A full house at the State Representation of North Rhine-Westphalia in Berlin on 27 April: REWE Group hosted its annual political reception and celebrated a premiere in the afternoon with the company's first tourism policy aperitif, a new discussion format.
How can the power of tourism become the engine for more sustainable development at home and abroad? This was the central topic of discussion at the first tourism policy aperitif.
Exchanged views at the first tourism policy aperitif: Dieter Janecek, Member of the German Bundestag, Federal Government Coordinator for Tourism, Álvaro Blanco Volmer, Director of the Spanish Travel and Tourism Board in Berlin (right), Swantje Lehner, Managing Director of Futouris e.V. and Chairwoman of KlimaLink and Dr Ingo Burmester, CEO of DER Travel and Tourism Central Europe (3rd from left)
Dieter Janecek, Member of the German Bundestag and Federal Government Coordinator for Tourism, Álvaro Blanco Volmer, Director of the Spanish Travel and Tourism Board in Berlin, Swantje Lehner, Managing Director of Futouris e.V. and Chairwoman of KlimaLink, and Dr Ingo Burmester, CEO of DER Travel and Tourism Central Europe, took to the podium to exchange views. The discussion was attended by more than 50 invited guests from politics, embassies, NGOs, associations and business.
There was a consensus that not travelling was not an option. "Because by travelling, we finance important sustainability projects - including in the destinations," explained Ingo Burmester. The key is to make customers aware of their responsibility, to create incentives, but also to make existing offers visible.
"Germany must become a pioneer in sustainable tourism," emphasised Dieter Janecek. It is crucial to make progress measurable and to encourage the integration of sustainability into business models through best practices in order to make it easy for consumers to travel sustainably. To achieve this, Ingo Burmester called for a standardised European sustainability label for travel and emphasised: "If we really want to make a difference, let's do it together!"
Annual Political Reception 2023 under the heading: "Nice Working. Since 1927."
The Public Affairs department invited retailers, Management Board members and peers to a dialogue at eye level. More than 700 guests from the world of politics attended, more than in previous years. Members of the German Bundestag were engrossed in discussions on animal welfare, artificial intelligence, labour shortages and inflation, as were employees from their offices and parliamentary groups, federal ministries, associations and representatives of the federal states in Berlin.
"We serve our customers more than 50 million times a week in Germany alone," explained Lionel Souque, CEO of the REWE Group, to the guests. "We know what drives consumers. Join us in dialogue, use our expertise and let us initiate debates - even beyond this evening." Accordingly, the theme of the 2023 annual reception was "Nice Working. Since 1927."
Lionel Souque
"More than 700 guests at our annual political reception - we are very pleased with this response," summarised Emilie Bourgoin, Group Director Public Affairs at REWE Group. "I am convinced that this underlines our relevance as one of the largest private-sector employers in Germany, our potential for innovation and our willingness to engage in open and transparent dialogue. We also always count on our expert colleagues, and this expertise is highly valued by our political stakeholders."
Measures, goals and political demands were also addressed at themed islands in the atrium of the state representation, inviting discussions on topics ranging from the NABU climate fund to the nahkauf-BOX and the agricultural competence centre to the cooperative structure of the REWE Group.