Olivier Ponti is one of Europe’s most eloquent proponents of research in travel and destination marketing. He joined ForwardKeys in the summer of 2018 as Vice President Insights with a mission to translate and interpret ForwardKeys’ considerable data in a way that brings travel trends to life, forecasts future travel patterns, reveals the impact of events on travel and provides deep insights into the travelers of tomorrow. He joined from Amsterdam Marketing where he was Research Manager, and where he established a reputation for attracting tourism and business investment to the city by judicious use of market research and compelling presentation.

Until June 2018, he was also Chairman of the Research & Statistics working group of European Cities Marketing (ECM) where he played a pivotal role in developing the Group’s research tools and reports, as well as establishing strategic partnerships.

Olivier’s career in city tourism started in 2004 when he was appointed manager of the tourism research department of the Paris Visitors and Convention Bureau. In 2007, he left his home‐country to settle in Amsterdam, where he joined the Amsterdam Tourism & Convention Board, which later became Amsterdam Marketing.