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Mr. Derek Andre Hanekom was appointed as the Minister of Tourism in the South African Government, on 26 May 2014. Minister Hanekom was born in Cape Town, South Africa on 13 January 1953 and did his schooling there. It was his arrest for participating in a peaceful candlelight demonstration at John Vorster Square, the Police Headquarters in Johannesburg that prompted the start of his active political life in 1976. He and his wife Patricia joined the African National Congress (ANC) in 1980, and did underground political work while farming on a smallholding in Magaliesburg. This led to their arrest in 1983. After serving a three year period in prison, he worked with the trade union movement in Johannesburg, until his wife's release from prison in 1987, and subsequent deportation to Zimbabwe. They spent the following three year in exile in Zimbabwe. He returned to South Africa after the unbanning of political organizations in 1990, to work at the headquarters of the ANC, where he was responsible for policy formulation onland an agricultural matters during the period of negotiations prior to the first democrtatic elections in 1994. He was appointed Minister of Agriculture and Land Affairs from 1994 to 1999, piloting various reform bills through Parliament which aimed to redress the injustices and inequities caused by apartheid laws and the 1913 Land Act. During the period 1999 - 2004 he served as a Member of Parliament on various Parliamentary Committees until his appointment as the Deputy Minister of Science and Technology in April 2004. During October 2012 he was promoted to Minister of Science and Technology where he served his term until 25 May 2014.
Prior to joining WTTC in November 2010, David worked for 6 years in private equity and venture capital, completing deals in technology and travel sectors.David was CEO of Opodo, pan-Euorpean online travel company from 2002 to 2004, building the business from start up to a EUR 500 million transaction turnover, before it was sold to Amadeus.He joint the board of Hilton International in 1997 as senior VP sales, marketing and IT, leading the brand re-unification programme between the two Hilton shareholder companies.David rejoined British Airways from 1993 to 1997 as regional general manager Asia/Pacific. He established the Joint Service Agreement and global alliance with Qantas.He joined American Airlines in 1991 as managing director sales, Europe Middle East and Africa.David's earlier career was with British Airways, with a variety of operational and sales roles in US, Europe, Latin America, Gulf States, Africa and Asia.
"Made in the USA" is partly true for Martina. Martina was born in Germany, spent part of her youth in South Carolina until finding her home in Cape Town. Living on three different continents most certainly sets the scene for a life in travel. Martina started her career in travel earning her stripes in the operations of hotels, working her way up in the various departments having her eye always firmly on the sales & marketing side of the business. Sales, marketing and PR took her form the Radisson Group, and international jeweler and the Starwood Hotel Group until finally starting her own Tourism Marketing Company, Lets Go There, 11 years ago. She is very proud to call the Vineyard Hotel amongst her list of clients. The newest division of her business is Rainbow Family Adventures focusing on gay family travel. Martina considers herself extremely lucky and blessed every day to combine her passions with her work; travel, family & people.
Michael supports the NGLCC's international initiatives, focusing primarily on the organization's project to build the capacity of Latin American LGBT-owned businesses and to help launch affiliate chambers of commerce throughout the region. In this role, Michael works closely with counterparts to expand the reach of the NGLCC's International LGBTQ+ Supplier Registration program and to build strong relationships with community leaders throughout Latin America. Prior to joining the NGLCC, Michael contributed to a project management team for an international development firm. While attending graduate school, Michael also worked for the U.S. Department of State in the Consular Affairs division.
Based in New York City, Tanya Churchmuch is the founder of MuchPR, a public relations agency specializing in tourism/hospitality, lifestyle and LGBTQ+ markets. Prior to launching MuchPR, Tanya live in Montreal, Canada and was Tourism Montreal's Assistant Director of International Media Relations and Leisure Markets, while also overseeing their LGBTQ+ outreach. She was also the founder of the (former) lesbian travel website www.girlports.com. In 2008 Tanya was elected to the IGLTA Board of Directors and currently serves as Immediate Past Chair. An expert in LGBTQ+ travel, she has spoken at numerous travel industry events around the world and written travel articles for many LGBTQ+ and mainstream publications. Prior to working in travel, Tanya was a television journalist and news anchor.
