Associates

Richard Edwards, MTMI, MCIM, DMS

Richard joined TEAM in April 2009, having worked for over 25 years in travel and tourism in both public and private sectors at a senior management level. His specialist areas of expertise include product and destination branding; website development and management; coastal resort regeneration; partnership development; media advertising; strategic tourism and marketing planning; project management and organisational design.

Recent projects that Richard has delivered include:

• The redevelopment and management of a new website for Sussex
  
  
• Establishing and managing a large scale community tourism project
  
  
• Regeneration plans for a south coast resort town
  
  
• Establishing and branding a new ski holiday company
  
  
• Preparing tourism strategies for seaside resorts and an historic town

Before moving into consultancy Richard's career spanned both the public and private sectors. He spent the last 12 years in destination management, successfully re-branding "Sussex by the Sea" which subsequently emerged from research with the sixth highest saliency of any destination brand in South-East England. His role included the management of four Visitor Information Centres and the strategic regeneration of coastal resort towns. Following the tragic murder of a young girl in 2000, Richard initiated and led a public relations based crisis response programme to mitigate the tourism impact of the subsequent damaging national publicity.

During this period Richard served as a Director of Tourism South East (briefly); Vice-Chairman of the British Resorts and Destinations Association; Chairman of the South-East England Tourism Officers' Forum; Chairman of the Sussex Destination Managers' Group; and Chairman of the Sussex Tourism Partnership Marketing Group.

In the private sector, as Marketing Controller of Butlin's Holidays, Richard succeeded in stabilising visitor numbers after years of serious decline, and initiated the re-branding of the company's six UK holiday centres as "Holiday Worlds" in the late 1980s.

Subsequently, as Marketing Controller at London City Airways, Richard developed a new international marketing strategy which quickly restored load factors following an enforced abandonment of the original Eurocity Express brand. Within 12 months of the re-launch average load factors recovered from 35% to 72%. Working with promotional agencies in France, Switzerland and The Netherlands, he also successfully launched three new international business routes.

As Marketing Manager responsible for Dan-Air's network of scheduled services (the airline being known mainly as a charter operator), Richard initiated and delivered the airline's first ever strategic advertising campaign in the UK and Europe. He also initiated, branded and project managed the integrated launch of the airline's first ever Business Class product, involving aircraft and airport facility re-design and fabrication in synergy with advertising, promotional and PR support. Richard launched three new routes from Gatwick to Nice, Lisbon and Mahon.

Following an early career as a Naval Officer, Richard gained a marketing degree and joined General Foods Corporation - one of the leading international FMCG marketing companies in the world. As product manager for Maxwell House coffee, GF's principal UK brand, Richard developed and launched "Master Blend" - the first roast and ground coffee in the UK consumer market. As Product Group Manager at St. Ivel, Richard successfully developed the St. Ivel cream range as the brand leaders in the consumer market; and re-organised the milk and cream distribution division in the South West of England.

Richard has a Degree in Marketing (City University 1977) and a post-graduate Diploma in Management Studies (Portsmouth University 1994). He is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing and the Tourism Management Institute.

Key areas of expertise

Product and destination branding; website development and management; coastal resort regeneration; partnership development; media advertising; strategic tourism and marketing planning; project management and organisational design.