ETC PICKS BUTLER

Manuel Butler, director general of Tourspain (Spain) has been elected president of the European Travel Commission (ETC) at its 84th general meeting in Dublin (Ireland) recently. Butler succeeds Petra Hedorfer of the German National Tourist Board (GNTB) for a three-year term. Also elected at the meeting were Gergely Horvath of the Hungarian National Tourist Office and Marios Hannides of the Cyprus Tourism Organization) as the ETC’s vice presidents. Butler has been CEO of the Spanish Institute for Tourism since January 2012 and has acquired extensive experience in destination marketing over more than 25 years working in management positions, both in the public and the private sector, in Western Europe, North and Latin America. Butler observed: “Europe is the world’s number one tourist destination. However, this leadership position should not be a reason for complacency. Europe has to contend with growing competition in the increasingly globalized international tourism market. In order to respond to this situation, the countries of Europe have to join forces, share resources and ideas and develop joint marketing initiatives to promote the excellence and diversity of Europe.” Go to http://www.etc-corporate.org for more.