Gončarova

CEO of tourism development agency Lithuania Travel

Olga Gončarova is a tourism strategist with more than 15 years of experience in B2B marketing, communications, and destination development. She currently serves as the CEO of Lithuania Travel, the national tourism development agency.

Olga leads the country’s tourism positioning and is responsible for uniting Lithuania’s tourism ecosystem – from industry partners to international media and tour operators. Her work focuses on priority global markets, building strong international partnerships, and promoting both inbound and domestic tourism.

She is driven by a clear ambition: to shift the tourism sector toward innovation and data-driven decision-making. With her strategic mindset and international expertise, Olga plays a key role in positioning Lithuania as an authentic, competitive, and sustainable travel destination.

Ivan Poltoracki

Director of Sales, Destinations

Ivan is a hands-on Senior Marketing Executive driven by innovation and a passion for all things digital. With over 15 years of experience in strategy, media, communications, and brand management, he has developed and implemented marketing strategies for both multinational and local brands across Europe.
Throughout his international career in Berlin, Kyiv, and Belgrade, Ivan has pioneered the growth of more than 100 brands across diverse industries and markets. He is recognized for his strong analytical mindset, strategic thinking, and ability to build lasting partnerships with clients, partners, and consumers.
At Amadeus, Ivan manages destination clients across Europe and Central Asia, helping them leverage data and digital tools to drive sustainable growth and innovation in tourism marketing.

Tania Sultana

Head of Research, Malta Tourism Authority, Malta

Tania is Head of Research at the Malta Tourism Authority. She has worked in tourism for 27 years and her main area of expertise is tourism market research and strategic planning.She has participated and presented research work in international tourism research conferences and seminars namely organised by Eurostat, OECD and UN Tourism. She represents the Malta Tourism Authority and is currently Chair of the Market Intelligence Group (MIC) of the European Travel Commission.Tania has been a member of the Management Board of the Malta Tourism Observatory since its inception.She is currently engaged in several projects involving AI technology, including an AI tourism platform for Malta, a platform for monitoring environmental indicators, and a project focused on tracking visitor flows in the capital city, Valletta.

Ged Brown

Founder & CEO, Low Season Traveller
Founder, World Tourism Seasonality Summit
Executive Director, World Tourism Association for Culture & Heritage

Ged founded Low Season Traveller in 2018 – the world’s first organisation dedicated to promoting travel during off-peak seasons to help address over-tourism. With over 30 years of experience at senior levels in leading travel companies such as Thomas Cook, Kuoni, Routes, ForwardKeys, and Travel Weekly, Ged is a passionate advocate for sustainable tourism that protects destinations, people, and cultures. He frequently delivers keynote speeches and writes about tourism trends and responsible travel. In addition to his work at Low Season Traveller, Ged is the Founder and CEO of the Tourism Seasonality Summit, an annual event bringing together global leaders to tackle the challenges and opportunities of tourism seasonality. He has also served on the management board of the World Tourism Association for Culture & Heritage since 2018.

Oliver Rowe

Managing Partner, GSIQ, UK

Oliver Rowe brings over 30 years of experience exploring the thrills of insight, combining a passion for data with award-winning expertise. He leads GSIQ’s Tourism Insights division, delivering data-driven strategy, digital and social intelligence, and advanced analytics to the global travel and leisure sector. Formerly Global Head of Leisure & Entertainment at YouGov, Oliver now focuses on running businesses, establishing international projects, and collaborating with select teams to drive innovation and actionable insights.

A sought-after speaker and thought leader, Oliver shares his expertise on tourism trends, market intelligence, and digital transformation across international conferences and forums. His work empowers destinations, operators, and stakeholders to make informed, strategic decisions, harnessing data to understand traveler behavior, identify opportunities, and navigate an ever-changing global market.

Nick Hall

Founder & CEO of the Digital Tourism Think Tank

Renowned keynote speaker and strategist, Nick Hall is a globally recognised authority on digital transformation in tourism, with over 20 years of experience in destination marketing, digital trends, and innovation. He founded the Digital Tourism Think Tank (DTTT), fostering collaboration among tourism professionals worldwide. Nick has consulted hundreds of destinations, helping them navigate the evolving digital landscape, adapt to changing consumer trends, and embrace continuous innovation. He leads a consultancy delivering visionary strategies, innovation processes, and transformation projects, and created a global platform and membership programme connecting Destinations, Industry, and Academia. Nick has also developed pioneering events, including X. Festival, Future. Destination. Brand., and X. Design Week, speaking at major industry events globally. His work empowers destinations to remain competitive and relevant, establishing him as a thought leader and catalyst for change in digital tourism.

