UNWTO and AVIAREPS Announce Partnership to Support Sustainable Growth of the International Tourism Industry in Europe

AVIAREPS, the world’s leading international representation, marketing and communications company for aviation, tourism, and hospitality, and the World Tourism Organization UNWTO today announced a partnership to join forces and support the development and growth of the international tourism sector in selected European UNWTO member countries. This will be achieved through the award of a full-service destination marketing grant and four research grants.

AVIAREPS, an Affiliate Member of the UNWTO, will provide a diverse 360° portfolio of destination marketing and research services free of charge to a total of five countries chosen by UNWTO.

The UNWTO + AVIAREPS Destination Marketing Grant will include a suite of digital marketing services such as campaign websites, landing pages, webinars, online press conferences, e-learning programmes and virtual events provided via the AVIAREPS Ecosystem. The Digital Ecosystem is AVIAREPS’ brand-new all-in-one marketing hub for the travel industry, which empowers everyone to market their destination and product to a global community online via a platform that combines several digital marketing services into one unified hub. The service portfolio furthermore includes Influencer Marketing services via AVIAREPS’ matchmaking platform Swayfluence, which takes the guesswork out of influencer marketing by making quality connections between brands and influencers for authentic and impactful campaigns.

While the pandemic put the travel industry worldwide on hold, AVIAREPS was quick to invest in digital innovations to diversify its service portfolio. Through ongoing consultations with industry leaders, state-of-the-art digital services, that are economical and answer the specific challenges faced by destination marketing organisations, are now available through these efforts. It is hoped that this suite of digital services will be able to benefit all countries and regions to rebound quickly and sustainably following the effects of the pandemic.

In addition to the Ecosystem and Swayfluence services, the UNWTO + AVIAREPS Destination Marketing Grant will also offer classic PR services and allow the recipient to participate in the various AVIAREPS Roadshows held throughout numerous international markets throughout the year. The AVIAREPS Roadshows bring qualified travel industry buyers in each market in direct contact with destination stakeholders for one-to-one in person business development meetings.

Recipients of the UNWTO + AVIAREPS Research Grants will be provided pro bono in-depth international travel trade and consumer research spanning multiple key markets. The research will be coupled with deep-dive analysis into the destination’s current positioning and perceptions in each market, along with opportunities and areas of focus to expand travel demand from each.  UNWTO will chose the beneficiaries of the grants.

Zurab Pololikashvili, UNWTO Secretary-General: “Tourism is one of the most dynamic sectors in the world, and UNWTO is committed to driving innovation forward and supporting education and training at every level. With our Affiliate Member AVIAREPS, we are proud to support tourism professionals across Europe build skills and knowledge to promote their destinations and accelerate recovery”.

Thomas Drechsler, COO Tourism at AVIAREPS: “We are delighted to partner with UNWTO to support selected countries free of charge to quickly get back on their feet after the pandemic and to boost the sustainable expansion of their tourism industry. We consider it our responsibility as good corporate citizens within the industry to support deserving countries in the best possible way and feel honoured that the UNWTO chose AVIAREPS as a partner. Our digital marketing experts worldwide have developed our Ecosystem based on the latest technology, which has allowed us to evolve with international best practice and remain ahead of the curve. We are excited to provide our latest digital solutions, international networks, and expertise, to the countries selected by UNWTO, and hope to expand this collaboration with UNWTO to all regions around the world.”