Pictured above are Dr. Christian Potthoff-Sewing, Senior Partner and Mr. Georges Mills with client, Office of H.H. The President of Abu Dhabi.
Georges Mills, 62, British and French, has 35 years’ experience in management, finance, trade and investment banking as well as in the Hotel & Tourism sector. He is fluent in both French and English.
He is a graduate of the Lausanne School of Hotel Management of the Swiss Hoteliers Association. He joined the Savoy Hotel Group, London, after two years with the International Hotel Association, Paris, where he served as Attaché to the President. During his 4 years with the Savoy Group, as Assistant Company Secretary, he carried out legal, accounting and administrative duties and attended all management and board meetings.
Georges Mills was a senior management consultant with Coopers & Lybrand, Paris, conducting a wide range of consulting assignment in the area of O&M, Production engineering, Systems Analysis and Design, Human Resources and Vocational Training. Clients included Inter-Continental Hotels, a golf course development in France and a number of privately owned hotels in Paris and the provinces.
From 1985 to 1995, Georges Mills established and managed the Advisory Unit of SIFIDA Investment Company, Geneva. He subsequently also managed the SIFIDA Investment Portfolio for East and Southern Africa. Clients for advisory services included mainly the Accor Group, Paris, for whom he conducted some 25 feasibility studies and market surveys for the development of Novotel and Ibis brand hotels in some 20 countries.
Georges Mills is the Hotel & Resort Development Specialist at Tourism Intelligence International.
 Managing Director and Senior Partner of Tourism Intelligence International, Auliana Poon enjoys an international reputation as a tourism consultant, and is considered to be one of the foremost specialists in eco-tourism and sustainable tourism development.
During the past decade, she has been regularly retained by international funding agencies and tourism organisations to provide essential leadership and guidance to tourism projects in several developing countries.
As well, she has been hired by industry players, such as airlines, hotels and resorts, to help them strengthen their competitive positions through research, marketing strategies, product development, and staff motivation.
Dr. Poon holds a Master of Science degree in Economics from the University of the West Indies, in her native Trinidad, and completed her doctorate in Tourism and Technology at the University of Sussex, England. A frequent speaker at tourism conferences around the world, she is the author of Tourism, Technology and Competitive Strategies, an authoritative work on the worldwide shift towards the New Tourism.
Dr. Poon is based at Tourism Intelligence International's offices in Bielefeld, Germany.
 Eric Adams graduated with First Class Honours (Mathematics and Economics) from the University of the West Indies (Trinidad). He holds an M.Sc. in Actuarial Science from the University of Iowa (USA) and an MBA (Finance and Investments) from George Washington University (USA).
Eric Adams is a Business Consultant specializing in the areas of tourism and financial forecasting. He also lectures in tourism forecasting demand; has developed forecasts for tourism arrivals to Caribbean and other territories; and consults in the areas of finance, investments and financial IT systems development.
Eric Adams is an Associate of the Society of Actuaries and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries.
 Consultancy Manager, Project Coordinator, and Partner of Tourism International International, Roseline Poon is an accomplished and experienced professional in the disciplines of market research and analysis, fieldwork coordination and project management. As such, she plays an integral role in all consulting assignments undertaken by the consultancy.
In addition to handling research, data analysis and preparation of reports, Roseline is also responsible for administration, accounting, project scheduling, financial planning, and management of Tourism International International's database and information.
Roseline holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Social Sciences from the University of the West Indies, in her native Trinidad. She is based at Tourism Intelligence International's Port of Spain office.
 Paul Smith has extensive experience in tourism project development, policy, planning, marketing, investment promotion, administration, resort management and providing business advice. His passionate commitment to Caribbean tourism spans over two decades.
Paul has gained the reputation for successfully identifying, securing, and facilitating many local and Foreign Direct Investments including the first Spanish chain in the English speaking Caribbean. He has assisted investors and operators with the preparation of their business plans and provided technical advice to Government and the private sector. He has played a major role in developing policies specifically related to tourism planning, fiscal incentives and facilitating an enabling environment.
He has a Master of Science degree in Tourism and Hospitality Management from the University of the West Indies (Jamaica). He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Hospitality Management from Florida International University and is a certified educator. He lectures on Tourism Planning at a University in Jamaica and frequently guest lectures.
