Happy Heroes New Year! 2022 Travel and Tourism Heroes named

2022 was a rollercoaster year for the travel and tourism industry. A year that started with a glimmer of hope and ended for many with record business coming back.

This year also brought out the best in so many members of our sector. We were proud to have facilitated the Rebuilding travel discussion throughout the pandemic. Everyone was invited to interact with colleagues working in the sector.

Zoom made it possible for anyone to actually get to talk to many of these celebrities in our sector who are most of the time shielded normally sit in the VIP section at events, and most of us are unable to get to .

From my end, as the publisher of eTurboNews I made so many new friends, and noticed we are all a club of dedicated people, that should be able to work together and make a difference in this world. SKAL has it correct in promoting for members to do business among friends.

COVID-19 brought a lot of challenges and suffering, but going through such times also taught us a lot.

I am sharing with you a sample list of people, I was able to interact with in 2022. Every single person listed below made a difference to me, and I am grateful for everyone mentioned and so many more I may have not yet mentioned.

The list is not in order of importance, there is no order 🙂

How to make it official?

Anyone listed here, and anyone else qualified, please click here to make it official, and become a tourism hero on heroes.travel .

This is a free initiative by the by World Tourism Network. WTN will never ask for fees, marketing money or contributions. Heroes is open to anyone deserving, regardless of how important your position may be.

