Manuel joins us from British Airways, where he managed the commercial arm of the business in South Korea. He also coordinated the launch of their commercial distribution in Iran, working with the team in market and colleagues in London. Previously he worked at Iberia Airlines in a number of roles including opening of new routes, developing its commercial branches and managing the corporate business.
Manuel will lead our activity in China and North East Asia, for the markets of China, Japan and South Korea, delivering our priorities for the region to:
- Generate a more strategic approach to digital and social activity, building aspiration and driving consumers to conversion through key local channels e.g. WeChat, Ctrip
- Address capacity issues during the peak season through route development and drive demand at low and shoulder seasons
- Build and implement “I Travel for…”, working with key platforms and influencers
- Develop more focused partnerships, building reach and route development
- Ensure we have close PDP relationships supporting visa messaging
Manuel joins VisitBritain in July and will be based from our new office in South Korea at the Seoul Embassy.
We have also appointed our South Korea Manager, Misha Kim, who started on 1 May. Misha has considerable experience in working with public diplomacy partners and has been well integrated into the GREAT campaign and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
Travis Qian will remain in Shanghai and will be working closely with Manuel to lead our activity in China.