Paul has recently successfully completed an eighteen-month assignment in the Commonwealth of Dominica as Business Advisor to the (tourism) Private Sector in the European Union (EU) Funded Eco-Tourism Development Programme (ETDP).
He is the Managing Director of his own tour company, Reggae Vacations where he is applying his years of experience in developing a successful tour operating business.
 James Wade is currently the Director of Marketing and Communication at the Ecole hoteliere de Lausanne. He has lived in Switzerland since 1982, previously working as head of marketing for a Swiss private bank and before that, serving on the Executive Board of the World Economic Forum in Geneva, where he helped develop the programme for the annual Davos conference. A graduate of Harvard Business School, he founded a one-man communication company in 1993 specialising in CEO speechwriting and other communication projects in the areas of marketing and public affairs, working for some of Switzerland's largest corporations. He is also the author of "P.S. My Bush Pig's Name is Boris" and "Drop Us A Line, Sucker", two somewhat off-the-wall humour books which have each been rated 5 stars out of 5 on Amazon.com."
 Jo Spalburg has more than 15 years of international Sales & Marketing experience in the Hospitality & Travel Industry, while based in 5 different countries on 3 different continents (Europe, the Americas and Southern Africa).
Spalburg worked as Marketing Consultant for Horwarth International France (Paris) and during the previous 10 years, he occupied various Sales & Marketing positions - at Headquarters, Regional and Local level- for a number of international hospitality and travel firms, including (in reverse chronological order): MKI Ltd –i.e. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, South Seas Resorts, Renaissance Cruises, Pemberton Hotels and many other independent Hotels and Resorts- (London), ITT Sheraton Luxury Hotels (London), Jet Hotels (Air France Group, Paris), Hilton International France (Paris & Strasbourg) and Steigenberger Hotel Krasnapolsky (Amsterdam).
Spalburg joined the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), the umbrella organization that represents the tourism interests of 33 Member States in the region, in December 1996 as European Marketing Manager and was promoted to Dep. Director of Marketing Europe in January 2000. Based in London, he was responsible for developing, co-coordinating and implementing all strategic marketing activities for the region in Europe, in conjunction with CTO’s European ‘Chapters’ (Regional Marketing Co-operatives) until his departure in July 2003.
Spalburg worked with Tourism Intelligence International in the development of a marketing plan for the Commonwealth of Dominica, and the United Arab Emirates.
 Anitha Soni was awarded the much-coveted and prestigious “2002 Business Women of the Year - Black Business Quarterly Award”.
Soni held executive management positions in hotel and tourism in South Africa and the United States. She was appointed to the Board of the Service Leadership Institute (Hilton Head, USA), in January 2004.
Anitha served as a Special Advisor on tourism to the Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism and acted in the capacity of Deputy Director-General of South Africa Tourism Department. She was recently appointed by the Minister of Tourism in South Africa to develop the Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) scorecard for the transformation of the Tourism industry in South Africa.
Soni worked with Tourism Intelligence International in developing the National Tourism policy and Implementation Strategy for the new South Africa (1994-1996) and was project leader in the development a tourism cluster strategy for Southern Africa. In 2005, she developed the Tourism Human Resources Development Plan for the Government of Mozambique.
In addition to heading up ASA Tourism Services, Anitha founded, in 1999, Women in Tourism and Hospitality (WITH), a women’s empowerment group that seeks to promote the inclusion of women as investors in Tourism. She manages the Investment portfolio of this group.
Anitha Soni has served on a number of tourism boards including South Africa Tourism Board, Tourism Durban, The South Africa Tourism Grading Council, and the Hospitality Industry Training Board. She currently chairs the Board of Tourism KwaZulu-Natal.
Anitha Soni is action-oriented and has become known not just for the development of strategies and plans, but critically, has produced the most workable solutions for the travel and Tourism industry.
Herman Jan Meijers started his professional career as a councellor for international industrial affairs with the Ministry of Economic Affairs in The Netherlands, where he was responsible for the coherent development of Dutch Industrial Policy (service industry) in line with OECD and EU recommendations. Here he developed the skills to deal with the public sector and participated in policy development and the public / private interface.
He moved to the private sector where he jointly developed a organisation which facilitated SME participation in economic development programmes and projects. He negotiated with multilateral funding agencies such as EC, World Bank, EBRD, Asian Development Bank, IFC etc. etc.
He built consortia for project streamlining internal co-operation and communications, marketing and sales and project monitoring and control.
