At its 72nd General Meeting held on 26 April in Reykjavik, Iceland, the European Travel Commission (ETC) re-elected its President, Arthur Oberascher, for a further three-year term in office. The idea at the core of ETC is that `Destination Europe` can be more effective as a whole, said Oberascher, who continued, let us join together to develop ETC as Europe’s face to the world and the leading knowledge network for tourism.

The President recalled the achievements of the past three years, including the launch of the visiteurope.com portal and the development of a brand identity for `Destination Europe`, as well as five new countries joining ETC.

ETC convened in Reykjavik for the second time in its 59-year history. At the meeting, which was addressed by Mr Sturla Bo?varsson, Iceland`s Minister of Tourism and Transport, ETC expressed its thanks for the support and commitment of the Icelandic Tourist Board over the past years under its Director General, Mr Magnus Oddsson.

At the Reykjavik meeting, ETC also welcomed Georgia into its ranks, swelling membership to 38 countries. Georgia was represented by its Deputy Minister for Economic Development, Mr Vano Nakaidze, and Mr Otar Bubashvili, who is Chairman of the Ministry’s Department of Tourism and Resorts. The country follows Serbia, Montenegro and San Marino, which all joined ETC at its October 2006 General Meeting in Malta.

Looking ahead to his second term, Mr Oberascher stated that the challenge for both ETC and its member NTOs was managing change. This will require shifting sights from just one `P` to four ‘P’s: from organisations that focus on promotion, to knowledge-based organisations that also provide knowledge and counselling for product and service design, price strategies and placement.

ETC will hold its Third Executive Summit and Symposium on the subject of operational excellence on 3 October 2007 in Sofia, Bulgaria.