Birger Joseph Nordholm (June 25, 1897 – November 30, 1989), was a Swedish-American founding director of the Swedish National Tourist Office in New York City, and the first Chairman of the European Travel Commission.

[7][8][9] After World War II, as part of the Marshall Plan, Nordholm was appointed the initial Chairman (1949–1958) of the European Travel Commission by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

[10] [11] "The ETC has come to be definitely recognised as the coordinating agency for all these interests and as such is able to attract other European travel advertising and promotion to support its own efforts and thereby present a vastly larger sales story to the American public than is possible with ETC funds alone.

"Following the simplification of visa regulations, customs procedures, and other formalities, as expressed in a 1952 edition of the This Week magazine, Birger Nordholm together with Arthur Haulot foregrounded the "purposeful" and "educational" dimension of "a new type of tourism" that would be "the foundation of lasting peace".

[20] Nordholm was also a "Founding Father" and "skålleage" of the North American charter of the Skål International in New York City on 1 April 1938, with the objective to "develop true friendship and common purpose among members of the tourist industry; through tourism, to promote mutual understanding and foster goodwill between the peoples of the world.