Good Travel Alliance
Qualified Experts
About the GTA Qualified Experts
Good Travel Alliance (GTA) Qualified Experts are trained sustainability professionals who help destinations in ways that are meaningful for visitors, travel businesses, and strategic partners.
Using the Good Travel Alliance Roadmap, destination performance assessment framework and Good Travel Experience methodology, Qualified Experts help destinations identify strengths, close readiness gaps and translate sustainability achievements into credible market positioning.
What can a GTA Qualified Expert do?
Depending on the needs of a destination or organisation, a GTA Qualified Expert can provide support in the following areas:
Destination Performance Assessment
- Support destinations in understanding the GTA assessment process
- Help gather and organise information
- Identify strengths and improvement opportunities
- Support preparation for the Good Travel Awards
Good Travel Experience Development
- Identify experiences that meet GTA requirements
- Assess and score Good Travel Experiences (GTEs)
- Support destinations strengthen their visitor offer
- Help develop GTE Guides
KPI and Data Support
- Review destination KPI data
- Support evidence-based reporting
- Help translate sustainability performance into meaningful insights
Strategic Advisory
- Guide destinations through the GTA Roadmap
- Identify priority actions
- Support collaboration with tourism stakeholders
- Position destinations for engagement with tourism partners and distribution channels
CONTACT US
Find a Qualified Expert near you
MENA, Asia, Greece, Turkey & Africa
Maria Athanasopoulou
Countries of Operation: Greece, Cyprus, North Macedonia
Languages: Greek, English
Bio: Maria Athanasopoulou is founder of Respond On Demand Ltd, a B2B tourism marketing and events company. Originator of Gastro Agrotourism and a neurotourism pioneer, she supports destinations and businesses in sales, marketing and the development of sustainable, gastronomy and experiential tourism.
English, French, and Portuguese-speaking Americas & Europe
Soraya van Dijk
Countries of Operation: Suriname and the Wider Caribbean Region
Languages: Dutch, English, Sranan
Bio: Soraya van Dijk is a tourism development professional from Suriname specializing in destination development, ecotourism and community-based tourism. She works with destinations, tourism businesses, Indigenous and local communities, and tourism stakeholders to support responsible, inclusive, and future-proof tourism development through stakeholder engagement, capacity building, project management, and participatory planning.
Spanish-speaking Latin America & Spain
David A. Ortegón Martínez
Countries of Operation: Mexico, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Spain, Portugal, France, Colombia, Venezuela, Panama, Costa Rica, Guatemala
Languages: Spanish, English, French
Bio: Senior sustainability, ESG and destination management professional with extensive experience designing and leading sustainable management systems, ESG portfolios and strategic models for tourism and agri-food sectors. I combine international standards, certification, reporting, auditing, governance and operational implementation to turn sustainability into competitiveness, resilience, value creation and better decision-making.
Verónica Santiago
Countries of Operation: Mexico
Languages: Spanish, English
Bio: Veronica Santiago is a tourism professional and sustainability specialist focused on building bridges between travelers and regenerative tourism. Through clear, accessible communication, she helps travelers and tourism businesses understand how travel choices can create greater value for destinations, communities, and people.
Nicole Layolle
Countries of Operation: Latin America and the Caribbean
Languages: Spanish, English and basic Portuguese
Bio: Nicole Layolle is Director of Acorn Tourism Latin America, specialising in sustainable and community led tourism, destination development and enterprise support. With over 11 years’ experience, she works across Latin America helping destinations and tourism businesses turn sustainability principles into practical action.
Northern, Central & Eastern Europe
Júlia Nagy
Countries of Operation: Hungary, Romania (Transylvania), Slovakia, Serbia, Ukraine (Transcarpathia)
Languages: Hungarian, English
Bio: Júlia Nagy is Managing Director of Innotime Hungary and a sustainable tourism expert with over 20 years of destination management experience. A GSTC Destination Auditor, Green Destinations and Good Travel Seal auditor and coach, she supports destinations and businesses through assessment, certification, strategy, training and digital innovation.