WHO WE ARE

dr. ISTVÁN UJHELYI

president of council of CEA

is a jurist, former Member of the European Parliament, and currently the ambassador of UN Tourism, responsible for the cooperation with the EU institutions. Over the past decade, he served as vice- chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on Transport and Tourism (TRAN) as part of the social-democratic group and as an elected representative of Hungary. He was also a member of the European Parliament’s committee on environment and health issues (ENVI) and one of the initiators of the comprehensive European Health Union program. Over the past decade, István Ujhelyi was twice named MEP of the Year, primarily in categories related to tourism. Previously, he was a member and deputy-speaker of the Hungarian National Assembly for several years, and held decision-making positions in various governments, including as Secretary of State for regional development and the Prime Minister’s Office. He also chaired the National Tourism Committee in Hungary.

Currently, István Ujhelyi is a senior advisor at the APCO Worldwide consulting group and a global advisor supporting the HiSeas International Tourism Group. He is also the chairman of the board at the Bella Vista Institute of Higher Education (BVIS) in Switzerland and as a senator, he is a board member of the Mediterranean Tourism Foundation. He is the founder- president of „Capital European Affairs”, which is a Brussels-based consultancy and thinktank and also the founding chairman of the Brussels-based NGO, called „OBOR Culture & Tourism Development Committee”; which fosters Chinese- European cooperation. He initiated the „European Capital of Smart Tourism” program and supported the DiscoverEU initiative as a mentor, providing free train passes to eighteen-year-olds across Europe. Additionally, Ujhelyi was named honorary ambassador for circus arts by the Monaco-based World Circus Federation, led by Princess Stéphanie of Monaco.

GÁBOR BODOR

director of strategy and policy

is a senior EU policy expert with a background in international relations. After receiving his Bachelor’s degree from the Corvinus University of Budapest, he pursued Postgraduate studies at the University of Antwerp in Climate and Energy. In the past years he worked in the European Parliament as a strategic policy advisor on the fields of budget, rule of law, energy and climate. As a result, he gained outstanding knowledge on the following topics: Multiannual Financial Framework, Recovery and Resilience Facility, direct EU funding opportunities, Article 7 procedure, Conditionality Regulation, European Green Deal, Fit for 55 and REPowerEU. He is passionate about EU affairs and has developed a holistic view of the intricate inner workings and inter- institutional relations of the EU capital which he confidently navigates thanks to his excellent networking skills and result oriented approach. This led to a well-established direct contact to a great number of EU officials, EU Commissioners, MEPs and Permanent Representations. As climate discussions became the forefront of EU policy-making Gábor’s focus shifted towards renewable energy sources and green transition which are key to achieving the EU’s target for becoming the first climate neutral continent by 2050.

LILLA HARANGOZÓ

head of office (CEA)

is an international relations expert, political analyst. She holds a bachelor’s degree in international relations at Corvinus University of Budapest and a master’s degree in Political Science: European and International Governance at Vrije Universiteit Brussel. In the past years, she has been working in the European Parliament in the cabinet of a Member of the European Parliament in the fields of tourism and health care. Her excellent problem solving, and diplomatic skills are paired with great networking abilities, resulting in complete set of theoretical and practical knowledge. She holds great leadership skills; she completed NDI’s Youth Political Leadership Academy, and she was a European Parliament Program Leader in BVIS International Future Leaders Summer School in Switzerland. Lilla has bilingual proficiency in Hungarian and English, and intermediate proficiency in French and Spanish languages.

MARIANA OLESKIV

director of tourism

is a former Ukrainian high-ranking official who has been working in the field of tourism with a focus on convention and marketing sectors for over 20 years. In addition, Ms. Oleskiv worked at the three largest Ukrainian tourism centers – Kyiv, Odesa and Lviv. Between 2020 and 2025 she was the Chairperson of the State Agency for Tourism Development of Ukraine. The main task of the Agency is to implement state policy in the field of tourism and resorts of Ukraine. In 2008 she was responsible for technical support organization for EBRD annual meetings in Ukraine. From 2013 to 2015 she was head of the Travel Agencies and Travel Bureaus „Slupskyi”. From 2016 to 2018 she was head of KP „Lviv Tourism Development Center” of Lviv City Council. Under Mariana Oleskiv’s leadership, Lviv was granted the privilege to host participants of the 5th European Cities Marketing (ECM) organization’s meeting for Tourist Information Centers of European Cities. Mariana attended Lyceum No. 2 with an emphasis on English language studies from 1988 to 1999. She attended the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv from 1999 to 2004. She is fluent in Ukrainian and English.