Jody fell in love with Africa in 1998 and started sharing her love of Africa with groups in 2004. Her passion, love and respect for the continent is evident in every aspect of her trips. Her focus is the LGBTQ+ adventure traveler. She has climbed Kilimanjaro twice, once to raise funds to end bullying of LGBTQ+ students in California schools. She is the only highly qualified American lesbian who guides safaris in Africa with a Level 2 (out of 3) Field Guide certification and Trails Guide certification with the Field Guides Association of South Africa. She has trained with the Kenyan Safari Guides Association as well. In 2016 she will complete the highest level of guiding, Level 3. She also works for two of South Africa's leading guide training institutions to instruct new, young and aspiring safari guides.
On March 14, 2014, Mayor BIll de Blasio announced the appointment of Fred Dixon as President & CEO of NYC & Company, New York City's official marketing, tourism and partnership organization. With more than 25 years of experience in the travel industry, Dixon has the overall responsibility for developing and implementing New York City's tourism and convention development strategy internationally as well as in domestic leisure and business markets. At NYC & Company, he has built a professional sales and marketing team that is at the core of the organization's strategy to increase visitation and economic impact across the City. Joining NYC & Company in 2005, Fred led the aggressive and successful expansion of the City's international marketing efforts. With a strategic focus on growing visitation and visitor spending, NYC & Company focused on emerging global markets rapidly expanding the City's presence from six traditionally strong origin markets to 17 offices covering more than 28 countires in just over two years. Prior to joining NYC & Company, Fred servec in key positions at th Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau, Delta Air Lines and Group Sales Box Office.
In January 2010, a passion-driven career change saw Enver join Cape Town Tourism as the Executive Manager of Tourism Services, he was appointed as CEO in 2013. As Cape Town's official tourism agency, Cape Town Tourism (CTT) is responsible for the city's visitor information, industry services and tourism marketing. To date Duminy has been involved in various ground breaking tourism projects which include:
Duminy's current focus as CEO of Cape Town Tourism is to work alongside his team and the stakeholders of Cape Town Tourism (including more than a thousand signed-up members), to find ways to address seasonality in Cape Town by combining innovation and agility.
Moira has a background in both the corporte and NPO world where she has helped new start ups get off the ground and to turn around non-performing corporations. She is a registered Chartered Marketer (CM(SA)) with an interest in strategy and sales and marketing. During the apartheid years Moira was involved in human rights activism and remains committed to fighting for the rights of GLBTI people in Africa. In the early 1980s at the height of the repressive apartheid regime, Moira was the first person to start and operate and exclusively gay and lesbian book and publication distribution business in Southern Africa representing both British and American publishers in South Africa. In 2011 Moira completed her Touris Guiding qualification and registration. After doing market research and gaining a better industry understanding, she began working on a part-time basis (in her own company as well as with external clients) to test and implement what she was learning from her research. In February 2015 she finalised all outside consulting projects to concentrate on building her travel and tourism business full time.
Orain Edwards is the Global Program Manager for the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC). Originally from Jamaica, he holds a B.S. in International Relations from the University of West Indies Mona Campus. Prior to NGLCC, he worked as the program manager for Jamaica Youth Advocacy Network (JYAN), coordinating joint initiatives between Advocates for Youth and amfAR, where he focused on sexual reproductive health and rights, and HIV and AIDS. In 2011, he deepened his passion and expertise in youth empowerment by coordinating a national HIV project tailored for LGBT, street youth, teen moms, and gang members at the Caribbean Vulnerable Communities Coalition. He has also participated in the National Youth Parliament for three consecutive years and sat on the Jamaica National Commission for UNESCO Education Advisory Board.
