Meet our speakers

Jonathan Winchester – Leading Expert in Customer Experience (CX)

Bio

Jonathan Winchester is one of the UK’s leading voices on Customer Experience (CX), with over 30 years of expertise transforming the way businesses connect with their customers. His career began at Harrods, before building a successful CX consultancy across Australia and New Zealand in the 1990s. Returning to the UK, he founded insight6, now one of Europe’s most established CX specialists, supporting organisations of all sizes to measure, understand, and improve their customer journey.
Jonathan is a sought-after keynote speaker known for his energetic, practical, and often humorous style. Drawing on thousands of real-world examples from across tourism, hospitality, retail, and beyond, he equips audiences with the tools and mindset to create experiences that keep customers coming back.

Keynote overview

In this energising and interactive session, Jonathan will explore how exceptional Customer Experience (CX) can set tourism and hospitality businesses apart in a competitive marketplace. Drawing on real-world examples and industry insights, he will cover:

• What is CX? – Understanding the moments that shape a visitor’s experience.

• Tourism’s new battleground – Why memorable experiences are the key to attracting and retaining visitors.

• Evolving visitor expectations – How travel, leisure, and hospitality trends have shifted and what this means for your business.

• The ROI of CX – The direct link between exceptional experiences and increased bookings, loyalty, and word-of-mouth recommendations.

• Essential CX actions – Practical steps to create positive, lasting impressions that keep visitors coming back.

Jonathan’s keynote blends insight, humour, and actionable strategies, leaving delegates inspired and equipped to deliver world-class visitor experiences.

Sarah Duncan

Bio

Sarah Duncan is an ethical business consultant, trainer, author and educator. She has been in business for over 35 years predominantly focusing on hospitality and tourism. She now helps organisations understand the commercial and moral benefits of sustainable and ethical business development (or ESG – Environmental Social Governance).

Session overview

VisitEngland is at the forefront of regenerative tourism, working to make England a more sustainable and thriving destination through responsible travel practices. To support this mission, they have developed a range of resources to help tourism businesses embrace regenerative approaches—most notably, The Regenerative Tourism Guide. This practical guide offers actionable strategies for businesses to not only reduce their impact but actively improve the places they operate in. Join Leanne Smith, Senior Regenerative Tourism Manager at VisitEngland, and Sarah Duncan, author of the guide, as they explore how to grow your tourism business in a way that supports both communities and the environment.

Following the presentations, Leanne and Sarah will be joined by tourism businesses from across England who are putting regenerative tourism into practice. This panel session will showcase real-world examples of how tourism can create a positive impact on local communities and the environment. It’s a valuable opportunity to gain practical insights and tips from businesses facing the same challenges and opportunities as you.

Sergi Jarques

Bio

Sergi holds a BSc in Geography and an MSc in Tourism Management. He began his career in business-to-business consultancy. In 2003, he moved into the tourism sector. At East of England Tourism, he established a commercially driven market research and consulting function. He later joined Tourism South East, where he contributed to national and international research initiatives. In 2014, Sergi founded Destination Research Ltd. The agency is nationally recognised for its work in visitor satisfaction, audience segmentation, and tourism and event impact evaluation. He particularly enjoys translating complex data into clear, strategic guidance for destinations and stakeholders.

Session overview

This session will open with an introduction to Destination Research, outlining our work with VisitEngland and Visit East of England. We will then share the latest regional performance data, providing insight into the current state of the visitor economy. The presentation will explore how cost-of-living pressures and other emerging trends are influencing both visitor behaviour and business sentiment, before considering what these shifts mean in practice for running successful tourism operations across the region.

Ross Calladine

Ross Calladine is Head of Business Support for VisitEngland.  As part of his role, Ross is VisitEngland’s in-house accessibility specialist developing initiatives that help tourism businesses and destinations tap into the high value, growing accessible tourism market.

Ross has led the development of an innovative Accessibility Guides website, spearheaded the production of a number of guidance booklets and he also manages VisitEngland’s Accessible & Inclusive Tourism Award, which recognises leaders in the field. Ross also convenes and chairs England’s Inclusive Tourism Action Group comprising leading accessible tourism stakeholders.

As an authority on accessible tourism, Ross was appointed Disability and Access Ambassador for Tourism by the UK Government in January 2022. Ross regularly speaks at industry events, most recently including 1st UNWTO Conference on Accessible Tourism, World Travel Market, ITB Berlin and Destinations for All World Summit.