I am sitting at my desk in my home office, just outside central Amsterdam, reflecting on my WYSE journey, which comes to an end this week.

My involvement with WYSE began in 2007 at my first WYSTC in Istanbul, just a year after WYSE Travel Confederation was formed through the merger of ISTC and FIYTO.

Both FIYTO and ISTC were established after the Second World War in recognition that cultural exchange and international travel foster understanding among young people, helping to build friendships and reduce the risk of extremism. This mission, rooted in the 1940s, feels even more relevant today.

By 2009, I had joined the board of STAY WYSE, then a relatively new sector association created as part of the new WYSE Travel Confederation. As the accommodation sector grew in importance, so too did STAY WYSE. In 2012, I joined the Management Board at a time when WYSE was navigating significant change. The ‘old guard’ were stepping away, and the new Board was shaping the future direction of the Confederation. I was later elected Chairman before taking on the role of Director General in 2013.

That is, of course, just the governance journey. The Confederation itself has a rich and remarkable history. Looking through the archives, I have been continually impressed by what our predecessors achieved. They built an international foreign exchange company to secure favourable rates for members; many will remember the Clearing House. They were even the registrar for the .travel top level domain name. They developed the student standby air ticket, better known as the Brown Ticket. There were associations dedicated to ground travel, air travel, insurance, student identity cards, educational travel, volunteering and cultural exchange, among others. Many of these evolved or disappeared as the market changed, but they remain an important reminder of where we came from.

Yet, beyond all of this history, one thing stands above everything else: people.

WYSE was built by people, for people so as to create a community, an industry, and a collective voice. During my time, I have had the privilege of working with extraordinary individuals and board members who generously gave their time and expertise to help, to guide, to direct and to ensure that the governance was kept up. I cannot name everyone, but I would like to mention Dave Dahl, Russ Hedge, Ashraf Wali, Carye Duffin, Phil Houghton and Jason Merithew, Ulises Ortega from my STAY WYSE board days plus the current Management Board of WYSE.

There are many members who supported the Confederation through their engagement, participation and commitment which has been vital over the years: James Bell, Randy LeGrant, Mark Overmann, Patricia Brunner, Etienne Matichard, Pieter van der Zeeuw, Francis Stivala, Callum Kennedy and Carl Michel. I could continue as there have been countless supporters and I thank you all.

There were many external supporters to WYSE, people who willed us to succeed and often gave their time and expertise to help. I have to mention Greg Richards, Martijn van der Veen, Steen Bilman, Freddie Hansen and Holger Wilke at ITB, Toni Brandi, Taleb Rifai, Jean Claud Suchet, Clark Goodman and Liz Hong Farrell plus the team at IEC.

More importantly, WYSE is a team and I have been fortunate to lead that team. It is never about one person. In fact, I have always felt slightly uncomfortable being thanked individually, because without the team, nothing we have achieved would have been possible.

I have worked alongside free thinkers, entrepreneurs, creatives and people unafraid to challenge decisions or question sub-standard work, regardless of where it came from. That culture has ensured we consistently strive to deliver the best we can.

The post-COVID years have not been easy: fewer staff, greater demands, tighter resources. Yet the team has remained resilient, adaptable, and forward-looking, continuing to find new ideas and better ways of working.

This mindset has long been part of WYSE’s DNA: people who understand the history, grasp the complexity of a truly global industry, and recognise the many moving parts of different sectors, countries, inbound and outbound flows and how they connect. This is not a simple industry, even if it may appear so from the outside.

I would also like to recognise some of the many talented and wonderful colleagues I have worked with over the years, including Simona Dallera, Astrid Wargenau, Sara Paz, Helen George and Jen Woodbridge. There are many more, and I thank you all.

Today, I leave behind a team that is talented, dedicated and deeply committed. They are knowledgeable, resourceful and, above all, people I am proud to call friends.

Laura Daly, Wendy Morrill, Zoë Leno and Ilse Vogelzang (who has the best Dutch surname – look it up!) have been the long-standing backbone of the organisation. Their knowledge is exceptional. They understand the members, their businesses and their needs. They know what is robust and what is assumption, what is trend and what is noise.

Avi, Natalia, Aarthi and Bianca are also integral to the team, supporting, delivering, and forming the structure that underpins everything we do. Look after them.

While WYSE has faced challenges in recent years, I firmly believe that the organisation I hand over today is stronger, more resilient and more relevant than the one I took on in early 2013.

If you have read this far, particularly in an age of short attention spans, thank you. There was never a way to say this in 100 words.

To everyone who has been part of this journey, my sincere thanks. I wish my friends and colleagues at WYSE, Andy Fenner as the new Director General, the WYSE Management Board, and all WYSE members and customers every success for 2026 and beyond.

David Chapman
Director General, WYSE Travel Confederation
2013 – 2026