Helen Marano has been appointed chair of global charity the Travel Foundation, replacing Noel Josephides who has held the role for the past decade.
She has been a trustee of the charity since July 2019 and is founder of Marano Perspectives, her own travel and tourism consultancy.
Marano held senior roles at the World Travel & Tourism Council for seven years and was director at National Travel and Tourism Office of the United States for 12 years.
She said: “2020 has been a difficult time for the whole industry but it has sharpened the Travel Foundation’s resolve, and I believe we are now more relevant than ever.
“The Travel Foundation should be the charity of choice for anyone looking to support destinations in their recovery.
“We have a strong executive team, and we are well placed to support tourism to Build Back Better, to help businesses and destinations strengthen localised supply chains and focus on optimising tourism’s social impacts as visitors return.”
She is also seeking more diversity and greater representation on the board of trustees from destinations.
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Outgoing chair Josephides has been involved with the Travel Foundation since its inception in 2003 and has been chair since 2010. He will continue to be a trustee.
“There have been big changes in attitudes to sustainability since we began,” he said.
“Then it was pretty niche, and commonly regarded as a tree-hugging endeavour. The Travel Foundation was ahead of its time and can take some of the credit for helping move the needle.
“Still, there remains a huge need for a shift away from the model of continuous growth in volumes that our industry may continue to pursue after Covid.
“Helen begins a new and exciting era for the Travel Foundation, which will work with the industry and destinations to build back with a new model of managed growth and new measures of success.”