Routes was established in 1995 to organise events that bring aviation professionals together to plan new air services. Since then the business has grown to include the regional Americas, Asia, Europe and Africa forums as well as the flagship World Routes gathering which is attended by 3,000 delegates every year.

Steven joins Routes from Marketing Liverpool where he is currently head of tourism, leading a team responsible for driving Liverpool’s leisure and business tourism through the Visit Liverpool and Liverpool Convention Bureau brands.

The Routes role will mark a return to Manchester for Steven. He held senior positions at Marketing Manchester for seven years, working on a variety of projects with organisations including Manchester Central, the National Football Museum and Manchester Airport, as well as working with partners to attract major new events and conferences to Manchester.

Steven first moved to Manchester to join the inward investment agency, MIDAS, which brings new businesses to the city. Earlier in his career he was a project manager at the Northwest Regional Development Agency where he developed a grant to support regional airport route development strategies.

Commenting on his appointment, Steven said: “International connectivity is increasingly important for airports and the destinations they serve. Having worked with the Routes events in my past roles, I am now delighted to get the opportunity to work with the Routes team.”

Route development is a relatively new field of expertise that has been the domain of airlines and airports. However, tourism and economic development agencies are becoming more involved as they seek to boost visitor numbers to their destinations through improved international air connections.

Adrian Newton, group director at UBM EMEA, the owner of Routes, said: “Steven has led multi-disciplinary projects that have made an important contribution to the Northwest of England’s economy. His knowledge of tourism and economic development will be central to the continued success of the Routes business."

Steven will join Routes on 1 February 2017.

More information about Routes can be found at routesonline.com

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Notes to Editors

About Routes

• Routes events are unique forums dedicated to the development of new air services. Five ‘regional’ route development forums are held between February and July in the Americas, Asia, Europe and Africa. The flagship World Routes event takes place in September. routesonline.com

• The events revolve around pre-scheduled meetings and an exhibition and conference which are delivered in partnership with host stakeholders. Hosts tend to be a collaboration between airports, tourism authorities and investment partners (the bidding process takes place two to three years before the event takes place).

• Routes is part of the EMEA division of UBM plc.

For further information contact:

Karen Reeves

Communications & Content Marketing Manager

Routes, UBM EMEA

T: +44 (0)161 234 2721

M: +44 (0)796 6405 105

E: [email protected]