Podcast host Dolores Semeraro interviews Josh Filer, Managing Director of D&S Travel Supplies based in the UK on how to nail the art of gift giving in the tourism and travel corporate world. 

This is a very special time of the year. 

For those of you celebrating the festivities ahead of us, this is a time that calls for celebration and reflection, time that we want to spend with our families and friends.

But even if you are not celebrating the festivities right around the corner, it’s almost impossible to escape the commercial side of things and the urge of buying gifts for the ones we love, the ones we work with, the boss or anyone else for that matter nowadays. 

So today’s podcast episode is dedicated to the art of gifting, particularly in the hospitality and tourism industry. 

How do we gift a business partner? A client of the travel agency, an attendees of our trade and tourism event, a guest of our hotel? 

And most importantly

What do we gift them with? A branded pen? A notebook? So much in the gifting arena has been said and done, so today, when eco-friendly materials and renewable energies are becoming one of the key decision factors in whether a gift is successful or not, wrapping up a branded item is simply not enough. 

My guest today is an expert in the art of gifting, particularly when it comes to corporate branded gift in the travel and hospitality industry. Mr. Josh Filer. 

Josh is the Director of D&S Travel Supplies, a specialist in promotional gifts and branded merchandise based in the UK. 

With Josh we are going to discuss how the art of gifting in the corporate world has changed over the years, what are people asking and how we can come up with the perfect gift for the perfect occasion, a process that he calls ‘the journey’. 

Dolores Semeraro is an internationally recognized tourism keynote speaker and trainer who has inspired thousands of people in the tourism industry to build a stronger, more sustainable, and more resilient future of travel.

In her keynotes, Dolores shares with her audience how to develop sustainable marketing thinking through her action-oriented thought process, which observes the interconnectivity of the stages in the travel product life cycle.

By applying this process, operators in the tourism, travel, and hospitality sectors can visibly enhance the longevity of their marketing strategies, effectively rendering them more sustainable in the long term for the well-being of all stakeholders involved.

Dolores is a passionate advocate for responsible travel, sustainability, and innovation. With her signature Mediterranean warmth and straightforwardness, she encourages audiences to challenge their "Business As Usual" status and strive for the improvement of the tourism industry and the well-being of all stakeholders.

Through her decades-long experience in the industry, she has motivated hoteliers and tourism professionals to take action, enhance their communication, and create a purposeful and innovative tourism ecosystem.

She also advocates for slow travel, exemplified by her extensive travels with her husband and beloved dog in their campervan. When not chronicling ...

Dolores Semeraro on the truth behind Accessible Travel today with guest speakers Ali Parker from Travel Counsellors and Mike and Silvia Hill from Endeavour Safaris in Botswana. 

We most commonly in tourism and travel, refer to Accessible Travel as the sphere in which travellers with limited mobility or disabilities can access travel options in a fully inclusive way. 

 In this episode we explore the truth behind booking accessible travel holidays for travel agents and tourism operators. In particular we discuss: 

1.  The Educational Sphere around Accessible Travel: the training needed amongst the tourism operators in order to deliver great travel experiences for travellers with limited mobilities or disabilities. 

2. The Supply Chain and all the parts involved in delivering the perfect travel experience: from the travel enquiry to the accommodation, the transport and all the logistics. 

3. The Hotel experience and how can hotel rooms & suites be more accessible and inclusive without compromising the look and feel of the space. 

4. Normalise Accessible Travel and the conversations we have both with the clients and the suppliers: how do we shift from accessible to inclusive.

5. The Business Volume: is it big enough to prompt more investments and much needed changes? 

6. The role of Governments and the public authorities in tourism and travel in Accessible Travel, where do the private operators feel supported and where, instead, lack of support negatively impacts the outcome of the travel experience. 

The Podcast guests:

Ali Parker - personal travel consultant with Travel Counsellors, a global award-winning travel professionals’ network. 

