About me
If you are considering bringing someone into your organisation, it is reasonable to want to know what experience they have and whether they understand the realities of running a visitor-focused operation.
I’ve spent twenty-five years working in the visitor economy, in hands-on operational and leadership roles. At a large international tour operator, I started as a resort representative and went on to manage multi-country operations, with more than 30 widely dispersed staff serving around 1,000 customer arrivals each week.
In the UK, I managed a group-sales team of 35 people working towards a £50 million annual turnover target and helped recruit more than 1,200 seasonal overseas staff. Several years living and working across Europe were followed by a decade focused on the Nordic region.
That experience gave me a practical understanding of leading people, serving customers and keeping complex operations working across different countries and seasons. It also showed me that a good plan only creates value when the people, systems and day-to-day delivery can make it happen.
Building a business
In 2011, I started my own travel business, merging it three years later with an established operator. Over the following five years, as co-owner, we grew the business by more than 300%, from a small team to ten people and a turnover of £2 million.
Running the business meant being involved in every part of it, including product development, procurement, sales and marketing, HR, operations, service delivery, finance and compliance. It also meant managing periods of rapid growth and steering the operation through the disruption of the pandemic.
That experience gave me a direct understanding of what it takes to grow a business while continuing to deliver for its customers. Recruitment, systems, financial commitments, seasonal pressures and the use of limited time and resources all had to be considered together.
Heritage operations
More recently, I spent three years managing a charity heritage site that was recovering from the effects of the pandemic and needed a clearer direction, modernisation and a more sustainable way of operating.
Working with trustees, staff, volunteers and the local community, I was responsible for the day-to-day running of the organisation. This included visitor service, budgets and financial reporting, marketing, events, room hire, volunteer management, health and safety, maintenance and the introduction of more effective systems and processes.
Income and footfall grew by 40% over two years, taking both well above pre-pandemic levels. The work brought together commercial thinking with the purpose and practical constraints of a small charity, with changes planned around the people, money and capacity available to sustain them.
Read more about my work at Hill Close Gardens.
How I work
My experience spans large-scale commercial operations, building a business from the ground up, running a successful specialist travel company and managing the turnaround of a charity heritage site. It has also meant working with a genuinely wide range of customers, including package holiday travellers, groups, bespoke and luxury clients, high-net-worth travellers with complex requirements and exacting expectations, and heritage visitors of every kind.
Although the organisations, customers and circumstances have varied, the practical challenge has often been similar: how to make the best use of the people, money and resources available. Rarely was the answer simply to spend more. It was usually about understanding what mattered most, identifying what was getting in the way and finding a realistic way forward.
That is the approach I bring to consultancy work. I start by understanding the organisation and its particular situation rather than assuming that the same answer will suit everyone. I can help clarify what needs to change, but my experience is particularly useful when plans need to be translated into practical action and sustained through day-to-day delivery.
My thinking is also informed by subjects I have explored in recent years, including project management, finance, nature connection and rewilding. AI and its practical use is now a particular focus, both in my own work and in the opportunities it may create for organisations with limited resources.
Heritage and tourism create value in many different ways. They can offer learning, connection with nature and history, shared experiences, community and a sense of purpose, not only for visitors but also for the owners, employees and volunteers who make those experiences possible. I want to help the organisations behind them remain viable, work effectively and protect what makes them valuable for the future.
I’m based in North Yorkshire and work with organisations in person or remotely, depending on the situation and the support required.
Let's talk about your organisation.