CEO, European Tourism Association (ETOA)

Tom Jenkins is the CEO of the European Tourism Association (ETOA), whose purpose is to promote a fair business environment for European tourism. ETOA represents over 1,200 tour operators and suppliers from over 50 countries, who deliver more than €12 billion of business annually within Europe.

Under Tom’s stewardship, ETOA’s scope of activity has broadened considerably; he has built close relationships with numerous legislators and other trade bodies at European, national and local levels. He regularly lobbies on our members’ behalf on our core legislative issues of visas, destination engagement, taxation and the Package Travel Directive.

He has been responsible for championing tourist access to historic cities, for initiating a Europe-wide coach safety code and for leading a campaign that successfully blocked changes to EU VAT legislation that would have jeopardised 5,000 tourism jobs in Europe.  

Tom is often called upon by a variety of media including BBC TV, GMTV, CNN, CNBC & Radios 4 & 5, where he is vocal on topics such as visa facilitation, capacity management, the sharing economy and Brexit.

Before taking the reins at ETOA, Tom held a number of management positions at American Express, ultimately being responsible for the company’s inbound leisure travel for scheduled tours, independent vacations and customised itineraries. There, he launched a fully integrated computerised booking system, developed the first interactive digital brochure and managed a corps of 350 tour managers operating throughout Europe.

Prior to joining American Express he spent 5 years as a tour guide working for American Express and Thomas Cook. Tom graduated from Bristol University with a BA in English & History. Following this, he helped start Galleries Magazine and embarked on two years post-graduate research at London University’s Courtauld Institute. He is married with two grown-up children.

Session:

Safety: Who defines it and how do we ensure it?