VIKTOR VEREB

senior tourism consultant

is an accomplished tourism industry professional with seven years of experience in the sector, specializing in Chinese outbound travel to Europe. Based in Beijing (China) during this time, he gained in-depth expertise in cross-border tourism development and international market dynamics. As Contracting Manager at HISEAS International Tourism Group—a leading global force in Chinese outbound tourism—he was responsible for establishing and managing strategic hotel partnerships across Europe, and facilitating seamless collaboration between European suppliers and Chinese travel operators. Holding an MSc in International Relations from Budapest Corvinus University (2009), Viktor has cultivated a strong focus on China, his expertise extends beyond tourism, with a proven track record in fostering international cooperation. As Ambassador of the European Spas Association (ESPA), the umbrella organization representing Europe’s health and wellness tourism stakeholders, he worked to strengthen Europe’s position in the Chinese market. In his current role as Secretary General of the EU-China OBOR Culture and Tourism Development Committee, he continues to drive high-level intercultural collaboration, advancing sustainable tourism development and economic partnerships between Europe and China.

BEATRIX BOJTOR

SENIOR EU PROJECT MANAGER

is a senior EU project management and policy expert with a strong academic background in international relations, diplomacy and sustainable development. She obtained her Bachelor’s degree in International Relations from the University of Pannonia, followed by a Master of Science in Urban Planning, Environment Protection and Sustainable Development at the Université de la Sorbonne – Paris IV, and later a Master of Arts in International Security and Diplomacy from the University of East Anglia. Over the past decade she has built extensive expertise in the design and coordination of EU funded projects, working across programmes such as Horizon Europe, Erasmus+, European Innovation Council and innovation-driven European funding instruments. As a result, she developed strong methodological knowledge of EU funding procedures, institutional requirements, policy alignment, consortium building and multi-country implementation. Her experience covers the full lifecycle of EU projects—from strategic concept development to implementation, monitoring and stakeholder engagement. Beatrix is passionate about the functioning of EU policies and funding mechanisms, and she has developed a solid understanding of the EU’s institutional dynamics, legislative processes and cross-cutting policy areas. Her intercultural competence, shaped by studying and working in France, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Austria, Germany and Hungary, enables her to navigate complex multinational settings with ease. She is fluent in Hungarian, English, German and French, and is recognised for her diplomatic communication style, analytical approach, and ability to facilitate cooperation across borders.

TAMÁS LAJOS SZALAY

strategic & creative consultant

worked as a journalist for more than fifteen years, among others as parliamentary correspondent for the then leading Hungarian political daily Népszabadság. He was a member of the founding team of NOLTv, a pioneer in the production of video content on the online version of the referred daily, which won numerous awards. In addition to his bachelor’s degree in humanities, he holds degrees in Election Analysis and New Media Graphic Design, and is also a qualified graphologist. He is an accomplished copywriter and an experienced communications, marketing and brand management professional, having completed short studies in the latter fields at the University of Arts in London and at the University of Edinburgh Business School. Tamás is the author of several investigative and documentary reportage books and has also published a political novel. He constantly develops his skills in the field of visual communication, for example in typography and in creative graphic design; as a result, his design works have been selected for the third time for display on the billboards of the outdoors ARC-exhibition in Budapest. Several of his design-works have won awards: the visual identity and logo he designed for the company BudaPanda, for instance, was among the awarded works of The Best Brand Award in 2024. For ten years, he has worked as chief of cabinet and political adviser for MEP István Ujhelyi in Brussels.

