Christmas Message from TMI President, Kathryn Davis
Season’s Greetings
It’s been six weeks since I was elected as the new President of the Tourism Management Institute, and it’s been a whirlwind. I have been overwhelmed by the positive messages from industry friends and colleagues. I am slightly humbled to be stepping into the shoes of such brilliant individuals who have previously held the post, and before writing this, have read back over the previous festive messages produced by former presidents, particularly Tom and Amanda both of whom have provided huge support.
When reflecting on their messages, and thinking about the last year, it’s is definitely not a particularly joyful one for our brilliant industry, particularly over the last week when Storm Darragh ruined the festive plans of thousands of visitors across the country.
It’s hard to believe that just six weeks ago, we were celebrating a spectacular convention in Birmingham, with a packed day of content and great educational visits. It was my pleasure to host the main conference room with both inspirational and informative presentations, and probably the best AI presentation I have seen so far.
UCB and West Midlands Growth Company really pulled out the stops to make us welcome – so huge thanks to Becky and team, and Paul Bamber at UCB.
It was great to celebrate our two Student awards: The David Hughes Memorial Award for 2024 winner Ellie Morris from the University of Chester, and The Simon Curtis Postgraduate Prize winner for 2024, Valeria Verkhovska, from Glasgow Caledonian University.
We have had a great year of events, from our hot topic, Developing Sustainable Destinations, to our monthly zoom events featuring a wide range of top notch speakers and covering topics such as screen tourism, sustainable transport, LVEP's and How Universities can support DMO's and destinations.
And what next? We have responded to the new Government’s industrial strategy by highlighting that tourism and the visitor economy is (almost) ignored. Tourism Minister Sir Chris Bryant announced that we would grow tourism across the country, with international visit targets set at 50m international visitors by 2030. He said:
“Too many of my predecessors have seen tourism as a nice thing to have and not a priority. I don’t. I see it as an essential part of our economy, worth £74 billion and 4 per cent of GVA with a huge potential for growth.”
It is this positivity in the minister’s speech that gives me hope. Destination managers have a critical role to play in bringing public and private sectors together to enable strong, positive growth, whether developing the experiences that will inspire the visitors of the future, or ensuring that environmental, social and economic sustainability remains at the core of our industry. It is clear that there are tough times to come but through TMI we have an incredible peer support network to ensure that we support each other and celebrate together, providing experience for the next generation of tourism professionals as we in turn learn how they view the world.
I am proud to have the ‘FTMI’ accreditation after my name and look forward to growing our membership and being part of a 2025 full of inspiring individuals and positive efforts as we celebrate the absolute best industry to be part of. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.
With very best wishes to you for the festive season.
Kathryn Davis FTMI
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