ABSTRACT

Perhaps, reflecting the scale of the opportunities created by massive growth in demand, travel and tourism have been fortunate in the number of individuals, and some companies, that have challenged accepted practice, reinvented product concepts and in many ways helped to create and revitalize demand over the last half-century. This chapter provides brief notes on ten individuals and companies whose initiative, energy and clear vision has driven the tourism industry forward – in each case by overturning whatever was ‘accepted practice’. All have created a new (or new to the UK) business model that stimulated a significant market/product shift that altered the industry norms and has stood the test of time over at least a decade. The list is offered in alphabetical order to avoid any inference that one or other of these individuals is more important than the others.