A NEW PRESIDENT FOR TMI

Andrew Bateman is stepping up from Vice President to take on the role of President following the sad death of Dave Hughes last month.  Andrew has the full support of the Executive and the National Council as he finds himself in his new role some nine months earlier than he had anticipated, and we are sure that members will also give him their wholehearted support.

Dave Hughes 1957 -2011

Dave Hughes, who died in December, was known and respected throughout the Tourism industry. Here we look back at his life and career and pay tribute to a much missed friend and colleague.

Dave Hughes personified the Tourism Management Institute through his unswerving commitment to tourism and his eager willingness to help others in the industry. With a tourism career spanning more than 30 years Dave had ‘been there and done it’ numerous times and yet he was always out there on the frontline looking to assist the next generation of Tourism professionals with their passage through the industry.

Born on 15 September 1957 in Oldham, Dave always had a love and passion for sport, ranging from Sunday morning football through to his later role as a player, youth coach and Vice President at Maidstone Rugby Club.

After leaving secondary school, where he was Head Boy, Dave studied Town and Regional Planning at Dundee University.  It was during this time that he met Anne, his future wife, Anne and Dave married in 1984 and James came along in 1990 and Sarah soon after in 1991.

Dave started his career at East Sussex County Council where he originally applied for a Planning Assistant post, but was in fact appointed as Tourism Assistant. The Tourism bug obviously bit, as Dave didn’t look back. Moving on to Kent County Council in 1984 Dave spent 14 years there in various posts culminating in the role of Tourism Manager.

He achieved a number of successes whilst at Kent but key among these were the joint marketing initiatives with the Nord-Pas De Calais region, which still exist today. Such was the impact of his work the French Government awarded Dave the Silver Medal for services to French tourism.

In 1998 Dave moved on to the newly formed Medway Council where he established Medway as a credible Tourism destination. In 2001 Dave felt that serving the whims of local councillors was no longer for him and left Medway to set up his own tourism marketing business.  Using the network of contacts he had built up over 20 years combined with a lot of hard work, the business thrived and celebrated its 10th anniversary last year.

Dave used this new found freedom to become more involved in national tourism affairs taking an active role in TMI which led to his appointment as Vice-President in 2007 and then succeeding Roger Platt as President in 2009. Not content to rest on his laurels, Dave was also appointed Vice Chairman of the Tourism Society.

His commitment to TMI was unquestionable, whether it was debating the finer issues of the national framework with VisitEngland or supporting the development of the CPD framework. He was dedicated to the principles of TMI and genuinely believed that the organisation could make a difference in a period of great change for the tourism industry, as well as to provide support to its members.

So what will Dave’s legacy be? To some extent it has already been defined by the numerous comments made in the last few weeks. Dave has been referred to as the ultimate professional, a wonderful warm person, someone who created close families out of the teams he worked with, someone who always had time for others no matter their position or role, and someone who was one of life’s ‘nice guys’. He had natural intelligence, a sense of fun, strong principles and well considered ideas. He will be very much missed.

LAUNCH OF THE JOURNAL OF DESTINATION MARKETING & MANAGEMENT

Elsevier’s new Journal of Destination Marketing & Management (JDMM), aims to be the leading international journal for the study of tourist destinations by providing a critical understanding of all aspects of their marketing and management, as situated in their particular policy, planning, economic, geographical and historical contexts.

The objective of JDMM is to publish up-to-date, high-quality and original research papers alongside relevant and insightful reviews. Those involved in the interdisciplinary approach of marketing and management, economic development and planning, geography, sociology, psychology, anthropology, retailing, policy making and public administration of tourist destinations will find the journal of particular interest.

The Editorial Board of the Journal and we would welcome contributions from destination management practitioners. If you are interested please contact Dr Phil Long.