WYSTC Whereabouts

Congrats to Katrina Vanderhulst from Au Pair International Inc. – our first Mayor! Join the fun and check in often with our WYSTC Whereabouts game. One lucky participant will win free entry to WYSTC 2012!

With over 350 check-ins on Wednesday, our WYSTC Whereabouts game is a big hit already. Blaz Jemc of STA Ljubljana and Meruschka Govender of South Africa Department of Trade and Industry joined in the foursquare fun and are among the new Mayors!

New venues include the ‘Coffee Addicts Stand’ and ‘In Bed with STAY WYSE.’  Steep competition is mounting for the one free entry to WYSTC 2012…

Donation Station

With the WYSTC Charity Project sponsored by WYSE Volunteer & Travel, you can donate towards student scholarships via Fundacio Gaspar Espuna CETT, based in Barcelona. These are students in need who normally would not have the opportunity for such a quality education.

Inspired by this project, several organisations have given generous contributions such as…

• GoEco donated two hostel internship programmes in Israel. GoEco is a premium facilitator and provider of volunteer projects, internships and home-stays in Israel.
• Nullarbor Traveller from Australia donated one of their exciting ‘adventures to wild places’ in the unforgettable Australian outback
• ISV (International Student Volunteers) from the U.S. donated a heavily discounted trip worth several thousands of dollars

 A big thank you to all, and keep the donations coming everyone!

Overheard @ WYSTC

“SoLoMo”
The term that our keynote speaker David Rowan shared with us during his speech on Wednesday.
It refers to Social, Local and Mobile – the three aspects of business today that companies will do well to follow when creating their business plans. How and when will you go SoLoMo?

“Clearly the way forward”
Heard at the App Yap finals, when describing the need for travel-related companies to have their own custom app created. Is this already part of your business offering, or will it be soon?

Roundtable Session Roundup

Hosted by WYSE Travel Confederation and moderated by Greg Richards, this session is a working meeting where Official Tourism Organisations (OTO), national tourism authorities and tourism development organisations share best practice, development strategies, policy expertise and experience to build specific recommendations for the development of global youth travel.

This annual session saw many new faces and places at the table this year, including our host country’s Elena Vadillo Lobo from Tourism Spain, along with new attendees from Canada, the Netherlands and more. All attendees were invited to share their initiatives to develop youth tourism. The UNWTO was also present, with the excellent news that a declaration will be put together and taken to the UNWTO General Assembly in October, as a direct output of the session – as well as the ‘Power of Youth Travel’ report available at the WYSE Lounge in the Trade Hall and on tables around the conference.

Need Some Help?

The WYSTC Registration Desk, located on Level 0 of the Palau de Congressos, will be open daily from 8:00-18:00 for any questions you might have.

Prospective Member Reception

All delegates registered as prospective members are invited to a special networking reception on Thursday evening at 18:35 to 19:30, Foyer Level O where they will have the opportunity to network with some key figures within our industry. Be sure to join us to see and hear what WYSE Travel Confederation is all about.

Equity Point Party

The Equity Point Hostel Chain is throwing a party at its EP Centric Hostel on Thursday night, and they are inviting the entire hostel community to join them and discover Barcelona at night. Get your invitation at the Equity Point booth C33!