Publishers’ personal list of Travel and Tourism Heroes in 2022

• Dr. Caroli Janice Campos, Makato Medical Center, Manila, Philiipines
• Dr. Raul Lapitan, Makato Medical Center, Manila, Philippines
• Dr. Gisbert Victor, Makato Medical Center, Manila, Philippines
• Nurse Czafiyhra Zaycev, “Irish,” a tourism hero, and Makati Medical Center, Manila, Philippines.
• Dr. Asim Shahzad, Dusseldorf, Germany
• Dr. Peter Tarlow, College Station, Texas, USA; President World Tourism Network, President Safer Tourism.
• Dr. Taleb Rifai, Patron African Tourism Board, Amman, Jordan
• Prof. Geoffrey Lipman, SunX and ICTP, Brussels, Belgium
• Mudi Astuti, Chairwomen WTN Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia
• Levi Lantu, CEO · Bali Convention and Exhibition Bureau, Indonesia
• Yoke Darmawan, Jakarta, Indonesia
• Dr. Aleksandra Sasha, Tourism Hero, Director of Tourism Montenegro
• Hon. I. Chester Cooper, Deputy Prime Minister, Bahamas
• Hon. Edmund Bartlett, WTN Tourism Hero, Minister of Tourism Jamaica
• Hon. Ian Gooding-Edghill, Minister Tourism Barbados
• Hon Minister Goran  Djurovic, Minister of Tourism, Montenegro
• Hon. Najib Balala, WTN Tourism Hero, Former Min. Tourism Kenya, Nairobi, Kenya
• Dr. Walter Mzembi, WTN Tourism Hero, Zimbabwe
• Barbara Mzembi, Dance Tourism ,South Africa
• Louis D’Amore, President and Founder, International Institute for Peace Through Tourism (IIPT), New York, USA
• Hamid Reza Talebi, Chair Iran – American Tourism Association, Teheran, Iran
• Dho Young-shim, UN World Tourism Organization’s Sustainable Tourism for Eliminating Poverty Foundation
• Richard Quest, CNN, London, UK
• HE Dr. Htay Aung, Union Minister of Tourism Myanmar
• Frank Vismeg, ONT, Canada
• Zeyar Myo Aung, Ministry of Tourism Myanmar
• Arvind Nayer, Vintage Travel, Zimbabwe
• Bea Broda, Travel Broadcaster, Toronto, Canada
• Christian Del Rosario, Photographer, Florida, USA
• Cuthbert Ncube, Chair African Tourism Board, Pretoria, South Africa
• Diana McIntyre-Pike, Countrystyle Community Tourism Network, Jamaica
• Mark Manglona, Guam Visitors Bureau, Guam
• Josh Tyquiengco, Guam Visitors Bureau, Guam
• Elaine Pangelinan, Guam Visitors Bureau, Guam
• Nadine Leon Guerrero, Guam Visitors Bureau
• Burkhard Herbote, World Tourism Directory, Germany
• Max Haberstroh, Tourism Hero, Germany
• Snežana Štetić, Balkan Network of Tourism Experts, Serbia
• Wolfgang Hofmann, SKAL, Duesseldorf, Germany
• Donovan White, Director of Tourism, Jamaica
• Faouzou Deme, Ministry of Tourism Senegal
• Pankaj Pradhananga, Four Seasons Travel, Nepal
• Sherin Francis, Principle Secretary of Tourism, Seychelles
• Tony Ofungi, eTN Reporter, Uganda
• Hon. Memunatu Pratt, Minister of Tourism, Sierra Leone
• Andrew Wood, SKAL Asia, Thailand
• Jens Thraenhart, CEO Barbados Tourism, Barbados
• Hon. Moses Vilakati, Minister of Tourism, Kingdom of Eswatini
• Deepak Joshi, Tourism Hero, Kathmandu, Nepal
• Hon. Hisham Zaazou, Cairo, Egypt
• Anita Johnson-Patty, Bahamas Tourism Board, Bahamas
• Robert Payne, FRAPORT, Germany
• Hon. Kenneth Bryan, Minister of Tourism Cayman Islands
• Burcin Turkhan, President SKAL International, USA
• Annette Cardenas, Director SKAL, Panama
• Hon. Gloria Guevara, Advisor to the Minister of Tourism Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
• Hon Alain St. Ange, VP, World Tourism Network, Seychelles
• Julia Simpson, CEO WTTC, UK
• Daniel Vivas, Lima, Peru
• Holger Timmreck, Lima Peru
• Ajay Prakash, IIPT, India
• Johnson Johnrose,  Sint Eustatius
• Christopher Byneal, Office of Trade and Development, Trinidad & Tobago
• Maribel Rodriguez, Senior Vice President WTTC, Spain
• Axel Timmreck, Airport Munich, Germany
• Mohammed Hakim Ali, WTN Bangladesh
• Paul Rogers, Happyness Alliance, Australia
• Lily Ajarova, CEO of Uganda Tourism Board, Uganda
• Debby Flynn, Partner, Finnpartners, UK
• Dimitri Belov, Tourism Marketing Duesseldorf, Germany
• Jonathan Pansacola, Saudia, Los Angeles, CA, USA
• Adam Stewart, CEO, Sandals Resorts, Jamaica
• Shawn DaCosta, Sandals Resorts, Jamaica
