Travel Rockstar Interview - Paul Tilstone

  • 33 min

Travel Rockstar - Paul Tilstone

The Travel Rockstars Podcast

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Paul Tilstone, Ideas Guy at Temoji Consulting

Let's start with something about you. How did you start your professional career and how did you get into the travel industry?

My entry into travel wasn’t planned. It started with a suggestion from my mum, who encouraged me to become a tour rep for Thomson, now part of TUI. I spent three years working abroad in destinations like Greece, Thailand, and Cyprus as a tour guide.

Those years shaped a lot of my perspective. You’re constantly dealing with people, expectations, and unpredictable situations. It gives you a very practical understanding of human behavior.

When I returned to the UK, I tried to move into marketing within Thomson, but that didn’t work out. Instead, I joined UniGlobe Travel, selling corporate travel services to businesses. That’s how I entered the corporate travel sector.

From there, I spent 13 years working for travel management companies, before joining the Institute of Travel Management (ITM), eventually becoming CEO. I later helped launch GBTA in Europe and took on a global role. After leaving GBTA, I founded Festive Road, and that journey ultimately led me to Temoji.

Is there something that particularly fascinates you about this industry?

What fascinates me is that business travel and leisure travel may share the same word, but they are fundamentally different in purpose and meaning.

Business travel is driven by objectives, and it has emotional, intellectual, and even physiological effects on people. There’s pressure, isolation, and intent behind every trip.

I’ve become particularly interested in the human dimension—how travel influences relationships and outcomes. Over the past few years, I’ve focused on defining the true return on corporate travel.

One of the clearest insights is the role of trust. In simple formats like “walk and talk” sessions, where two people spend 45 minutes walking together, trust increases significantly. That same principle applies directly to corporate travel—face-to-face interaction builds trust in a way that is difficult to replicate digitally.

Who or what has inspired you and/or continues to do so today? 

There are two dimensions to this.

On a personal level, my wife is my true “rock star.” She is the rock in our family and in my life. I tend to be quite energetic and sometimes a bit of a loose cannon, and she provides the stability and balance that grounds me. That dynamic allows me to operate at my best. Without that, I would likely make far more mistakes and wouldn’t be where I am today.

On a broader level, it’s the people in this industry. Corporate travel sits in a unique space between structure and creativity. It’s not overly rigid, but it’s also not chaotic. The people reflect that balance—they’re engaging, collaborative, and supportive. Over time, the industry starts to feel like a second family, and that continues to be a major source of inspiration.

What has been your favourite experience during your professional career to date?

A defining moment came in 2014 at a GBTA conference in Europe with around 1,300 attendees. I had the opportunity to interview Michael O’Leary from Ryanair and Sir Tim Clark from Emirates on stage.

Originally, O’Leary was supposed to go first, but his Ryanair flight was delayed, so we reversed the order. That unexpected change actually improved the session, as he came on with more energy and a point to prove.

What makes this moment particularly significant is what happened next. The following day, I was let go from GBTA in Berlin.

On the flight home, I sketched out the idea for Festive Road. So within a 24-hour period, I experienced both a career high and a major turning point. In hindsight, being let go was one of the best things that happened to me.

In your opinion, what is the greatest achievement in travel technology since the turn of the millennium?

For me, it’s the evolution of the mobile device into a smart device.

Before smartphones, corporate travel support was largely limited to pre-trip planning and post-trip processes. During the trip, support was minimal.

With smartphones, combined with connectivity and AI, we can now support travelers in real time. Tools like Google Maps fundamentally change how people navigate and experience destinations.

This shift has transformed corporate travel from a fragmented process into a continuous, supported journey.

Do you have a favourite among the technologies that have been developed for the travel industry? 

A somewhat controversial choice: NDC.

It hasn’t yet fulfilled its full promise, but it’s an incredibly valuable case study. It highlights how difficult change is in this industry—how stakeholders react, how economic incentives influence behavior, and how resistance can slow progress.

At the same time, it represents a significant opportunity to open up the ecosystem and enable more innovation. For newcomers, understanding NDC provides deep insight into how the industry functions.

What would you recommend to newcomers to the industry in terms of technology?

Focus on understanding the buyer.

Technology should always be evaluated in the context of what customers are trying to achieve. If you understand their needs, you can better assess whether a solution adds value.

Listening to buyers provides clarity in an otherwise complex and often hype-driven technological landscape.

In terms of NDC as promissing innovation that would mean understanding both the promise and the challenges of NDC. This provides valuable insight into how innovation is introduced—and resisted—within the industry. 

Where do you currently see the biggest and most important challenges in the industry? Do you have any thoughts on how you would tackle them?

I believe the industry is facing a quiet existential crisis.

Too much focus is placed on internal challenges—such as adapting to new technologies—while the bigger question is being overlooked: what is the purpose of managed travel in the future?

With AI and more open technology ecosystems, many traditional roles may become less relevant. That puts pressure on the industry to redefine its value.

Historically, value has been measured through cost savings and efficiency. Going forward, it needs to be tied to broader business outcomes—such as revenue growth, employee retention, and risk mitigation.

The difficulty is that these are complex, long-term questions, and in times of rapid change, people tend to focus on immediate issues instead. Addressing these larger questions is critical for the future of the industry.

Quick-Fire Fragen

Who is the next Business Travel Rockstar we should interview?

I nominate Gee Mann Founder at TRAVLRID.