Vice President of the Global Agritourism Network (GAN) and Chair of the Eastern Europe Committee. Lecturer and researcher at the Agricultural University of Tirana. He holds a PhD and has completed post‑doctoral research on agritourism development. His academic work focuses on rural development, tourism, and agritourism, with publications in international peer‑reviewed journals. Actively involved in national and international projects, he has contributed significantly to advancing agritourism in Albania by co-founding the Albanian Agritourism Association, supporting legal reforms, support on drafting the National Agritourism Strategy, leading enterprise capacity‑building initiatives, and designing financial grant schemes to foster sector growth.

Pierre Cormier, CMC is a Canadian agritourism strategist, consultant, and educator working with farms, rural communities, and industry organizations across Canada and internationally. As Partner at ClearThink™ Group, he supports agricultural and food-based businesses through sector development initiatives, training programs, and coaching. Pierre serves as Treasurer and Education Committee member of the Global Agritourism Network (GAN) and contributes to international dialogue on agritourism policy, research, and capacity-building. His work in rural economic development and agritourism innovation has received national and international recognition, including professional consulting awards in Canada and honours through the Constantinus International Awards. His perspective combines immersive on-farm residencies, strategy development, and global collaboration to advance agritourism as a pathway to farm sustainability and resilient rural economies.

Hans Embacher, 65, was director of the Austrian Farm Holidays Association from 1991 until April 2026 and thus one of the key players in rural tourism in Austria and as Vice-president of the European Association for rural and farm tourism („Eurogites“) also in Europe. At present he works as a free lance consultant in agritourism and rural development. After the studies of business administration and translator/interpreter at the university of Innsbruck/Austria he graduated in tourism marketing at the renowned University of Surrey/UK (thesis: „Austria’s image as a summer holiday destination“ for the Austrian National Tourism Office). After the study he gathered pracitical experience with all levels of tourism as a tourism consultant with Edinger Tourism Consultants and Engineers Ltd. in Innsbruck. Over 10 years his position in the marketing board of the Austrian National Tourist Board offered valuable overview over the major issues and developments in tourism, in the Austrian Chamber of Agriculture Embacher represents the interests of rural tourism in the “rural regions”-committee. International consultancy projects in the CEE-countries Poland and Estonia, in 2012 invitation to the German Bundestag as a leading expert in rural tourism. Lectora¬tes at the University of Linz, at the University College for Agrarian and Environ¬men¬tal Pedagogy in Vienna, the Universities of Applied Sciences in Salzburg and Krems. Co-author of the tourism-encyclopaedia in 2008. With it’s consequent quality-policy, with establishing the brand „Farm Holidays in Austria“, with the development of various special interest-products and finally with the successful presentation of 2.300 small farm-enterprises on a common web-plattform the Austrian Farm Holidays Organisation has achieved a sustainable, successful development and a strong position in Austria’s tourism and agricultural sector. This organisation with some 2.300 member-farms (with 27.000 guest-beds) has been “role model” for many developments and projects in numerous European countries over the years.