Press release, 1st March 2022 The team of Balkan focused New Deal Europe Marketplace and Forum, taking place in London on 4th April, have urged the travel trade to get behind the countries bordering Ukraine, and show solidarity during the current crisis. “We have exhibitors coming from Romania and Moldova, countries which border Ukraine and…

News from our partners: Mabrian Technologies This week we met with Carlos Cendra Cruz, Sales & Marketing Director of Mabrian Technologies, at FITUR 2022 in Madrid, one of the first travel trade events of the year. New Deal Europe has partnered with several organisations which we believe can really make a difference to tourism in the…

News from the destinations: Croatia As we announce our 2022 Marketplace and Forum we thought we should take a look at one of the hotspot destinations of our region: Dubrovnik. We explore it over time through the eyes of Ivica Batinić, Operations Manager at Dubrovnik Sati, DMC, to learn how it has changed through tourism and to see what the future holds. Ivica also gives us his views on New Deal Europe, and outlines how attending the marketplace helped his business in these challenging times.

News from the markets: Sustainable Coach Tour Operator Toureasy was launched recently claiming to be the first and only sustainable coach tour operator in Europe. It was founded by this week’s guest, Sean Taggart, former Chair of the Coach Tourism Association. We decided to put Sean’s claims to the test and find out how a coach operation can be truly sustainable. NDE: Hi Sean. Thanks for joining us today. Can you begin by telling us, with all the experience you have had in the industry, what made you decide to launch a sustainable coach tour operator?

News from the destinations: Sustainability in Albania Our guest this week is Elton Caushi, CEO of Albanian Trip and Cofounder of Albanian Responsible Travel Initiative. He gives us a fascinating insight into growing up under communism and how the desire to travel gave him motivation to escape. He doesn’t hold back on sharing his views on how tourism is developing in his country, and the fight to ensure that tourism growth is done sustainably and responsibly.

News from the markets: Kuoni Tumlare, Japan, Korea and The Phillippines Following our very popular interview last week with Adam Lotinga of Miki Travel, we thought we’d go directly to Japan for a view from there. We talk with Tokyo based Victor Lopes, President of the market leaders for outbound travel, Kuoni Tumlare, and get his views, not only on Japan…

News from the markets: Miki Travel, Japan When news broke last week that industry giant, Adam Lotinga, was retiring after 39 years with Miki Travel we came knocking on his door for that first post-retirement interview. Adam was Managing Director of Miki Travel, which was the leading operator from Japan to Europe thoughout his tenure. He has…

Sports Tourism - Operator from Slovenia This week, as the Olympics take place in Tokyo, it seems appropriate that we should turn our attention to the world of Sports Tourism. We were lucky to grab some time with Rok Bulc, founder of Slovenian sports tour organiser, PasSport Europe, in what was a busy week for him…

Report from a Tour Operator on a FAM trip to the Balkans The UK government announced that from 19th July travel to amber list countries will no longer be discouraged for those who have been double vaccinated. This opens up massive opportunities for the Balkan region, as all the countries there are currently on the UK’s amber list. We spoke with Sunita…