January'20 Message from the CEO
Executive Board Meeting
The beginning of the year brought the Executive Board all together in Christchurch, New Zealand. There were days of intense and productive work, in which we took stock of the overall situation of the organisation and defined many of the short and medium - term objectives which will be reflected in the next strategic plan for 2020 - 2023 on which we are working.
They will focus on four main points:
Innovation: continue to incorporate technological development into the organisation which enables it to be at the forefront, strengthen the different aspects of our organisation, and adopt new technologies.
Membership: increase the body of members at a global level, providing clubs with the tools and information needed to achieve this objective.
Services: creation of value for the membership with more and better services for members, with short-, medium- and long-term plans.
Our Brand: maintain and improve the corporate positioning of Skål International in the global Tourism sector.
At the end of our meetings, we were able to spend some time with the local Christchurch Club which is celebrating its 50th anniversary and to socialise with the members from New Zealand and Australia who took part in a lovely day.
While, our technical team continues to work putting the finishing touches to the new tool and finalising the operability of the system at 100 percent so that the Clubs can operate correctly within the new platform.
This task has been delayed by a month with respect to the initial deadline, but with a project of this magnitude, it is more than understandable due to the countless challenges that arise during the data migration and testing processes.
Over the next few days we will be working as normal and resolving the specific issues that arise from now on, when the whole tool is tested.
I encourage you to browse through the information we have prepared for all the members in our special section. There you will find user guides that we recommend you read to facilitate your immersion in the new platform.
As Charles Darwin said: "It is not the strongest species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one that best responds to change". Don't be afraid to delve in and investigate the new tool, I assure you that when we all become familiar with it, we will be able to get a lot out of it.
FITUR, International Tourism Trade Fair in Madrid
This year's edition of FITUR was a great success. The International Tourism Trade Fair has closed with 'record figures', with a total of 255,000 visitors, 918 regular exhibitors, 11,040 companies, 165 countries and regions and an International participation of 56%.
Skål International was present with a large stand which served as a meeting and promotion point for Skålleagues and visitors.
Board of Directors of the UNWTO Affiliated Members 2020
Meeting of the new Board of Directors of the UNWTO Affiliate Members
Madrid also hosted the first meeting of the new Board of Directors of the UNWTO Affiliate Members. In it we defined the calendar of actions for this year and addressed current issues that concern and impact the Tourism Industry.
As a member, Skål International will be responsible for actively promoting responsible, sustainable and accessible Tourism; so that all our members are focused on the fulfilment of the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDA), which are universal in their scope.
156 countries are members of the UNWTO, a major force encouraging compliance and implementation of the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism, in order to maximise the socio-economic contribution of Tourism while minimising the potential negative impacts it may have.
This year, we at Skål International will work extensively on the dissemination of these objectives.
