David Curtis-Brignell MBE

David’s career began in local government working in British resorts. He then spent nine years at the English Tourist Board working alongside the Regional Tourist Board network and travel trade before moving into the commercial world. He held senior positions in global international hotel companies, travel and tour operators.

In 2015 he was invited by Visit Kent to set up the new DMO Visit Herts. He became Deputy CEO for the GoToPlaces group (Visit Kent, Visit Herts and GoToPlaces), developing new projects including DMPs, “The Big Weekend,” research and consultancy activities in destinations both in and outside of Kent and Hertfordshire.

David uniquely served two terms as Chairman of The Tourism Society of which he was a Founder member. He co-founded and co-chaired British Tourism Week and then chaired VisitEngland’s English Tourism Week for ten years. In October 2020 he established Tourism Reimagined as a platform to support business recovery and is a frequent contributor to publications and industry speaker.

He was awarded an MBE for services to tourism in the 2020 Queen’s Birthday Honours; in 2021 David was given an Honorary Fellowship of The Tourism Society in recognition for his contribution to the Society over many decades.

Since stepping down from GoToPlaces in 2020 David has advised and mentored senior individuals in the industry and writes pieces on domestic travel for a series of publications. He has been a member of the Advisory Board of the Annual Hotel Conference and chaired a panel session at the 2021 event.

Recognised as a leader in the DMO sector, in 2021 he was part of a small “Challenge Group” of 9 ‘experts’ supporting the Du Bois Review of Destination Management Organisations in England commissioned by DCMS. He has recently been actively engaged in the debate on Registration for Accommodation in England and a specific area of interest and expertise is accreditation and quality assessment, particularly in the accommodation sector.

Clients have included an Accommodation provider, Destinations, a Hotel Technology company and a unique operator in the tourist attractions sector.