Elliott Ferguson serves as President and CEO of Destination DC, the official convention and tourism corporation for Washington, DC. A 26-year veteran of the travel and hospitality industry, Ferguson leads Destination DC's efforts to generate economic opportunity for the District through meetings and tourism, overseeing the organization's convention and tourism sales, marketing, finance and business development operations. Ferguson began his tenure with Destination DC in 2001 as Senior Vice President of Convention Sales and Services and has served as President and CEO of Destination DC since 2009. Priot to working at Destination DC he served as Vice President of Sales at the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau. He has also served as Director of Sales for both the Atlanta and Savannah, Georgia Convention and Visitors Bureaus. His many memberships in the industry include the American Society of Association Executive, Professional conference Management Association, International Association of Exhibition Executives and Detsination Marketing Association International.
Jason is an analyst and industry commentator within the Southern African tourism sector. With 22 years experience including strategic planning, research analysis, niche market activation and travel trade interaction, he has attended 18 consecutive Tourism Indabas (South African Travel Market) and numerous other travel trade shows such as Meetings Africa and World Travel Market-Africa.. Jason was born to a South African mother and Canadian father in the coastal city of Durban in 1976, where he lives today. A keen human rights activist, he was founding Chairperson of the KwaZulu-Natal Gay & Lesbian Tourism Association (KZNGALTA) in 2004 and held the position for a decade; he has been the chief marshal of and assisted in organizing the Durban LGBTI Pride Parade since 2011; he founded in 2011, and is festival director of, the Durban Gay & Lesbian Film Festival.
Peter J. Frank is an award-winning travel and luxury lifestyle content strategist and founder of Peter Frank Consulting, a New York-based advisory firm. The former editor-in-chief of Concierge.com, Frank has extensive experience building and revitalizing brands across digital social and print media. Prior to launching his consultancy, Frank was the Director of Editorial Product Development for Travel + Leisure, where he guided the magazine's evolution into a multi-platform brand. His primary focuses were increasing T+L's social media footprint, launching tablet and mobile editions and integrating the print and digital teams. Frank has also held senior content positions at Travel + Leisure, Conde' Nast Traveler and Men's Journal. A passionate and adventurous traveler, Frank as visited nearly 50 countries. When not on the road, he divides his time between New York City and the Catskills.
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Nondumiso "Ndumie" Funda is a gay female activist who grew up in Gugulethu, a black township near Cape Town. She was raised in a strict Seventh Day Adventist family, in a society where women couldn't be outspoken and they were not equal, but she knew she was a lesbian and a feminist at an early age. The pain and struggle of those less fortunate inspires her to fight for change, first in the anti-apartheid movement and now for the rights of LGBTQ+ people. In March 2008, after the death of her fiancee, Nosizwe Bizana, and her dear friend Luleka Makiwane, she founded the organization Luleki Sizwe. Both women were raped because of their sexual orientation and died from HIV/AIDS. Luleki Sizwe, which means "discipline the nation constructively", focuses on education to combat homophobia. Funda also looks after lesbian women who have been abused in horrendous ways and are living with HIV and other scars. She has conducted studies into local hate crimes as well.
Ceci is an entrepreneur, and her business grew from Austin Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (AGLCC) member referrals. She has been serving on the AGLCC board since 2001 (with a couple of short respites). Ceci also serves as the Southwest Mountain Region Chair of the Council of Chambers and Business Organizations at the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, and on the Human Rights Campaign's Austin Steering Committee.
Mario Hardy was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) on November 1 2014. He previously joint the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) as the Chief Operations Officer on January 15 2014. PATA is a not-for-profit membership association that acts as a catalyst for the responsible development of travel and tourism within the Asia Pacific region. The Association, which celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2011, provides travel industry leadership and counsel to over 90 government, state and city tourism bodies, nearly 50 international airlines, airports and cruise lines, and many hundreds of travel industry companies across Asia Pacific and beyond. Mario is also past Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the PATA Foundation, a non-profit organization with a mission to contribute to the sustainable and responsible development of travel and touris in Asia Pacific through the protection of the environment, the conservation of culture and heritage, and support for education. He is an entrepreneur, serial angel invester with close to 30 years of combined leadership, corporate development and change management experience. Prior to PATA, Mario worked 14 years for UBM/OAG a business with a focus on data analytics and events for the aviation sector and occupied several leadership roles in London, Bejing and Singapore.
