The Association of European City Tourism, Convention Offices and Marketing Organizations, European Cities Marketing (ECM), re-elected M.Sc. Petra Stušek, managing director of Tourism Ljubljana as its president at the annual general assembly, which took place online this year.

Association of European City Tourism, Convention Offices and Marketing Organizations, European Cities Marketing (ECM), re-elected M.Sc. Petra Stušek, managing director of Ljubljana Tourism as its president at the annual general assembly, which took place online this year. Since 2019, for the first time in several decades of the organization’s existence, a leading European association in the field of urban tourism management, promotion and marketing activities of urban tourism, has been led by a woman who with the help of her team successfully coped with all the challenges posed to tourism by the pandemic, and in recent years has further strengthened the image of Ljubljana as a modern, successful and sustainable tourist destination.

The ECM connects 113 members in 37 countries and increases the competitiveness and performance of its members, who are also from non-European countries. ECM provides a platform for the participation of professionals in leisure, business and urban tourism in order to set new trends in the field of urban tourism, knowledge exchange, examples of best practices and networking.

The value of a strong community and connections has been demonstrated over the past year, marked by the Covid-19 pandemic, which is no longer only a global health emergency, but a multi-dimensional crisis of economic, social and even geopolitical dimensions. Tourism is one of the most resilient industries, which quickly restores balance, if or when it is destroyed. Nevertheless, it is clear that the recovery will be slower this time. Throughout 2020, the ECM continued to empower conversation with all the members on what a new tomorrow looks like, combining their innovative power and creative minds, charging it with new perspectives from the outside and exploring what might come. They launched “A New Tomorrow”, a new series of communication in collaboration with Group NAO to share ideas and challenges, find inspiration in new practices and different approaches. Together they envisioned a new future of destinations rebuilt, conventions reimagined to meet new traveler preferences and behavior.