Ali has more than 20 years’ experience in making holidays and travel accessible and inclusive to all, and ever passionate on how to create holidays and travel that meet the need of travellers with even the most complex access and mobility requirements. 

 Ali is going to take us on a journey to when Accessible Travel was not even a thing to a world where traveling on a wheelchair is not a privilege but a right. 

 Mike and Silvia Hill - founders of Endeavor Safaris in - Maun, Botswana where they operate – perhaps being the only ones  - incredible safari

Dolores Semeraro is an internationally recognized tourism keynote speaker and trainer who has inspired thousands of people in the tourism industry to build a stronger, more sustainable, and more resilient future of travel.

In her keynotes, Dolores shares with her audience how to develop sustainable marketing thinking through her action-oriented thought process, which observes the interconnectivity of the stages in the travel product life cycle.

By applying this process, operators in the tourism, travel, and hospitality sectors can visibly enhance the longevity of their marketing strategies, effectively rendering them more sustainable in the long term for the well-being of all stakeholders involved.

Dolores is a passionate advocate for responsible travel, sustainability, and innovation. With her signature Mediterranean warmth and straightforwardness, she encourages audiences to challenge their "Business As Usual" status and strive for the improvement of the tourism industry and the well-being of all stakeholders.

Through her decades-long experience in the industry, she has motivated hoteliers and tourism professionals to take action, enhance their communication, and create a purposeful and innovative tourism ecosystem.

She also advocates for slow travel, exemplified by her extensive travels with her husband and beloved dog in their campervan. When not chronicling ...

Dolores Semeraro speaks to the Director General of Slovenia Ministry of Tourism Dubravka Kalin about the success story of destination Slovenia and how it became the sustainability most-copies and observed case study in Europe.

On this episode Dubravka shares: 

• The challenges faced growing and developing tourism industry
• The best practices that everyone embraced
• The shift in the type of tourists coming to the destination
• Who does Slovenia look up to?

and much more!

Learn more about Slovenia here: https://www.slovenia.info/en

Dolores Semeraro is an internationally recognized tourism keynote speaker and trainer who has inspired thousands of people in the tourism industry to build a stronger, more sustainable, and more resilient future of travel.

In her keynotes, Dolores shares with her audience how to develop sustainable marketing thinking through her action-oriented thought process, which observes the interconnectivity of the stages in the travel product life cycle.

By applying this process, operators in the tourism, travel, and hospitality sectors can visibly enhance the longevity of their marketing strategies, effectively rendering them more sustainable in the long term for the well-being of all stakeholders involved.

Dolores is a passionate advocate for responsible travel, sustainability, and innovation. With her signature Mediterranean warmth and straightforwardness, she encourages audiences to challenge their "Business As Usual" status and strive for the improvement of the tourism industry and the well-being of all stakeholders.

Through her decades-long experience in the industry, she has motivated hoteliers and tourism professionals to take action, enhance their communication, and create a purposeful and innovative tourism ecosystem.

She also advocates for slow travel, exemplified by her extensive travels with her husband and beloved dog in their campervan. When not chronicling ...

Truth Behind Travel Podcast Host Dolores Semeraro talks to Mark Duckmanton, co-founder and CEO of Path Net Zero on the carbon footprint of the tourism industry and shares the solutions provided by the platform.

Path Net Zero  provides Carbon Impact Correction solutions for travel, tourism and commercial organisations focused on CSR & ESG. 

This episode focuses on how the whole impact of of the travel experience can be measured and mitigated with the tools provided by the platform, engaging travel and tourism operators in a more committed and actionable journey to a more responsible tourism business management. 

Dolores Semeraro is an internationally recognized tourism keynote speaker and trainer who has inspired thousands of people in the tourism industry to build a stronger, more sustainable, and more resilient future of travel.

