At the ECTAA's 132nd biannual meeting in Prague, Heli Mäki-Fränti was elected as the new President of the European Travel Agents and Tour Operators Association, ECTAA, for the term 2026–2028.
The meeting was arranged by the Czech travel organization ACCKA together with Czech Tourism.
Heli Mäki-Fränti is CEO of the Finnish travel industry organization SMAL and has led the organization since 2007. She has also been Vice-Chair of ECTAA since 2022 and has extensive experience working with travel policy, sustainable tourism and EU issues at the European level.
“ECTAA plays an important role in representing the interests of travel agents and tour operators in Europe. I look forward to working closely with our members and partners to strengthen the industry and contribute to a resilient and competitive European tourism industry,” says Heli Mäki-Fränti.
She succeeds Frank Oostdam, who has been President of ECTAA for the past four years and has been involved with the organization since 2007. Under his leadership, ECTAA has strengthened its position as the voice of the industry in Europe and has worked actively to represent the interests of tour operators during a period of major change in the travel industry.
The new ECTAA Board consists of:
- President: Heli Mäki-Fränti (Finland)
- Vice President: Marios Kammenos (Greece)
- Treasurer: Jan Van Steen (Belgium)
Board members:
- Gabriele Milani (Italy)
- Pawel Niewiadomski (Poland)
- Frank Radstake (Netherlands)
- Daniela Stoeva (Bulgaria)
