European Travel Commission names new...

Miguel Sanz has been selected to lead ETC’s efforts towards a sustainable and inclusive future

The European Travel Commission (ETC), representing 35 National Tourism Organisations in Europe, has announced that Miguel Sanz (pictured, second from left) from Spain’s National Tourism Organisation has been elected as ETC’s President for a three-year term.

Miguel Sanz was elected at the 105th General Meeting, which took place in Tallinn, Estonia.

Sanz has more than 15 years' experience in the tourism industry, and has served as the director general at Instituto de Turismo de España (Turespaña), Spain’s National Tourism Organisation, since 2020.

He leads a team of more than 300 tourism professionals across 33 offices in 25 countries and has overseen the recovery of tourism expenditure in Spain back to pre-pandemic levels.

Sanz will work with ETC members on implementing the new ETC Strategy 2030, leading the organisation towards "a more innovative, sustainable, green and inclusive tourism sector in Europe".

He will also support the ETC in implementing its recently launched Climate Action Plan, which aims to halve the organisation’s operational emissions by 2030 and assist its members in achieving Net Zero.

Commenting on his appointment, Sanz said: “It's an honour to be able to lead the European Travel Commission on behalf of Turespaña. Today, European tourism faces a great opportunity to emerge as a front-runner in sustainability and inclusivity. We must ensure that tourism has a stronger voice in Europe and the EU, and harness its power to benefit European businesses and communities.”

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Sanz’s work will be supported by ETC’s vice-presidents. Martin Nydegger from Switzerland Tourism, Magda Antonioli from the Italian Government Tourism Board (ENIT) and newly re-elected Kristjan Staničić from the Croatian National Tourist Board (CNTB) will be coordinating ETC’s advocacy activities.

Sanz takes over the presidency from Luís Araújo, president of the Portuguese National Tourism Authority (Turismo de Portugal), who held the position for three years and led ETC through the Covid-19 crisis. Mr. Araújo made significant contributions to the organisation during his tenure, bringing on board new members, including France, Austria, and Ukraine.

Image caption from left to right: Luís Araújo (Turismo de Portugal); Miguel Sanz (Turespaña); Liina Maria Lepik and Rainer Aavik (Visit Estonia); Eduardo Santander

For more information, visit www.etccorporate.org