Susan Webb named president of Skål Canada

Skål Canada elected Susan Webb, president, VoX International, and member of Skål Toronto, as its new president during the association's recent annual fall meeting at the Holiday Inn Winnipeg Airport.

"I'm very proud, and I've been involved with the organization for a very long time, so for me it's been such an exceptional experience just being able to meet so many tourism professionals from around the world," Webb said over the phone to PAX.

"We have 15,000 members now in 400 clubs in 87 countries around the world, so we're really becoming the trusted voice of travel. My vision as president is to make sure that everyone knows about the association, and understands how beneficial it is.

"Our model is 'doing business with friends,' and that's really what we try to encourage. The old Skål was sort of an Old Boys Club, but the new Skål, with a female president, will show the women in the industry that we can hold significant positions in the tourism industry."

In her new role as Skål Canada's president, Webb has plans to release a new website for all 17 clubs across Canada. A brand new Skål club has just opened up in Prince Edward Island, which positions the association to have clubs across the country.

Each individual club will have its own consistent look, and the ability to register for meetings and events specific to that club, making the website more streamlined and specific to each regional club.

"As a board, we've been working on a lot of initiatives," Webb explained. "We're looking at potentially opening several new clubs in regions of Canada where we don't already have clubs, and we're also looking to align ourselves with other tourism associations like ACTA and Tourism Cares to promote more synergy and assure that we include responsible tourism as something that we're doing for 2018."

Another objective on the horizon is to promote membership growth within Skål Canada, and one of the ways that Webb plans to do this is through the promotion of a new program called Young Skål.

"Young Skål is for people who are just coming into the industry," Webb explained. "It's a mentorship program that's less expensive, and we as the Skål members really help them to develop their careers in the tourism industry. Canada has one of the most robust Young Skål programs in the world and we're very proud of that."

Young Skål members attend all of the meetings, and there are many events throughout North America for new members to get involved. They also have the opportunity to meet with industry executives who can connect them to the individuals or opportunities that can help shape and guide their careers in the tourism sector.

"The Young Skål who are involved have done so well, and I'm just so proud of them," Webb said. "We're looking forward to welcoming more members into Skål Canada, and we hope more executives want to be a part of it as well."