Megan Morikawa.
The Travel Foundation has sharpened its focus on climate change and equity for local communities as the big issues that present both the greatest threat to the long-term viability of destinations and also the greatest opportunity for tourism to adapt.
Leading global tourism NGO, the Travel Foundation, has appointed four new trustees as it seeks to broaden further its perspective and to build on expertise across its key focus areas of climate change and equity. The charity appointed board members from outside the UK for the first time last year and has added to the team with four new members with diverse experience and perspectives. The four new trustees are:
- Dr. Susanne Etti, Global Environmental Impact Manager for Intrepid Travel. Based in Melbourne, Australia, she’s a passionate advocate for the environment who has dedicated more than 15 years to fighting climate change. Dr. Etti is helping lead Intrepid, and the wider travel industry, transition to a low carbon economy through science-based approaches to decarbonization. She is a firm believer in the importance of intersectional sustainability, ensuring climate justice wholly considers social equality, diversity and female empowerment.
- Georgette James is Founder of Clynice Travel & Tourism Consulting, which focuses on market research, analysis, and strategy. Georgette is based in the USA and is a Northeast chapter Board Member of the Travel & Tourism Research Association.
- Megan Morikawa, Global Director of Sustainability at Iberostar Group. Based in the USA, Megan brings a fresh perspective from her career in marine sciences and her experience of driving innovative solutions in circular economy, blue foods, climate mitigation and adaptation, and coastal resilience for the tourism sector.
- Mehmet Semsettin Toprak is Turkey Programme Manager at the TUI Care Foundation. Based in Turkey, Semsi managed the Travel Foundation’s projects in the country until earlier this year, leading two successful initiatives that tackled one of the most challenging aspects of destination sustainability: linking small-scale producers with a large, mainstream tourism supply chain.
Helen Marano, Chair of the Travel Foundation’s board of Trustees, said “Growing the board of trustees is part of our drive for greater diversity and representation across all aspects of our work. We are delighted to welcome four such high calibre additions to our board. These appointments will bring new experience, ideas and connections, as well as strengthening the stewardship of the organisation as we continue to evolve.”
Jeremy Sampson, Travel Foundation CEO, said “In the shadow of the climate emergency, the Travel Foundation is on a mission to support travel and tourism as it moves towards a more equitable future that delivers positive outcomes for communities and the environment. We regularly seek to broaden our expertise and benefit from different perspectives, both of which are necessary as we move through a period of transformation to address big challenges and leverage unexpected opportunities. I am delighted that our newly announced Trustees add such depth to our organisation in these important ways, and our executive team welcomes these highly respected voices to the Travel Foundation community.”
The Travel Foundation has sharpened its focus on climate change and equity for local communities as the big issues that present both the greatest threat to the long-term viability of destinations and also the greatest opportunity for tourism to adapt. For example, the charity is stepping up its support for destinations on climate action planning and adaptation, including through the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism, which the Travel Foundation helped to launch at COP 26, as well as an exciting new initiative with Expedia to offer training and practical guidance to destination management organisations. The Travel Foundation has also partnered with easyJet holidays to offer a pioneering approach to destination stewardship in five European destinations and continues to Chair the Future of Tourism Coalition (of which it is a founding member), which held its first summit in Athens earlier this month.
Tatiana is the news coordinator for TravelDailyNews Media Network (traveldailynews.gr, traveldailynews.com and traveldailynews.asia). Her role includes monitoring the hundreds of news sources of TravelDailyNews Media Network and skimming the most important according to our strategy.
She holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication & Mass Media from Panteion University of Political & Social Studies of Athens and she has been editor and editor-in-chief in various economic magazines and newspapers.