Rika Jean-Francois holds a master's degree in Social Anthropology and Iranian Studies with an expertise on ethnic identitie, sustainable development and diversity issues. She has been actively engaged in tourism since her early days when she worked as a historical guide and coordinator with an incoming agent in Greece. Working for ITB Berlin since 2004 she started building up the fair's Corporate Social Identity and quickly became involved in responsible tourism, coordinating, planning and speaking at sustainable tourism events internationally. Putting an emphasis on diversity, she procactively helpbed develop the LGBTQ+ travel segment of ITB and currently serves on the board of IGLTA.
Peter Jordan has emerged as one of the travel industry's leading specialists on Millennial consumers, the emerging markets and their effect o nthe dynamics of global tourism. He is an avid follower of tourism trends and works extensively in industry education and forward planning for destintaions and travel brands around the world. Peter is a Milennial travel himself and has visited over nearly 40 countries, researching and observing the ways in which his generation is changing the travel industry and how the travel industry can capitalise on those changes. He also applies this knowledge in his role as Senior Tourism Analyst with the destination marketing agency Toposophy. His previous career experience includes the United Nations World Tourism Organisation and the World Youth & Student Travel Confederation. In additiona to this work on emerging markets, he has authored a wide range of travel trends reports including the UN's first ever report on LGBTQ+ travel which has gained global recognition for its pioneering content and educational value. In recent years, Peter has delivered Keynote presentations on NextGen travel trends at industry events in Berlin, Manila, Sydney, Tokyo and the prestigous Global Tourism & Economic Forum in Macau. Originally from the UK, and a fluent speaker of French and Spanish, Peter is currently based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Shaun is an admitted attorney, a qualified forensic investigator and a lecturer who in 2011 joined the UKZN School of Law, Howard College Campus, Durban. Shaun hails from Durban, KwaZulu-Natal but studied at the University of Pretoria where he completed both his Bachelors in Commerce specializing in Law and Bachelor in Law degrees. Shaun's field of interest lies in constitutional law, administrative law and human rights law, specifically regarding sexual orientation. Shaun is an out activist in the Durban community and associated with the Durban Lesbian and Gay Community and Health Centre (Durban Centre). Shaun is Chairperson of the Durban Pride Advisory Committee, Deputy-Chairperson of AfroGames 2017 LOC and also the current chair of the KwaZulu-Natal Gay and Lesbian Association (KZNGALTA).
Marco has been working for the development of tourism in Brazil for many years, coordinating and participating in the most important events to take place in the country, such as the FIFA World Cup and the Olympics. He currently serves as Head of Projects and Partnerships for the Presidency at EMBRATUR, where he is responsible for all of their promotional work. He was previously the Director of Products and Destinations and the Director of Marketing. Besides having also served in the Department of Development of the Brazilian Midwest Region - Ministry of Social Integration, he has been an Advisor to the Minister at the Ministry of Tourism, an Administrative Assistant in the House of Representatives, and a Commercial Administrative Advisor at the Embassy of Brazil in France.
Auston is a writer, blogger and social media authority within LGBTQ+ travel and runs the blog Two Bad Tourists and recently founded the company Outfluential, which focuses on influencer travel marketing. He grew up in Arizona and in 2012 sold his belongings and embarked on a round-the-world trip. After traveling for a year, he finally settled in Spain with his husband. When he's not traveling or writing about events, festivals or recommending the best LGBTQ+ destinations, he enjoys the long sunny days and nightlife of Madrid. He's also the founder of #mygaypride, a digital influencer-based marketing campaign aimed at promoting LGBTQ+ tourism which has generated more than 40 million impressions to LGBTQ+ travelers on social media.