In her keynotes, Dolores shares with her audience how to develop sustainable marketing thinking through her action-oriented thought process, which observes the interconnectivity of the stages in the travel product life cycle.

By applying this process, operators in the tourism, travel, and hospitality sectors can visibly enhance the longevity of their marketing strategies, effectively rendering them more sustainable in the long term for the well-being of all stakeholders involved.

Dolores is a passionate advocate for responsible travel, sustainability, and innovation. With her signature Mediterranean warmth and straightforwardness, she encourages audiences to challenge their "Business As Usual" status and strive for the improvement of the tourism industry and the well-being of all stakeholders.

Through her decades-long experience in the industry, she has motivated hoteliers and tourism professionals to take action, enhance their communication, and create a purposeful and innovative tourism ecosystem.

She also advocates for slow travel, exemplified by her extensive travels with her husband and beloved dog in their campervan. When not chronicling ...

The GLOBAL COLLECTIVE FOR TRAVEL is a group of Destination Management Companies dedicated to true connections between the travellers and the destination. 

The Founders of The Global Collective for Travel Tuan Pham, Çağlar Gökgün and Pravin Tamang speak to host Dolores Semeraro about:

• The truth behind carbon offsetting
• Community tourism frameworks
• How does greenwashing looks like so travellers can learn how to spot it

 For them, sustainability and community tourism are not just buzzwords– they do not want to leave things as they found them, the want to leave things better! 

Get in touch with them at https://www.globalcollective.travel

Dolores Semeraro is an internationally recognized tourism keynote speaker and trainer who has inspired thousands of people in the tourism industry to build a stronger, more sustainable, and more resilient future of travel.

In her keynotes, Dolores shares with her audience how to develop sustainable marketing thinking through her action-oriented thought process, which observes the interconnectivity of the stages in the travel product life cycle.

By applying this process, operators in the tourism, travel, and hospitality sectors can visibly enhance the longevity of their marketing strategies, effectively rendering them more sustainable in the long term for the well-being of all stakeholders involved.

Dolores is a passionate advocate for responsible travel, sustainability, and innovation. With her signature Mediterranean warmth and straightforwardness, she encourages audiences to challenge their "Business As Usual" status and strive for the improvement of the tourism industry and the well-being of all stakeholders.

Through her decades-long experience in the industry, she has motivated hoteliers and tourism professionals to take action, enhance their communication, and create a purposeful and innovative tourism ecosystem.

She also advocates for slow travel, exemplified by her extensive travels with her husband and beloved dog in their campervan. When not chronicling ...

Founder Oriol Pamies shares the mission and the strategies behind the global success of Queer Destinations, leading LGBTQ+ tourism company that provides consulting and marketing strategies to destinations and tourism companies around the world on the LGBTQ+ travel segment.

Oriol Pamies speaks to host Dolores Semeraro about  how to 

• actively promote your tourism and travel business across the LGBTQ+ segment
• develop and implement responsible policies towards the LGTBQ+ people

 through the work of Queer Destinations today. 

Learn more about Queer Destinations here
Follow the work of Oriol Pamies here

Dolores Semeraro is an internationally recognized tourism keynote speaker and trainer who has inspired thousands of people in the tourism industry to build a stronger, more sustainable, and more resilient future of travel.

In her keynotes, Dolores shares with her audience how to develop sustainable marketing thinking through her action-oriented thought process, which observes the interconnectivity of the stages in the travel product life cycle.

By applying this process, operators in the tourism, travel, and hospitality sectors can visibly enhance the longevity of their marketing strategies, effectively rendering them more sustainable in the long term for the well-being of all stakeholders involved.

Dolores is a passionate advocate for responsible travel, sustainability, and innovation. With her signature Mediterranean warmth and straightforwardness, she encourages audiences to challenge their "Business As Usual" status and strive for the improvement of the tourism industry and the well-being of all stakeholders.

Through her decades-long experience in the industry, she has motivated hoteliers and tourism professionals to take action, enhance their communication, and create a purposeful and innovative tourism ecosystem.

