About

Joe Buhler

jeb@buhlerworks.com

Three Line Bio:

Global experience in destination marketing, tour operations, retail travel and the airline industry and since the early days in the largest e-commerce vertical - online travel. Senior executive positions in Japan, Canada, the United Kingdom and in the United States.

Biography:

I am the principal and owner of buhlerworks a consulting service for vision, strategy & innovation in travel & tourism web marketing, with a focus on destination marketing organizations (DMO) at the national, regional and local level. I am also a Partner and Executive Vice President of Level 9 a web development company providing innovative solutions to the financial services industry and with past experience in travel and tourism.

I also work as Senior Destination Marketing Analyst for PhoCusWright an independent travel, tourism and hospitality research firm specializing in consumer, business and competitive intelligence and producer of high-profile executive conferences.

Previously I was a member of the management team of EuroVacations.com, the online tour operator unit of Rail Europe Group, as EVP Business Development, Strategic Alliances & Industry Relations. I contributed to the successful establishment of the company as the first tour operator to offer fully custom-designed vacation packages for independent travelers online.

Prior to that I worked for Switzerland Tourism, the national marketing organization for one of the top 15 global tourism destinations. During my extensive global career I was responsible for their operations in North America, the United Kingdom & Ireland, Canada and South East Asia, where I established the first presence for Switzerland with an office in Japan.

I also worked in Japan and Switzerland for Kuoni Travel Inc. one of the major European tour operators.

Twice I was elected Chairman of the market operations groups of the European Travel Commission (ETC) both in Japan and in the United States and also served as Vice Chairman of the Alliance of Canadian Travel Agencies (ACTA).

I have appeared as a speaker and moderator at annual online travel industry conferences such as the RSAA 2008 Summit Conference, Hostelworld ‘07 Conference, PhoCusWright Executive Conference, Travel Commerce Conference & Expo and EyeforTravel Conference on Travel Distribution.

JEB @ August 8, 2006