UK Tourism Society board elects new members

LONDON, England – Four new board members were elected to the Tourism Society board at its AGM held at the office of The Crown Estate in London on July 6th.

Silvia Barbone is an international expert in sustainable tourism and project management with an extensive knowledge of tourism policies and practices. She is the developer and the main author of the PM4SD™ “Project Management for Sustainable Development” certification and one of the 10 EU experts selected by the European Commission to implement the European Tourism Indicator System (ETIS).

John Bridge is a tourism and leisure marketing professional with TravelBeat Ltd. He brings skills to enhance the Society’s marketing outreach and brand positioning, increase membership and further develop its events programme.

Brandon Crimes spent many years teaching tourism at degree level and is now an independent consultant. He believes in the need to build not just meaningful and constructive partnerships that provide opportunities for dialogue and debate across the different tourism sectors, but also to ensure this works towards a collective voice for tourism.

Jenny McGee brings over 30 years of tourism management experience gained through marketing, communications, policy and strategy development roles at the UK’s national and regional tourist organisations.

Four board members were re-elected for a further three-year term: Alison Cryer, managing Director at Representation Plus / First PR; John Gallery, managing director of Great Potential Consultancy; Philippa Harris, managing director at Take One Media; and, Michael Jones, managing director of the Delta Squared Ltd consulting group.

Four board members stood down at the AGM: Lyn Bibbings (Oxford Brookes University), Barbara Thomas (Southeastern), Peter Wear (Salon Consulting) and Ken Robinson CBE.

Tourism Society President Lord Thurso welcomed the new board members and thanked those retiring for their hard work and commitment during their tenure.

A presentation was made to Ken Robinson CBE in recognition of his many years of service to the Society, which he first joined in 1978, chaired from 1994 – 1998, and remained a board member of until this year. Lord Thurso said that listening to Ken was always “fun, interesting and instructive” and that the Society owed him a debt of gratitude. Founder member Victor Middleton OBE said that Robinson “probably made a greater impact as a professional on British tourism over a sustained period than any other individual still alive.”