Travel Hero Podcast

"Dear Richard, what exactly defines LGBT+ travel and why is it so important for tourism providers to actively include all identities?" Insights on LGBT+ travel from Greater Fort Lauderdale.

"The life of a travel blogger in times of COVID-19 – what are the changes and chances, Viktoria?" Insights from a travel blogger and travel enthusiast.

"Which forms of travel do Facebook user appreciate the most, Mr. Raschke?" Insights from Facebook, build technologies that help people connect with friends and family, find communities, and grow businesses.

"What do you say, Ms. Bremner: Will we recognize the travel industry once COVID-19 is cured?" Insights from Euromonitor, the world's leading independent provider of strategic market research.

"The future of trade shows: where are we headed, Mr. Ruetz?" Insights from ITB Berlin, the World's Leading Travel Trade Show.

Ian and Philip didn't know they'd meet each other for this podcast episode but we knew exactly one topic that unites them: Communities! Out came a very open first meeting and some very useful insights on how to build and engage communities.

We gathered a bunch of experts to answer the question on how to travel responsibly in times of flight shame, overtourism and the like. While 'atmosfair' sheds light upon offsetting flights, we get useful tips on how to chose a sustainable tour operator by 'forum anders reisen' and receive insights from 'visit Berlin' on their strategies undertaken to make new neighbourhoods and activities sexy for...

Mandy tom Dieck and Timothy Young will introduce AR/ VR within the tourism and cultural heritage context, discuss its opportunities and challenges and provide a number of use cases, its outcomes and lessons learned. Future scenarios and possible developments will be highlighted as part of this talk.

This is a dive deep into the world of NEW luxury tourism. CEO's of well-known hotel brands share their perspectives on how to enhance the experiences of their luxury guests. You'll take away crucial insights on how to build a luxury brand considering the challenge of keeping brand promises and differentiated souls without simply duplicating. The discussion gets heated up once the terms "digital de...

Timothy O'Neil-Dunne gained foothold in the travel industry at an early stage, was on the start up team of Expedia and considers himself as an "agent of change". He is very clear about the bright and dark sides that the travel industry brings and shares his thoughts on the importance of listening and transformations in life.

Why Gopinath Parayil (short: Gopi) is a true travel hero? He pioneered when founding one of the first travel companies from India with focus on responsible tourism: The Blue Yonder. They like to call themselves a "Development Intervention Organisation" aiming to create better places for people and communities to live as THE basic foundation for tourism to be sustainable. Listening to Gopi's story...

Get ready for the new TripAdvisor! Face to face with Stephen Kaufer, CEO of TripAdvisor, this interview during ITB Berlin Convention reveals insights into the world's largest travel platform. You'll get to know the importance of trust and sharing experiences in this business and gain first hand knowledge about TripAdvisor's plans on becoming the starting point of every journey.

Andy Owen Jones, CEO and visionary Co-Founder of bd4travel, is talking about the importance of using Big data and AI to understand customer's current and future behavior. How he "fell" into travel technology and finally brought bd4travel to life? He'll tell you!

"Anyone can belong anywhere" - That's what Airbnb is about. The President of Homes of Airbnb, Greg W. Greeley talks about his work at Amazon prime and how he started at Airbnb. The mission of Airbnb: Meaningful and memorable travel as well as a personal connection with the people you're visiting. Get inspired by Greg's story!

Invent, improve and understand your customers' needs – of today and tomorrow. In this talk Jens Wohltorf, CEO of Blacklane, emphasizes the value of Concierge Service and the transformation of future mobility. How to be ready for the future, Jens?

Put your headphones on and listen to Angel Zhao giving latest business insights about the Alibaba ecosystem and its newbie Fliggy which has been recently launched as the new Chinese shopping platform. Trip.com and Fosun round off the panel to bring you up to date. Enjoy!

Travel and tech - these are the two passions of our travel hero Monika Wiederhold, Managing Director at Amadeus Germany. During the interview she reveals how 9/11 changed her personal and professional life and why Mahatma Gandhi is her personal super hero. Monika's advise to future travel heroes? Stay curios and travel!

Learn from the "Uber story" in this episode with Christoph Weigler, General Manager, Uber Germany. Christoph claims that we should start to move away from owning a car to using mobility as a service in the future, about "Doomsday" in future mobility, opportunities in rural areas and about his personal super hero: his daughter. Why he doesn't own a car himself? He'll tell you!

"What’s the most dreaded question in an earnings call, Mark Okerstrom?" – this is how Philip Wolf starts the conversation at this years ITB Berlin Convention and it only gets even more honest from here. Canadian Mark Okerstrom, CEO of the Expedia Group, shares insights into one of the world's leading travel companies. The CEO reveals their efforts in putting the "A" back in "OTA", what the next 20...

Verena Keimer calls herself a travel enthusiast. She's always been fascinated by the travel industry. Stepping into various jobs in her life always adapting to new environments she knew that the key is exchanging with people and learning from these chapters. That's what brought her to where she is now - an inspiring woman for young talents of the industry.

Andrew Nelson talks about his life at National Geografic Traveler and the strength of storytelling. According to Andrew the most important thing in travel is to take time and enjoy yourself and to meet and understand people from other countries. Be curious to listen to some of his inspiring and instructive anecdotes.

This is Kash Bhattacharya on his life as a travel blogger, author and travelholic. He talks about his mission on the transformation of hostels and why being in a hotel is a real experience today! He has the travelled the world and his answer on the most amazing country he's ever been to comes quick like a shot.

Inspiring Charlotte Lamp Davies talks about women in the travel tech industry, equal opportunities of man and woman alike and about the importance of mentoring and role models. According to Charlotte the two things you need if you want to be successful: Integrity and communication skills, because in the end your reputation will be everything!

The Travel Hero Podcast by ITB features intimate talks with inspiring minds of the tourism industry.