New Conference for the newest state

At the recent World Travel Market in London we had the pleasure of meeting Bujar Kuci, the Director of the Ministry of Trade & Industry for the Republic of Kosovo and we were impressed by his visions for the tourism future of Europe's newest state.

We now read that the American Tourism Society (ATS),is going to hold its Fall 2010 Conference in Pristina, Kosovo’s capital, from October 25-27, 2010. This event will be the first-ever tourism conference to be held in the newborn country.

Phil Otterson, President of the ATS says “Kosovo is a perfect example of what ATS’s mission is about, assisting transformational destinations with tourism marketing skills, training through the onsite ATS tourism college program, and educating ATS members about the newest destinations."

Whilst not without its problems, there is much potential in Kosovo. In the same way as Serbia has repositioned itself after the war, there is much to be done but the rewards are numerous.

We send our best wishes to Kosovo and, by the way, if there's anything we can do to help....

The American Tourism Society (ATS) was established in 1989 by a group of US tourism industry executives to provide exclusive access, business networking, and promotion for transformational destinations. It is a nonprofit, nonpolitical travel industry organization whose membership includes experienced tour operators, destination tourist offices, hotels, airlines, and other travel industry professionals. Collectively, ATS members generate over US$5 billion in sales involving three million North American travelers. ATS holds an Annual Fall Conference and a Tourism College hosted by a different member destination each year