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David Oldland has almost 30 years experiencein senior positions in the UK travel industry. His roles have included Managing Director, Finance
Director & Financial Controller. His employers have included the Rank Organisation, the International Leisure Group and
the Thomson Travel Group. |
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He was a Director of the Holiday Cottages Group (until it was sold to Cendant for circa £60 million), Something Special Holidays, OSL & Spanish Harbour.
He sat on ABTA's Tour Operators Council and he represented the TOSG at meetings with the Maltese Government, successfully
negotiating a special exchange rate for Tour Operators. David even negotiated the repositioning of a flight-path with the
then Aviation Minister. Whilst with the Thomson Travel Group he played a major role in the acquisition of three specialist
holiday companies. |
Whilst MD of the Something Special Holiday Group, turnover almost quadrupled from £8m to £30m, making it the largest villa tour operator in the UK.
Whilst, David's achievements may appear to involve big businesses - his first involvement with Something Special was when
it was a single destination fledgling tour operator, privately owned and turning over less than £2m. David convinced the
businesses owners that the single destination specialist was too risky and that the appropriate strategy going forward was
to become a multi destination villa specialist with five destinations each turning over £2m. The business pursued this
strategy vigorously and attracted Thomson's attention at the £7m mark (destinations: Algarve, Corfu, Costa Blanca, Florida
& France). The owners disappeared into the sunset with many millions in the bank and Thomson asked David to take the helm. |
David has an extensive knowledge of specialist tour operating,in the last decade he's been involved in the decision making process of some of the largest and most
successful brand names in the UK; Blakes, Country Holidays, Crystal, English Country Cottages, Headwater, Magic Travel, OSL
(now Thomson Villas), Simply Travel, Something Special, Spanish Harbour, Tropical Places, villadeals. |
David has considerable expertise of search engine optimisation.Recognising the impact that the internet was going to have on the travel industry and unimpressed by web professionals who promised the earth but who delivered very little, David decided he needed to understand what makes the internet tick. He wrote his first website in 2001 and has been advising businesses how to be found on the internet ever since. |
David describes himself:A successful and energetic Leisure Industry Executive. Highly customer focused, with proven negotiating
skills, a good track record, a good team leader and team player. Champion's change, a strategic thinker and an innovator.
Is able to make and implement difficult decisions. An achiever. |
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David has: strong people skills, strong communication skills. He motivates,
he has an habit of playing devil's advocate - to ensure that a subject is viewed from all angles - this approach leads to
better decisions being made. |
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