Welcome Ben!

We are happy to welcome a new member to destination:development, meet Ben:

Benjamin Smits is a civil engineer who was looking for a change of career. After years managing multimillion dollar infrastructure projects in his hometown Melbourne, Australia, he sought to combine his knowledge in project management and sustainability with his passion for travel. With a keen interest in social business and storytelling, Ben sees his role at destination:development as a facilitator who is able to motivate people to communicate the message of their destination whilst keeping their culture and values alive.

We are thrilled to have him aboard, also in regards to our Impact Innovation Project, where we are looking to find solutions for more effective social sustainability measurement in tourism by including other disciplines like infrastructure, landscape planning and ecology. Ben is a creative head and a hands on person, which makes him a perfect for destination:development.

While in Austria, Ben will travel to different destinations in the neighboring countries, and will provide us with insights and a fresh view on tourism and its consequences to local populations. We are very curious to learn more about his Ozzie perspective on sustainable destinations, since Australia has often been quoted as a model destination in terms of sustainability and environmental protection.

Ben also has a love for cooking, which we are looking forward to include in our meetings and workshops, where he has offered to provide organic and healthy meals for the team, our hosts and our guests.

Stay tuned for Ben’s insights, coming soon on our blog.