Marius Skuodis

Board Member, Bank of Lithuania , Lithuania

Marius Skuodis is a Member of the Board of the Bank of Lithuania (since 2025), responsible for financial stability, financial market development, euro banknotes and coins, and the Bank’s corporate services.
He previously served as Lithuania’s Minister of Transport and Communications (2020–2024) and as Vice-Minister of the Economy and Innovation (2018–2020). Earlier in his career, he was Director of the International Relations Department at the Bank of Lithuania and lectured at Vilnius University.
He holds a PhD in Social Sciences and an MA in European Studies from Vilnius University, as well as an MPA in Public and Economic Policy from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Anant Sharma

Founder & CEO, Matter Of Form

Anant has spent sixteen years building Matter Of Form into something that sits somewhere between strategy, concept design, choreography and creative execution. He works with leadership teams at brands driven by craft and engineering—companies that become luxury through high design excellence, not merely commercial scale. His remit spans brand, behavioural design, and the sort of innovation that happens when you expose yourself to the right stimulus and trust the background process.
A regular speaker and board member of the UK Crafts Council, Anant explores themes of timelessness and human-centred design, with a particular interest in creating the right conditions for creativity and the value of things that can’t easily be measured.

Vilija Malinauskaitė

Founder & CEO of Travel Deli, Lithuania

Vilija has been working in the travel industry for 20 years and remains deeply passionate about the Baltics – a truly wonderful region to visit and to live in.
Driven by a strong focus on international markets, she was the first to introduce the Baltic region in Taiwan and Hong Kong.
With extensive experience in the Israeli and US markets, she has developed a deep understanding of their specific preferences.
She is skilled in incoming tourism, negotiation, business planning, sales, international business, and the hospitality industry.
In addition to her business expertise, she is also a research professional, holding a PhD in Tourism Destination Management, and takes great pleasure in sharing her knowledge with students and industry professionals alike.

Cordula Wohlmuther

Regional Director for Europe a.i., UN Tourism

Cordula Wohlmuther is Regional Director a.i. for Europe in UN Tourism. She joined UN Tourism in 2006, initially serving as a Regional Officer before becoming the Deputy Regional Director for Europe. In 2012 she took special leave to conduct research on tourism and peace at the Centre for Peace Research and Peace Education in Austria, resulting in two publications, including the International Handbook on Tourism and Peace, which won the 2015 ITB Special Management Award.

After returning in 2015, Cordula was appointed Head of UN Tourism’s Institutional Relations and Partnerships Department. In this role, she successfully, inter alia, contributed the implementation of the International Year of Sustainable Tourism 2017 and the development of UN Tourism’s first Resource Mobilization Strategy, which was endorsed by the UN Tourism General Assembly the same year.

In 2020, Cordula transitioned to the role of Coordinator in UN Tourism’s Department of Sustainable Tourism and Resilience. Here she has been responsible for implementing sustainability and monitoring initiatives at the destination level, in particular through managing the International Network of Sustainable Tourism Observatories (INSTO).
At the same time, she served as one of the lead authors of twelve reports on COVID-19 related travel restrictions for international tourism 2020-2023, which include analysis related to sustainability aspects. Cordula is also one of the lead authors of UN Tourism’s 2023 Tourism Visa Openness Report.

Before joining UN Tourism, Cordula worked from 2000 to 2006 in the Organization of Cooperation and Security (OSCE) Project Coordinator`s Office in Kyiv, Ukraine. As a Senior Programme Manager, she was responsible for projects on fighting against trafficking in human beings, initiatives on anticorruption and rule of law, and the re-training of former military personnel.

Cordula has a master’s degree from the University in Vienna, where she also did Ph.D. studies.
Cordula is fluent in English, Russian and Spanish, with some knowledge of French, Italian and Ukrainian, while her first language is German. She is a national of Austria.

Ignacio Jimenez

Counselor for Tourism Affairs

Ignacio Jiménez is the current Tourism Counsellor in Copenhagen, where he leads Spain’s tourism promotion strategy in Denmark and Lithuania. As Director of the Copenhagen Office, he promotes collaboration between institutions and industry partners to strengthen Spain’s image and competitiveness as a leading travel destination.
Before his current role, he served in the Knowledge and Data Unit at TourSpain, first as Chief of Unit and later as Area Manager, contributing to the development of research and analytical initiatives supporting Spain’s national tourism strategy, as well as other areas within the public administration and the private sector.

Peter Haxton, PhD

Senior Policy Analyst, Tourism Policy and Analysis, OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities, France

Peter is a Senior Policy Analyst with the OECD, and has been with the organisation since 2010. He works in the Tourism Policy and Analysis Unit, supporting the work of the OECD Tourism Committee. He is currently leading the OECD’s work on Improving the Evidence-Base for Sustainable Tourism Development, Preparing Tourism for Adaptation to Extreme Weather-related Events, and a National Tourism Policy Review of the United Arab Emirates. Other areas of recent work includes managing over 20 projects in seven countries, as part of the EU’s Technical Support Instrument (TSI) Tourism Flagship project, which focused on supporting EU countries to move towards more sustainable, resilient and digital tourism sectors, and supporting the Italian Presidency of the G7 to develop G7/OECD Policy Papers on Artificial Intelligence and Tourism, and Creating Economic Prosperity through Sustainable and Inclusive Tourism (2024). Peter has authored or managed the development of OECD Tourism Papers on Promoting the digitalisation of the tourism ecosystem in Italy: A focus on SMEs (2025), Measuring the digital maturity of tourism businesses in Slovenia (2025), Preparing the Tourism Workforce for the Digital Future and Preparing tourism businesses for the digital future (2020). Peter has held Senior Policy Advisor roles with the London Development Agency, Tourism Queensland, and the Australian Department of Industry, Science and Resources. He holds a Bachelor of Administration (Hons Class 1) from James Cook University, Townsville, and a PhD from the UTS Business School at the University of Technology, Sydney, Australia.