A trusted and respected global strategic advisor and five-time author in Tourism & Development, Anita Mendiratta, is the Founder and Managing Director of CACHET CONSULTING - in international consulting firm working closely with leaders in governments, private sector businesses, and international organisations. Working across the spectrum of destinations, aviation, hotels & resorts, mega-events and attractions, Anita has established a reputation for providing critical direction, insight and inspiration into destination development, recovery and competiveness. Alongside her business leadership role, Anita is also honoured to be:
As a result of her international reputation as an advisor, author, presenter and confidante at the highest levels, Anita has become a sought after speaker, moderator, facilitator and coach in the advancement of tourism and development in nations across the globe.
Justin has used his background in small business and issues advocacy to help build a national organization that has given a much-needed economic identity to the LGBTQ+ community. Since its inception in 2002, the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce has grown to be the largest LGBTQ+ economic advocacy and business development organization in the world. Prior to launching the NGLCC, Justin was the Director of Federal Affairs and External Relations for the American Academy of Ophthalmology in Washington, DC. While helping craft and implement the legislative agenda of one of the top medical specialty associations, Justin spent five years fighting for patient and physician rights before Congress, the White House and regulatory agencies. During his tenure, the organization was named one of the top 100 lobbying organizations in Washington, DC by Forbes Magazine. Prior to lobbying Congress and the White House, Justin spent five years as an aide in the United States Senate. During his time on Capitol Hill, Justin worked on issues ranging from small business, labor and trade, to healthcare, travel and tourism.
Zandile leads and executes Accenture's Global Supplier Inclusion and Diversity agenda in country together with the Enterprise and Supplier Development element of the B-BBEE codes. She achieves the organization's commitment to an inclusive and diverse supply chain through Accenture South Africa's corporate Enterprise and Supplier Development (ESD) program, which targets the development, support and provision of access to market for the Black Owned SMEs. This initiative forms part of Accenture's Global Diverse Supplier Development Program. Zandile has extensive skills and expertise into the entrepreneurship ecosystem having commissioned a study into the South African entrpreneurship landscape. She has a post grad Advance Project Management qualification from University Pretoria and a B-com in Financial Management from UNISA.
Yolanda Perdomo is the Director of the UNWTO Affiliate Members Programme. The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is the United Nations agency responsible for the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism. As the leading international organization in the field of tourism, UNWTO promotes tourism as a driver of economic growth, inclusive development and environmental sustainability, and offers leadership and support to the sector in advancing knowledge and tourism policies worldwide. The Affiliate Members Programme has over 400 members representing the private sector, educational institutions, tourism associations and local tourism authorities. Yolanda has experience in both the public and private sectors and is an expert in tourism destination promotion and distribution. She has been Vice-Councilor for Tourism of the Government of the Canary Islands and Managing Director of PROMOTUR, the organization in charge of the promotion of tourism in the Canary Islands. Born in the Canary Islands (Spain), Yolanda attended the American University of Paris, lived for five years in France, one in the United States, three in Italy and now works in Madrid.
Mmatsatsi Ramawela leads the TBCSA, the umbrella body for organized business in the South African travel and tourism industry. The organization's mandate is to lobby, influence macro-economic developments which impact on the industry for the purpose of building the pride, economy and identity of South Africa as a destination. Under Ramawela's leadership, the organization has since grown to encompass a total of 16 sector associations within its membership base comprising of businesses operating across the various sectors of the travel and tourism chain. Her career in South Africa's tourism industry spans more than 20 years, including positions with the National Parks Board, the KwaZulu-Natal Tourism Board and the Limpopo Tourism Board.
Thomas Roth, President and Founder, launched Community Marketing, Inc. in 1992, and has served as its President for over 20 years. Tom and his team have developed a spectrum of products and services to skillfully lead the company's global clients to their goals. Tom is now primarily dedicating his industy-leading expertise to head up the Community Marketing & Insights division, which produces the annual LGBTQ+ Community Survey, as well as custom consumer research studies for a variety of market leaders. Tom engages in strategic consulting to CMI's diverse cllients in tourism, hospitality, banking, retail, pharmaceutical, beverages, real estate, insurance, government, etc., and conducts educational seminars for corporations and organizations.
