European Tour Operators Association head of membership services John Boon has died of a heart attack.
He joined the organisation in January after a long and distinguished career in inbound tourism.
Boon received a Lifetime Achievement award from UKinbound at its annual conference.
He was a former chairman of the then British Incoming Tour Operators Association (now UKinbound).
His career in the travel industry covered role with Global Tours, American Express, Sovereign Tourism, Anglo World, Select Travel and JAC Travel. He was a former chairman of the international chapters of the American Society of Travel Agents.
Boon was working on forging new alliances for ETOA when he was diagnosed with cancer earlier this month.
Whilst seemingly recovering well from a subsequent operation, and in good spirits, he suffered a fatal heart attack.
He is survived by a daughter, Georgia, from his marriage to Vivienne which ended in divorce.
by Phil Davies