She also advocates for slow travel, exemplified by her extensive travels with her husband and beloved dog in their campervan. When not chronicling ...

Vice Chair of Wellness Tourism Initiative on Wellness Tourism Destination at The Global Wellness Institute Lindsay Madden-Nadeau shares how a Tourism Destination can truly embraces its wellness potentials.

On this episode, Lindsay speaks to podcast host Dolores Semeraro about the research work done through the Wellness Tourism Initiative and the key findings that are showcasing aligning factors across destinations around the world on what does it take to actually be able to call themselves a 'wellness tourism destination'. 

Learn more about the Wellness Tourism Initiative on here 

Dolores Semeraro is an internationally recognized tourism keynote speaker and trainer who has inspired thousands of people in the tourism industry to build a stronger, more sustainable, and more resilient future of travel.

In her keynotes, Dolores shares with her audience how to develop sustainable marketing thinking through her action-oriented thought process, which observes the interconnectivity of the stages in the travel product life cycle.

By applying this process, operators in the tourism, travel, and hospitality sectors can visibly enhance the longevity of their marketing strategies, effectively rendering them more sustainable in the long term for the well-being of all stakeholders involved.

Dolores is a passionate advocate for responsible travel, sustainability, and innovation. With her signature Mediterranean warmth and straightforwardness, she encourages audiences to challenge their "Business As Usual" status and strive for the improvement of the tourism industry and the well-being of all stakeholders.

Through her decades-long experience in the industry, she has motivated hoteliers and tourism professionals to take action, enhance their communication, and create a purposeful and innovative tourism ecosystem.

She also advocates for slow travel, exemplified by her extensive travels with her husband and beloved dog in their campervan. When not chronicling ...

Special Episode in Italian Language:  Il Metaverso e l' Industria del Turismo. 

This is a twin episode of Truth Behind Travel Episode No. 60. 

Dolores Semeraro is an internationally recognized tourism keynote speaker and trainer who has inspired thousands of people in the tourism industry to build a stronger, more sustainable, and more resilient future of travel.

In her keynotes, Dolores shares with her audience how to develop sustainable marketing thinking through her action-oriented thought process, which observes the interconnectivity of the stages in the travel product life cycle.

By applying this process, operators in the tourism, travel, and hospitality sectors can visibly enhance the longevity of their marketing strategies, effectively rendering them more sustainable in the long term for the well-being of all stakeholders involved.

Dolores is a passionate advocate for responsible travel, sustainability, and innovation. With her signature Mediterranean warmth and straightforwardness, she encourages audiences to challenge their "Business As Usual" status and strive for the improvement of the tourism industry and the well-being of all stakeholders.

Through her decades-long experience in the industry, she has motivated hoteliers and tourism professionals to take action, enhance their communication, and create a purposeful and innovative tourism ecosystem.

She also advocates for slow travel, exemplified by her extensive travels with her husband and beloved dog in their campervan. When not chronicling ...

The Metaverse for the tourism industry.  During this episode we are going to learn how does The Experience of the Metaverse look like, What is the The Technology we need to access the Metaverse, how Communication in the Metaverse will unfold and how we ensure Accessibility for the Metaverse so that our clients can find us. 

Beyond the proxies are real opportunities for the tourism and travel operators. What are those? Let’s discovery them together with this how-to, step-by-step Truth Behind Travel Podcast episode. 

Welcome back to Season 3 of Truth Behind Travel Podcast, where we are having conversations that are shaping the future of travel with innovation, technology and sustainability. 

If you follow the podcast, you might have notice a pause over the past weeks, a much needed one, I would say, one that we don’t often take. Today we kick start with one of the hottest topics across the tourism industry. The Metaverse and it application for this industry. Let’s get started.

