Tourism experts from across Europe have joined forces to launch the International Tourism Group (ITG), a new multinational entity that sets a new standard through a methodology based on data intelligence applied to each market.
Following 18 months of collaborative innovation among tourism experts from six countries, ITG now aims to drive global tourism recovery through innovative data-based campaigns. This platform will have offices in Amsterdam, Barcelona, Paris, Munich, Madrid, Milan, Frankfurt, Lisbon and London.
The pandemic was the catalyst needed to provoke a powerful and transformative reaction among some of the most stable elements of European tourism marketing
Gaël de la Porte du Theil, president of ITG
Dorothea Hohn, vice-president of ITG, underlines the importance of being able to adapt strategies in different markets to take advantage of group synergies and local expertise in each market. She explains: “Our clients know that we have the best relationships with the media and tourism industry in each market, but now we also have the technology, the method and the means to apply this local expertise to pan-European strategies.”
Many things have changed, but Europe remains the world’s most valuable outbound tourism market and will be essential for the recovery and sustainable growth of the global industry
Dorothea Hohn, vice-president of ITG
According to the World Bank, Europe represents 50% of international travel and 35% of world tourism spending. Guy Chambers (UK), vice-president of ITG, mentioned that, “the events of the last few years have accelerated the change that was already taking place in the travel and tourism industry. New distribution channels, adaptation to the pace of digital media, and the rapid evolution of technology have radically changed the way we understand the travel business.”
Until now, it has been impossible for travel and tourism marketers to focus on Europe as a single market, as each country has different attitudes towards travel, and distinct legislation, currency, intermediation, distribution channels, languages, seasonality, media consumption, air routes, and more.
In addition to providing PR, advertising and representation services, ITG launches with a suite of solutions developed and owned by its founders, including its own traveler intelligence and profiling platform, travel agency participation, a loyalty and learning platform, its own digital workshops/online events platform, and even an exclusive digital marketplace for destinations.
