Each week ahead of World Routes 2017 we will be profiling a different member of the Routes team. First up is our brand director Steven Small.

Q: What do you do at Routes?

I’m our brand director, so I’m ultimately responsible for the strategic direction of Routes, and of course the experience attendees have at our events.

Routes events are all about the community we serve, so any strategy we explore is about seeing what we need to do to improve and innovate and meet the changing demands of the route development industry.

Q: What’s the best part of your job?

Seeing how the events can make a real impact. I truly believe that Routes events have the capacity to enable the global aviation community to create value for airlines, airports and destinations. It’s a place where deals are done, but it’s also being able to see the difference the route development community can make to a destination.

Route development is about understanding that the airport is a gateway and plays a significant role in supporting the destination it serves. Different global cities all have different pressures when it comes to attracting new routes and therefore they all need to come up with different solutions. We understand it’s a big business decision to fly an aircraft into a destination and the Routes events help support and accelerate these negotiations and agreements. It’s great to be part of this community and any role we can play in facilitating this makes me feel immensely proud.

Q: What are you most looking forward to at World Routes 2017?

Having now attended our regional Routes events – each one of them incredible and very unique, I am now really looking forward to World Routes in Barcelona. My main priority will be to listen, as I still need to understand what our partners and delegates want from our events and where they think we need to make changes in order to improve them.

As a result, I will be focusing on talking to delegates and listening to how they benefit from attending and how we might improve. I’m looking forward to connecting with those people I’ve met at our three regional events this year and of course to building new relationships.

At the event itself, the Networking Evening at the Palau Sant Jordi, which will include the World Routes Marketing Awards, should be very special. It's a spectacular venue and the awards are always a highlight.

Q: What is your dream holiday?

That’s a tough question! It’s like asking what my favourite meal or movie is… the world’s such a huge and exciting place with so much to see, which is partly why I’m in this job!

I think, as much as I enjoy completely relaxing on a beach with a good book and a cold beer, exploring a new city, country or destination has to be my ideal holiday.

My family and I love to see a new place, get a real feel for its culture, character and personality. When you do this it makes you feel a little more connected to the world as a whole, and it’s an incredible experience to discover something new.