Contact: peter.haxton@oecd.org

For information: www.oecd.org/cfe/tourism

Rūta Pulkauninkaite- Macike

General Manager of the PACAI Hotel, Lithuania
General manager at award winning 5 star Hotel PACAI by Design Hotels™, restaurant and SPA in Vilnius, Lithuania

Ruta Pulkauninkaite Macike is a hospitality leader specializing in guest experience, service culture, and operational excellence for more than 23 years. She combines strategic insight with hands-on industry expertise to help teams deliver memorable, high-quality service. Ruta is passionate about people development and elevating the standards of modern hospitality.

Marite Vaisuna

General Manager of the A22 Hotel, Latvia

General manager at 5* superior hotel, One Key Michelin award 2025 hotel.
Marite Vaisuna is a seasoned hospitality leader with extensive experience in designing standout guest journeys and strengthening operational efficiency. For over 20 years, she has combined analytical thinking with indulge industry knowledge to guide teams toward exceptional service delivery. Marite,s commitment to professional growth and elevated service standards continues to shape the future of hospitality.

Magdalena Borek Mann

Managing Director CEE and Baltics

Magdalena Borek Mann is a seasoned leader at the intersection of travel, technology, and global market development. She is part of BizAway, one of Europe’s fastest-growing business-travel platforms, where she leads the company’s expansion into CEE and Baltic markets and contributes to its mission to simplify and modernise corporate mobility. With more than 22 years of experience across the travel, hospitality, tech, and service sectors, Magdalena supports organisations in adapting to changing traveller expectations and embracing digital transformation.

Her professional journey spans the US, Poland, and Spain, giving her a broad and multicultural perspective on the evolution of the global visitor economy. Throughout her career, she has focused on driving strategic innovation and leveraging technology to modernise travel, optimise international operations, and create meaningful experiences for travellers and destinations alike.

Efi Koudeli

Senior Regional Director Europe at ICCA

Efi Koudeli is the Senior Regional Director for Europe at ICCA, leading the association’s largest global region, which represents over half of ICCA’s worldwide membership across 56 countries. In this role, she shapes ICCA’s strategic direction in Europe, drives high-level partnerships, and leads initiatives that strengthen the competitiveness and sustainability of the region’s business events ecosystem.

Across her career, Efi has consistently worked at the intersection of tourism, destination development, and international meetings—connecting people, projects, and communities. She brings extensive hands-on experience from roles at the Greek National Tourism Organisation, IATA in Spain, This is Athens–Convention & Visitors Bureau, and the Thessaloniki Convention Bureau.
Her work is defined by a focus on collaboration, innovation, and human-centred leadership. She thrives in diverse, purpose-driven environments and in projects that require strategic vision and systems thinking.

Menno van IJssel

Project Manager Research
European Travel Commission

Menno van IJssel is currently project manager in the research department of the European Travel Commission (ETC), a non-profit organisation representing the national tourism organisations of Europe. In that capacity, Menno works on various research projects identifying key trends and opportunities for European tourism. He contributes to ETC’s key research publications and webinars, ranging from the monitoring of tourism flows, to tracking tourist sentiment and behaviour, to analysing sustainability indicators. His passion lies in understanding how people travel, where they go, and for what reasons.
Prior to his work at ETC, Menno obtained a bachelor’s and master’s degree in the field of Tourism in his home country the Netherlands.

Evelina Hederer

Director, Business Development – Expedia Group Advertising (EMEA)

Evelina Hederer leads business development and sales across the EMEA region at Expedia Group Advertising. She and her team partner closely with travel brands, tourism ministries, and destination management organisations to deliver creative, data-driven digital media campaigns across Expedia Group’s global travel network.

Prior to joining Expedia Group, Evelina worked at the Netherlands Tourism Board, where she managed international partnerships and helped strengthen global destination marketing strategies.

Saša Popovac

Head of Market Research and Analytics at Croatian National Tourist Board, Croatia

Saša Popovac is the Director of the Strategy and Business Intelligence business unit at Croatian National Tourist Board, responsible for defining, guiding, and overseeing an organization’s long-term strategic direction. This role combines market insight, business analysis, and cross-functional leadership to identify growth opportunities and ensure that strategic initiatives are effectively executed.

Along over 10 years of experience in market research and analytics in tourism with the Croatian National Tourist Board he has also held research and insights positions across top-tier national and international companies in the consumer goods and telecommunications industries, in addition to notable market research agencies.