MAJLIND LAZIMI

member of advisory board

is an experienced C-level executive, senior economic adviser and management consultant with a solid 14-year professional achievements in complex project management, corporate management, public administration, political and business sphere. His in depth- expertise includes integral economic investment appraisal and project finance related to tourism, infrastructure, and energy projects. Since December 2021, Mr. Lazimi holds the position of the Managing Partner of Horwath HTL – ALBANIA. Previously, he has held important positions such as: Economic Adviser to the President of the Republic of Albania; Deputy Minister of European Integration; CEO of Albanian Post; Chief of Cabinet to the Minister of Economy, Trade and Energy; Economic Adviser to the Minister of Foreign Affairs; Business Development Manager for a regional consulting company in the Western Balkans etc. Mr. Lazimi has a Master of Science and B.A degree from Eastern Mediterranean University, and professional certificates from Cornell University, Queen’s University (Canada), Diplomatic Academy of Vienna.

LAURA VAN DER MEER

member of advisory board

is a specialist in international environmental law and policy and has more than thirty years of experience assisting companies, associations, and non-profit organizations with international and national government relations strategy, advocacy, coalition building, and regulatory compliance. Her consulting work today focuses primarily on positioning clients to contribute positively to legislative and policy processes and fully comply with the resulting laws and regulations. Laura lived and worked in Belgium, the Netherlands, Hungary, and Switzerland for more than twenty years before returning to the US in 2022. Some of her current professional activities include advising conservation organisations and biotechnology companies regarding proposed legislation and implementing regulations in the EU, U.S. or via multilateral agreements, including those impacting the tourism sector. She holds a law degree from the Marshall-Wythe School of Law, College of William & Mary with several honors and bar admissions.

TOMÁŠ PETŘÍČEK

member of advisory board

is the director of Progressive Analytical Centre, a Prague- based independent think- tank. He is also a senior non-residential fellow at the Centre of Global Political Economy of the Institute of International Relations in Prague and an associated researcher at the Sciences Po Paris. Since 2022 he has been a member of the Board of Trustees of the Boris Nemtsov Foundation for Freedom. He served as a Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic between 2018 and 2021. He has more than 10 years in senior management positions in the private, public, and civic sectors. He received a Ph.D. in International Relations from the Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University in Prague, and M.A. degree in International Political Economy from the University of Warwick. His research interests are in the fields of international political economy, geoeconomics, and geopolitics.

HISHAM ZAAZOU

member of advisory board

started his career in the banking sector (CitiBank Cairo) after his graduation in 1976 from the faculty of commerce (Ain- Shams University). In 1980 he traveled to the USA (Los Angeles) to start his career in tourism by joining R&H Voyages, a tour operator specialized in the Middle East. After a successful career in the private sector, both as an international tour operator (USA) and as professional ground handler (in Egypt), one of the highlights of his civilian career was that he became the Executive Director of Egyptian Tourism Federation (ETF). Zaazou later joined the government as an assistant minister of tourism in 2007, promoted to senior assistant minister of tourism in 2009; being the first to assume this position in the history of the Ministry of Tourism in Egypt. Later on Mr. Zaazou became Minister of Tourism of Egypt in 2012 till 2016 and served in this position under three presidents and four prime-ministers.

WANG SIHAO

member of advisory board

is an expert on Europa-China affairs and Vice Chair EU-China OBOR Culture, Education, Tourism and Economic Development Committee. Since 2013, he has served as a Senior Advisor on China Affairs to the National Assembly of Hungary, providing long-term strategic insights on policy dialogue, economic cooperation, and cultural exchange between Hungary and China. Drawing upon his extensive expertise in Chinese studies and his deep understanding of the political landscape in Central and Eastern Europe, he has consistently supported high-level decision-making and contributed to enhance relationship development between China and Hungary. From 2014 to 2024, he extended his advisory work to the European level, acting as a consultant to the European Parliament and its Committee on Transport and Tourism on matters related to China. His responsibilities included policy analysis, strategic recommendations, assessments of EU–China cooperation opportunities, and preliminary evaluations for major joint projects. His research and advisory were frequently referenced in discussions, playing a constructive role in shaping EU policies on connectivity, tourism cooperation, and sustainable development with China. In parallel with his public-sector advisory work, he has also served as a professional consultant for numerous European and Chinese companies engaged in cross-regional collaboration. His consulting services cover strategic planning, project evaluation, regulatory alignment, and business communication. He has worked across a wide range of industries, including renewable energy, cultural and tourism development, health industries, and traditional manufacturing. His expertise lies in bridging the European regulatory framework with the realities of the Chinese market, helping businesses expand, localize, and implement cooperation projects effectively.