He has worked on the economic development tourism sector for the past 10 years, in Asia, Russia, Africa (both East and West) and Europe. Sector specific focus has been on the development and implementation of training for the industry and SME development. He is used to working with partners of various nationalities and various cultures and is fluent in four major languages.
Herman Jan Meijers holds a Master Degree (University of Kent) in International Relations and a post-graduate diploma in economic development. He has diplomas in Business Studies and Management, and International Law. He has been senior partner in a consultancy firm where he was responsible for business development and client relations.
He has close links with the Breda University for Professional Education (NHTV) in the Tourism and Transport sectors, for which he is both an advisor, guest lecturer and member of the examination board.
Herman Jan is based in Brussels
As Head of the Eco-tourism Development & Management Unit at the Iwokrama International Centre for Rain Forest Conservation & Development and as the St. Lucia Coordinator of the UWI-SEDU/DFID "People & the Caribbean Coast" Project, Colette has gained intensive management and experience developing and managing sustainable eco-tourism businesses, supporting sustainable livelihoods for indigenous peoples through community-based tourism and enterprise. And as Regional Sales, Marketing and Product Development Manager for Cara Hotels and Country Tour Manager for Wilderness Explorers she has gained invaluable experience in the private sector.
In her position as Executive Director of the Tourism & Hospitality of Guyana, Colette promoted the industry at a national and international level. She created and strengthened collaborative working relationships with community, national and international bodies and influenced policy to create an enabling context for tourism growth and development in Guyana.
Colette was born in the UK to Guyanese parents. She attended primary and secondary school in Guyana and graduated from the University of Sussex in the UK (BA (Hons) Geography with African & Asian Studies). In 1990. She was conferred with MA in Environment, Development & Policy at the same institution in 1993. She lives in St. Lucia.
Victor Curtin (Black Blazer) pictured with Ted Reilly, Owner, Big Game Parks Swaziland (far left) on a game drive in the Mkhaya Game Reserve, Swaziland. Also pictured are two other Tourism Intelligence International team members, John Pritchard second from right and Sherma Mc Dougall (far right).
 Blacky Komani was born in South Africa and now lives in the US. He is the Director of Sales and Marketing for Karell Travel a company that sells travel to Africa. He recently left the South Africa Tourism Board where he was the General Manager for the Americas. During his tenure, he was responsible for the multi million dollar advertising and marketing campaign for North and South America, completely restructured the New York office to be responsive to the needs of the Trade, established the first ever Advisory Board which was a think thank that helped with the North American marketing strategy. During Blacky’s tenure, tourism to South Africa grew at about 10% per annum.
Prior to his most recent position with the South African Tourism Board, Blacky was the Acting CEO for the Eastern Cape Tourism Board. He was responsible for the unification of the various tourism offices that existed prior to the new government coming to power. He led the formation of the Eastern Cape Tourism Board in 1996. Blacky holds a Bachelor of Administration and an Honors Degree from University of Fort Hare, South Africa. He is currently completing his Master Degree in Tourism Administration with George Washington University, USA.
 Born in Cape Town and trained in Zambia and the UK, Tanya Abrahamse has a BSc from the University of Zambia, an MSc from the University of London’s Imperial College and a PhD from the University of Westminster.
In 1991 she became the Director of the Environmental Development Agency (EDA), one of the oldest rural and local economic development NGO’s in South Africa. She participated in the development of the Reconstruction and Development Policy (RDP) and Land Reform Policy, as well as advised on a number of economic policy think tanks and processes in the run up to South Africa’s first democratic elections in 1994.
A month after the formation of the new government she was asked to head the facilitation and development management of the RDP Fund in the President Mandela’s Office. She joined the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT) in 1997 as the Deputy Director General of the Resource Use branch which included Marine and Coastal Management, Biodiversity and Heritage Management, and Tourism.
She joined the Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA), the leading industry body created to give ‘One Voice’ for the tourism industry and partner government in key tourism policy, strategy and implementation, in May 2000 as its Executive Director.
In addition she played a leading role in the Tourism Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) scorecard and Charter process, advised on the public/private partnership policy development for nature based tourism state assets and sat on government’s Aviation Policy Review steering committee.
She was honoured by receiving the African Tourism Achiever Award 2005 from the African Broadcast Network and was nominated by Cabinet in 2005 as South Africa’s candidate for the post of Secretary General of the World Tourism Organisation.
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