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European Travel Commission names new Chairmanship in Australia

European Travel Commission names new Chairmanship in Australia

The European Travel Commission (ETC) announces the appointment of Sofia Hansson, Director for Australia at Tourism Ireland, and Livio Goetz, Director of Switzerland Tourism in Australia, as the Chair and Vice-Chair respectively of ETC’s newly relaunched Australia Chapter, ETC’s eyes and ears in the marketplace. The appointment of Hansson and Goetz marks the official return of ETC in Australia after an absence of 20 years.

Sofia has over twelve-years’ experience in destination marketing. Since 2015, she has been responsible for leading Tourism Ireland’s operations in Australia and New Zealand, in particular the implementation of the marketing strategy which delivered a record number of over 200,000 Australian visitors to the Island of Ireland in recent years. Prior to her role in Sydney, Sofia worked with Tourism Ireland for 6 years in various executive roles including Senior Advertising Executive – GB and Brand Partnerships and Trade Executive in both The Netherlands and Great Britain.

Livio has been working at the helm of Switzerland Tourism in Sydney since July 2019, driving new and repeat visitors to Switzerland from Australia and New Zealand. Previously, Livio worked as Head of the Switzerland Convention & Incentive Bureau in London for five years. Seasoned tourism expert Goetz started his career at the Switzerland Travel Centre in Zurich, followed by management positions at Lucerne Tourism (Switzerland) and Worldwide Events (UK).

Together, Hansson and Goetz will consolidate the activities of ETC in Australia, whose role is to leverage European destinations’ promotional activities by setting up effective platforms for cooperative marketing, access to market intelligence, exchange of best practices, cooperation and relationships between the Australian and the European travel and tourism industry.

Hansson said: “I am delighted to be appointed as Chair of the European Travel Commission and excited about the opportunity to lead the launch of ETC’s new marketing strategy ‘Horizon 2022’ which follows a new global approach and consumer segmentation. It is a great honour to work with the ETC Brussels team and member countries here in Australia as we plan for recovery and navigate through the challenges of COVID-19. I look forward to promoting European destinations and, when the time is right, encouraging the Australian trade and travellers to experience what Europe has to offer.

Goetz said: “I was excited to hear about the ETC re-entering the Australian market. With the travel industry going through a global crisis, the Horizon 2020 marketing strategy with its new thematic approach is the right way to face the current challenges and to create sustainable growth for Europe. As Vice-Chair of the Australia Chapter and in cooperation with all ETC members, I look forward to actively contribute building a distinctive image of Europe as a travel destination.”

Australia ranks fourth among all out-of-region outbound travel markets to European destinations. 5.67 million travellers from Australia arrived in Europe in 2019, accounting for a market share of 31.8% of all Australian outbound travel. Tourist arrivals from Australia to Europe are expected to grow an average of 1.1% per year through to 2024 awed by Europe’s easy access, a great transportation infrastructure, short distances, value for money, a great diversity of landscapes, history, culture and lots of culinary experiences to look forward to.[1]

[1] Source: ETC Quarterly Report 4/2021, Tourism Economics data