Encore chief executive officer John Wales has been honoured for his ‘outstanding contribution to inbound tourism’ at UKInbound’s annual convention.
The head of London’s theatre and attraction ticket agent was presented with the Chairman’s Award at a gala dinner.
UKInbound chairman Mark McVay said: "As this is our 40th Anniversary I wanted to select someone for the Chairman’s Award who has been a longstanding member and supporter of the association who has excelled in promoting inbound tourism.
"He has played a significant role in inbound tourism and developed and created one of our leading businesses with a multi-million pound turnover".
Wales said: "I am honoured to receive this prestigious award from UK Inbound. I started almost 35 years ago in tourism, at Townsend Thoresen Ferries, and have been very fortunate to have had amazing mentors to learn from along the way.
"Half of my career has now been leading Encore, which has now achieved sales of over £1 billion in its 16 year history. However, I feel we have just commenced a new chapter where we can achieve another £1 billion of sales within the next sixe years with the new technologies being launched this year – exciting times ahead but for the moment, feel very humble and proud to be recognised within the industry I love."
