JOB FOCUS:

JOB FOCUS:

Martin Thomas, director of marketing for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Summit Hotels and Resorts

Education and training: BSc in managerial science from the University of Wales and a marketing diploma from the Chartered Institute of Marketing. Currently enrolled in the Edinburgh University MBA correspondence course.

First travel job:Martin first worked at Horizon as product manager where the price war of the late 1980s with Thomson and Intersun was at its peak.

Career path: Martin moved to Bass in 1989 where he worked as senior brand manager and was involved with branded restaurant chain and pub catering strategies. In 1991, he joined First Leisure as marketing managerwhere he worked on a variety of leisure products centred in Blackpool. A spirit of adventure then took him to the US, where he joined Insignia Resorts in September 1993 as business development manager. In 1996Insignia merged with Summit International Hotels to form the luxury international hotel brand Summit Hotels and Resorts, where Martin has been employed in various roles ever since. As marketing director for Summit Hotels in New York, Martin found that although the brand was well known in Europe, getting the message across was a challenge in the US. He moved to his current job in July this year.

Advice for people wishing to develop a career in travel: “Be open to different ideas and focus on the broader picture. Understand how all the different sectors of the industry work together and there could be a varied and interesting career ahead.”