Dolores Semeraro

Tourism & Hospitality Marketing Specialist and Speaker

Truth Behind Travel Podcast Host 

Dolores Semeraro is an internationally recognized tourism keynote speaker and trainer who has inspired thousands of people in the tourism industry to build a stronger, more sustainable, and more resilient future of travel.

In her keynotes, Dolores shares with her audience how to develop sustainable marketing thinking through her action-oriented thought process, which observes the interconnectivity of the stages in the travel product life cycle.

By applying this process, operators in the tourism, travel, and hospitality sectors can visibly enhance the longevity of their marketing strategies, effectively rendering them more sustainable in the long term for the well-being of all stakeholders involved.

Dolores is a passionate advocate for responsible travel, sustainability, and innovation. With her signature Mediterranean warmth and straightforwardness, she encourages audiences to challenge their "Business As Usual" status and strive for the improvement of the tourism industry and the well-being of all stakeholders.

Through her decades-long experience in the industry, she has motivated hoteliers and tourism professionals to take action, enhance their communication, and create a purposeful and innovative tourism ecosystem.

She also advocates for slow travel, exemplified by her extensive travels with her husband and beloved dog in their campervan. When not chronicling ...

IGLTA International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association Chairman Of The Board Of Directors  Felipe Cardenas speaks about the challenges and opportunities for the tourism industry when tapping into the LGBTQ+ clientele to build a safe and inclusive travel experience for all. 

Across the tourism industry today we often speak about embracing a more inclusive and diverse approach and mindset. But what does it exactly mean? How do we practically develop a more ‘inclusive’ company culture and what are the benefits of this approach? 

 The travellers profile is growing more and more complex by the day, the tourism industry operators have come to understand and even enhance a more gender neutral approach to their customers but a lot more remains to be done and the challenge is that many tourism operators do not quite know how to tackle this social change, which will inevitably have an impact on the future of their business.

• WHY LGBTQ+ travel is crucial to building an inclusive future of travel 
• HOW you can get on board, put your destination on the map and learn what are the direct financial benefits of tapping into this social movement and 
• WHAT can you do to champion change across your company culture

About IGLTA

IGLTA, the International LGBTQ+ Travel Association was founded in 1983 and is the world's leading network of LGBTQ+-welcoming tourism businesses. We provide free travel resources and information while continuously working to promote equality and safety within LGBTQ+ tourism worldwide. IGLTA’s members include LGBTQ+-friendly accommodations, transport, destinations, service providers, Travel Advisors, tour operators, events and travel media located in over 80 countries.

Learn more about IGLTA here


Season 3 Episode 60
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About Dolores Semeraro

Dolores Semeraro is a Tourism & Hospitality Marketing Specialist and International Tourism Keynote Speaker focusing on Tourism Innovation, Recovery Strategies and Travel Resilience with 20 years of experience in hospitality, marketing, and communication.

During her caree

Dolores Semeraro is an internationally recognized tourism keynote speaker and trainer who has inspired thousands of people in the tourism industry to build a stronger, more sustainable, and more resilient future of travel.

In her keynotes, Dolores shares with her audience how to develop sustainable marketing thinking through her action-oriented thought process, which observes the interconnectivity of the stages in the travel product life cycle.

By applying this process, operators in the tourism, travel, and hospitality sectors can visibly enhance the longevity of their marketing strategies, effectively rendering them more sustainable in the long term for the well-being of all stakeholders involved.

Dolores is a passionate advocate for responsible travel, sustainability, and innovation. With her signature Mediterranean warmth and straightforwardness, she encourages audiences to challenge their "Business As Usual" status and strive for the improvement of the tourism industry and the well-being of all stakeholders.

Through her decades-long experience in the industry, she has motivated hoteliers and tourism professionals to take action, enhance their communication, and create a purposeful and innovative tourism ecosystem.

She also advocates for slow travel, exemplified by her extensive travels with her husband and beloved dog in their campervan. When not chronicling ...