• Tom Jenkins, CEO ETOA, London, UK
• Ivan Liptuga, WTN Tourism Hero, National Tourism Association, Odesa, Ukraine
• Mariana Oleskiv, State Agency for Tourism Development of Ukraine
• Apolinary Tairo, eTurboNews Tanzania
• Gerald Lawless, Chairman WTTC, London, UK
• Ibrahim Ayoub, ITIC Mauritius
• Lloyd Waller, GTRCMC, Jamaica
• Hon Saiahudin Uno, Minster of Tourism Indonesia
• Michael Meyer, President SKAL Duesseldorf, Germany
• Karen Hoffmann, The Bradford Group, New York, USA
• Dr. Elinor Garely, eTurboNews, New York, USA
• Linda Hohnhols, eTurboNews Las Vegas, NV, USA
• Oleg Sziakov, eTurboNews, Las Vegas, NV, USA
• Dmytro Makarov, eTurboNews, Honolulu, HI, USA
• Sharlene Batin, Manila, Philippines
• Michelle M. Buttigieg , Malta Tourism USA, New York, USA
• Hon Niels Olsen, Minister of Tourism Ecuador
• Nicki Page, TLC Harmony London, UK
• Anita Mendiratta, Special Advisor Secretary-General UNWTO, Madrid, Spain
• Gillian Heath, IMEX, London, UK
• Hassan Merchant, Reed World Travel Market, Dubai, UAE
• Elvis Kotherja, Elite Travel Group, Albania
• Linda Lancaster, Travel Circles Club, London, UK
• Dov Kalmann, Tourism Hero, Israel
• Magued Abousedera, Undersecretary Tourism, Cairo, Egypt
• Maria del Pilar Salas, SKAL Cusco, Peru
• Marilou, Restaurant Manager, Marriott Hotel Manila, Philippines
• Clare Akamanzi, CEO, Rwana Development Board
• Petra Roach, Grenada Tourism Authority
• Hon. Lennox Andrew, Minister for Economic Development, Tourism, Creative Economy, Agriculture and Lands, Fisheries and Cooperatives, Grenada
• Carlo Milcallef, CEP Malta Tourism Board, Malta
• Intifada Naime, Senior Sales Manager, Moevenpick Marrakech, Morocco
• Hon. Harin Fernando, Minister of Toursm & Lands, Colombo, Sri Lanka
• Evan Tillet, Director of Tourism Belize
• Adam Nije, Director Marketing, Gambia Tourism Board, Gambia
• Dhananjay Regmi, CEO, Nepal Tourism Board, Kathmandu, Nepal
• Anthony Stuart, Senior Dir. Emerging Markets Bahamas
• Paun Nicovic, Blue Kotor Bay, Montenegro
• Vijay Poonoosamy, Singapore
• Peter Mayers, Barbados Tourism Board
• Rudi Herrmann, WTN Malaysia & Tourism Hero, Penang, Malaysia
• Anthony Barker, Tourism Hero, DaNang, Vietnam
• Eric Muzamhindo, Activist, Zimbabwe
• Mohamad Reza, Persian Gryphon Travel Group, Iran
• Abraham John, India
• Windy Yang, SKAL Taipei, Taiwan
• Graham Cooke, World Travel Awards, UK
• Ali Aligi, Tour Guide, Ryadh, Saudi Arabia
• Noha, Ministry of Tourism Saudi Arabia
• Pascal Viroleau, CEO Vanilla Island Tourism Organization, Reunion
• Ismail El Alaoui, Tour Guide, Marrakesh, Morocco
• Mohamed Raaidh, Yacht Club, Maldives
• Philippe Francoise, President AMFORHT, Paris, France
• Felix Chaila, Lusaka, Zambia
• Zine Nkukwana, Pretoria, South Africa
• Noel Mignott, New York, USA
• Wolgang Huschert, The Golden Citygate, Hilden, Germany
• Birgit Trauer, Germany
• Michael Seipelt, eTurboNews, Dusseldorf, Germany
• Nick Mahoney, Sydney, Australia
• Linda L.Nxumalo, Eswatini
• Avi Liran, Singapore
• Irene, tour guide, Mykonos, Greece
• Ghassan Sader, Los Angeles, CA, USA
• Mona Naffa, Amman, Jordan
• Mr. Sader, Portofino, Montenegro
• Ezzat Kalbourneh, Jordan Tourism Board, Amman, Jordan
• Ben Wozny, General Manager Grand Hyatt, Amman, Jordan
• Pichai Visutriratana,director Navinda Krabi Hotel, Bangkok, Thailand
• Scott Foster, Honolulu, HI, USA
• Frank Haas, Honolulu, HI, USA
• Dale Evans, CEO, Charley’s Taxi, Honolulu, HI , USA
• Pamala Taylor, Sun Island Hawaii, USA
• Ghissou Rosala, Smart Energy, Hawaii, USA
• Karine Coulanges, SKAL Paris, France
• Hulya Aslantas, SKAL Istanbul, Turkey
• Birger Bäckman, UFTA & SKAL, Finland
• Mok Singh, Skal International Past President, USA
• Dr. Gulen Hashmi, Pakistan
• Anonymous UNWTO Staff information group

There are so many more of us considered to be tourism heroes on this beautiful planet.

Click here to nominate your tourism hero.

To everyone reading eTurboNews, Happy News Year and Aloha ! It’s truly a priviledge to stay in touch with more than 2 million of you.

A publishers request