Anna Pollock

Anna Pollock is a thought leader, change agent, futurist and visionary whose primary role and focus has been to help tourism executives understand and deal with change on many fronts – marketing, management, technology and sustainability. This reputation has been earned through over 35 years’ experience working in the tourism sector in Europe, Canada and Asia as a consultant and entrepreneur.

Anna’s irrepressible curiosity and broad ranging interests outside tourism have enabled her to spot trends and change dynamics and “connect the dots”. Her clients appreciate her ability to de-mystify complex subject matter and provide practical advice on how best to adapt to change. While she has applied analytical and strategic skills to all aspects of tourism, two areas of interest have consistently attracted her attention: the future sustainability of tourism and the application of digital technologies to its marketing and management.

Anna began her professional career in earnest in Canada where, from 1973-1993, she undertook seminal work in human resource development, sustainable tourism, health tourism and adventure travel prior to specialising in Information Technology (IT) as early as 1989. Her clients included most of the provincial departments of tourism, the Canadian Tourism Commission, the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) and the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC).

In 1993, Ms. Pollock returned to Europe and established an international reputation as one of the leading thinkers and strategists in the application of IT to destination marketing and management, developing Scotland’s first internet-based Tourism IT strategy in 1998 and subsequently advising a range of destinations. Not content simply to advise, Anna created DestiCorp – a consultancy that has been recognised for its insightful analysis and prognostications.

Concerned that the tourism community was not demonstrating a committed appreciation to the impact of climate change, Anna co-founded The Icarus Foundation in 2007, a not-for-profit agency formed to encourage the Canadian tourism industry become climate friendly.

Thanks to her clear, substantive, often humorous and inspirational style, Anna is much sought after as a keynote speaker, workshop facilitator, analyst and strategist.