Lee Ainsworth appointed to ITT board of directors
- 07 Oct 2023
- Danni de Nervaux
In addition to the new board appointment, Lee Ainsworth also sits on the ITT’s Education and Training Committee and works as an ITT Future You ambassador. We spoke to Lee about what this new role involves and how he intends to work with the next generation of talent.
What does your board role involve?
My role as an ITT board member is to ensure the voice of independent travel agents is represented and reflected in the decisions the organisation makes for the activities they undertake. Each year, the organisation holds a range of events and initiatives designed to inspire and encourage collaboration across our industry and has great focus on connecting travel business with next-generation talent through its education and training committee.
How do you intend to be an ambassador for the sector?
My focus is to continually champion and amplify our success but, more importantly, to further highlight the challenges we face. I feel, through my deep-rooted passion for our industry, as an example, that, by supporting initiatives such as ITT’s Future You and the Future You Foundation, we can make a demonstrable impact when it comes to issues such as the talent shortage our industry is currently facing, alongside the longer-term challenges we are seeing around the defunding of tourism qualifications. We arguably work in the best industry across the globe and must do all we can to ensure its long-term prosperity.
What advice would you have for anyone considering entering the sector?
I’d absolutely recommend anyone to join the travel industry! Part of our mission from a Future You perspective has been to break down misconceptions over the job roles within our industry: you know the ones – it’s either ‘cabin crew’ or ‘travel agent’ but nothing in between. Through Future You, I’ve been fortunate enough to speak to students from colleges and universities across the country to showcase the diverse range of roles that are on offer, the fantastic and passionate people we’re surrounded by, the entrepreneurial spirit of our industry and, overall, the fun and exciting place to work that we know it to be!
To answer the original question, I’d say to be prepared to work hard but, for all the reasons I just mentioned, the return on your hard work is vast, exciting and worthwhile.
The Institute of Travel & Tourism (ITT) is the only membership organisation for travel and tourism professionals, suppliers, educators and students across all sectors of the industry. You can find out more about ITT by visiting itt.co.uk and discover more about Future You by visiting ittfutureyou.com.
