FROM BEHIND THE SCENES:
BIRGIT DEFOORT
Glenaki

By Frans Rombouts

During her tourism management studies at HTI in Bruges, Birgit Defoort (35) did a traineeship at North Sea Ferries, and after graduation she stayed there, first in reservations and then as Key Account Manager. In this capacity she had a lot of contact with VisitScotland, the Scottish tourist board, and in 2000 Birgit was asked to work for them on the Benelux and Scandinavian markets. She accepted and was stationed in Edinburgh. She stayed there for two and a half years and then she returned to Belgium where she started up Glenaki, her own business offering tourism services to foreign destinations and tourism companies.

Most of Birgit's time goes to taking care of media relations on behalf of her clients. She closely cooperates with BrouwerBetist in Holland - a PR company that had clients who wanted to enter the Belgian market, but that also realised that this could only be done from within Belgium. This was the start of an intense cooperation with Glenaki. In the meantime Birgit's portfolio has expanded and clients include VisitScotland, Lisbon, the Sultanate of Oman, Norfolkline, SNCM, Curaçao, Barbados, Jersey and many more.

BIRGIT DEFOORT ON...

Travel
Being single, Birgit has no family obligations, and whenever she can, she takes off on some trip or other, even during weekends. Then she either works, or enjoys the weekend 'out of home', even if it is just one night in Canterbury.
For Birgit, a holiday is never complete without some cycling and nice food, like on the Ile de Ré in France, where she and Veronique, a good friend of hers, cycled form one oyster delight to another.
Another destination she will always remember is Ecuador.
Birgit Defoort: "I was especially enchanted by the enormous diversity of the country, from snow on 5000-metre high mountains to the Amazon jungle and Quito with its sea, or the Galapagos Islands... It is amazing how many different experiences you can have in a three-week holiday there. On the Galapagos Islands I was enchanted by variety of animal life. And the animals do no run away from you.
Another destination that impresses me a lot is Oman. Before we took this sultanate into our portfolio, I did not know it at all. I even had to take the world map to look it up. I think that there are quite a lot of misconceptions about this part of Arabia. Whenever I go there for business, I tend to stay some days longer and discover the country on my own. I was surprised by the diversity of nature, and especially by the position of women, which is quite revolutionary compared to the surrounding countries."

Food
"I am not very good at cooking, to use an understatement. I prefer to go out for a meal, mostly to Thai or other Asian restaurants. In Bruges, where I live and work, there are some outstanding little restaurants. One of my favourites is Anurak Thai opposite the railway station; another one is the Tanuki Japanese restaurant where they serve excellent lunch at a very reasonable price; or 'De Eetkamer' with only six tables."

Family life
"I travel a lot for my job. In tourism there are a lot of road shows, workshops and other activities that require being away from home a lot, especially during the evening, and I can't imagine how I would combine family life with my job. I think that I would need a very understanding partner who could take over quite a few 'household' jobs from me.
Anyway, at present I am single and I do not really desire children at the moment. So nothing obstructs my way of life as it is now."

Opportunities
"Some people have well-defined ideas about career planning. I am not like them. I am convinced that the opportunities will present themselves, and that you have to seize them, sometimes without having sufficient time to think about them.
When I was 18, I went to study at the University of Michigan in the US for one year. Looking back on this period I must admit that it changed my life considerably. After that, I spent six months as an au-pair in Paris, which was also an interesting experience. The family I worked for was rich, and I got to know a different world. I also learned to appreciate good and fine cuisine there.
These two stays had a considerable influence on me. They offered me tremendous opportunities to develop myself and I became much more extroverted and open. I also learned to appreciate some qualities in people."

People
"Friends are extremely important for me. It is difficult for me to stay at home, even for one evening. During the day I concentrate on my job, which I have to do alone. Only recently did I hire someone to help me. In the evenings I always look for the company of my friends. We go out for dinner or I receive them at home. I probably need to produce my daily quota of words, which seems to be typical of women, at least according to some bestselling authors. So I need people to talk to.
Anyway, I often travel with journalists to destinations where we visit beautiful places and stay at superb hotels. At these destinations lots of people work very hard to make sure that everything is to the guests' satisfaction - I am sometimes surprised that these guests take for granted that everything is ready when they arrive. They think it is normal and they do not realise how much work and energy it takes to make their stay a memorable one. The least you can expect of these guests is a smile and a simple 'thank you'. And yet, they sometimes do not even notice all the staff members that make their stay agreeable. Although they don't show it, I hope they appreciate the efforts. I, myself, still have a kind of 'wow' feeling when I enter some of these nice hotels and I hope that this will never wear out."

Values
"I get angry when people do not show respect for others, for their work, their efforts, and their values. One of the worst expressions of disrespect is getting drunk, which I can't stand at all. When you drink there is a moment when you feel that a certain limit is reached, and then you have to take control of yourself. This is really up to you. Stopping drinking is one way of showing respect to those around you.
Also when you travel you have to respect the values of your hosts. After all, you are their guest and not an invader. You have to respect their values, even if these values are not yours.
I also expect people to be honest, without having any hidden agendas. I dare hope that, towards other people, I am 'what you see is what you get'; not just in professional life, but also on a personal level. And this is what friends are important for. They are a kind of mirror for you: a good friend will make you know yourself better."

Books etc.
"I rarely watch television or films, but prefer a good book. I read a lot on the plane, when I am forced to stay put anyway. Being a Bruges native I like novels by Pieter Aspe. Other favourite authors of mine include Iain Banks and Ian Ranking. The book that impressed me most is 'The Testament' by John Grisham – authour of 'The Pelican Brief', which was made into a film featuring Denzel Washington and Julia Roberts.
I would like to go to concerts, but my schedule can suddenly change because of client needs. When I book tickets for some friends and me and then can't go, it's not pleasant for me nor for my friends. Anyway, I don't like mega concerts, but more 'intimate' ones - like recently Marco Borsato or Simply Red who performed for an audience of 500."

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