An accountant by profession, David is the founder and CEO of Rhino Africa, Africa's leading online travel company. This demanding position forces David to travel around Africa staying at the best hotels and lodges and eating the finest cuisine. Poor David. He does, however, work around the clock to ensure Rhino Africa continues to disrupt the travel industry by constantly rethinking his business and exploring innovative web technologies - as it has done for the past 12 years. An animal-lover with a veritable zoo of his own, David is passionate about conservation and sustainable tourism. David is the IGLTA South African Ambassador and will be there to welcome the IGLTA convention to Cape Town.
Full name Johannes, but more commonly known as "Joey" (as it takes less explaining). Considering himself as a Southern African, he was born in Botswanna and then lived in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia. Eventually moving down with his wife to Cape Town, where he has been since 2011. Joey's passion for Hospitality stems from a love of cooking, having started his career as an apprentice chef for a German restaurant in Namibia, then tested his skills with Italian cooking. Over the years he then gained experience working in different aspects of the Hospitality industry up until he found his calling in Sales & Marketing. Currently affiliated to a fast growing International Hotel Group, Joey sees himself as a "New-Age Hotelier".
Patric has more than 20 years of experience in child rights and protection issues. He is a founding member of various local, national, regional and international child rights and protection initiatives and the chairperson on SANTAC (Southern Africa Network Against Trafficking and Abuse of Children). He participates in the National and Provincial Government Child Protection Committees; and is a member of the South African Human Rights Commission - Section 5 Committee on Children, the National DSD-NPO Arbitration Council and a Social Cohesion Advocate for the Department of Arts & Culture. On behalf of Molo Songolo, in partnership with other child rights organizations, he pioneered a campaign that advocated against child trafficking and developed strategic interventions to prevent and combat these human rights abutses through awareness, education, law reform, prosecutorial intervention and victim support and empowerment services
Khadija A. Tribble, Principal, of Ground Game LLC, is best known as a powerhouse "Executive Advocate". She is both an accomplished business woman and committed civic leader. Recently she co-founded a nonprofit agency that provides low cost and high quality exercise and health education programming. The Community Wellness Collective is located in the heart of southeast Washington's Anacostia neighborhood focused on improving health outcomes and the quality of life for the more than 60,000 residents that call East of the River home. Khadija's career path commenced upon graduating from the University of Montevallo in Montevallo, Alabama. Earning her Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the Stephens College of Business, Khadija was bound and determined to make a difference in the world. Always an advocate for continued learning, she is currently enrolled in the country's only graduate level studies program focused on LGBTQ+ Health Policy and Practice offered at the George Washington University. This summer Mrs. Tribble intends to further her academic pursuits at John Hopkins' Carey Business School or the John F. Kennedy School of Public Policy at Harvard University.
Daniela Wagner is Director of International Partnerships of Connecting Travel, the new global business community for the travel & tourism industry launched by the Travel Weekly Group. She has a demonstrable track record of outstanding achievement within the travel industry and has applied her entrepreneurial and interpersonal skills very effectively in large corporate and start-up environments. Fluent in both German and French, she has an extensive network of top-level industry contacts around the globe. Daniela is also the Director for Europe, Middle East and Africa for the Pacific Asia Travel Association, driving strategic relationships with international institutions and private companies. In addition, she coordinates European PATA chapters, recruiting and retaining members, managing key events (including the PATA Advocacy dinner) and securing sponsorships.
Photo by: © 2018, Gene Phillips, Courtesy of ACVB & AtlantaPhotos.com
Clovis Casemiro, IGLTA’s Membership Coordinator-Brazil, visited Atlanta for the first time prior to the pandemic and shares his impressions of IGLTA’s 2021 convention host city.
By John Tanzella, IGLTA President/CEO, iglta@iglta.org
