Richard’s travel industry career began in tour operating, including five years with TUI UK where he achieved record results for the award-winning Magic of Italy programme and successfully launched the Magic Collection.

Richard then moved to Tourism Authority of Thailand as UK Director of Marketing and PR, delivering record visitors and receiving several industry awards. Following the tsunami in 2004 he became a regular industry and media spokesperson on crisis management issues.

In 2006 Richard joined the Hong Kong Tourism Board as Director, Northern Europe & Middle East, delivering over 600,000 UK visitors to Hong Kong for the first time ever. HKTB was voted Best Asia Pacific Tourist Board in the 2007 British Travel Awards under Richard’s stewardship. He co-founded Hume Whitehead with Sue Whitehead in 2007 and is also a Fellow of the Institute of Travel & Tourism

You may not know:

Richard has lived in both Niger and the Cote d’Ivoire.

If Richard didn’t work at Hume Whitehead…

he’d love to be a ski instructor, living in the French Alps or the Pyrenees