Speakers

Paul Clark has more than 32 years of experience serving airport management teams, travel destinations and organizations, and economic development groups - either directly in senior-level industry positions, or as a consultant. He has been leading InterVISTAS Consulting’s strategic advisory partnership with ACI World in the annual ASQ Global Traveller Survey program since 2021, with new findings and insights on global air passenger market opportunities targeted for release in November 2022.

Paul specializes in airport and travel destination customer satisfaction and customer experience initiatives, providing advisory services in qualitative and quantitative research, implementation plans, and strategic planning initiatives. The airport-specific customer experience programs he has designed span a range of airport customer groups such as resident passengers, non-resident passengers, meeters/greeters, air carriers, freight forwarders, customs and immigration agencies, security screening providers and concession groups.

He has designed and directed more than 100 airport customer experience research and strategic planning programs for numerous airport organizations and communities in the U.S., Canada, Chile, Dominican Republic, Bahamas, Saint Martin, and in New Zealand. He was an advisor and contributor to ACI’s launch of the Airport Service Quality Program (ASQ) and served on various working committees for ASQ’s predecessor programs – AETRA and the IATA Global Airport Monitor. Paul has also designed and moderated more than 75 focus groups on the air travel customer experience with both travellers and industry stakeholders in the U.S. and Canada.

Throughout the pandemic, Paul worked with airports, aviation and tourism industry associations, economic development groups, destination regions and government agencies primarily in Canada to accelerate visitor economy recovery strategies. Part of this work involved bringing multiple stakeholder groups together to align on creative air service development, economic development, and tourism development opportunities. Other aspects of this work involved advocating for increased travel destination competitiveness and future-focused strategies through: harmonized and consistent travel and health protocols; compatible and aligned traveller processing; smart innovations and technologies at borders and throughout the journey; and increasingly integrated, digital, touchless, and frictionless end-to-end journey experiences for travel consumers.

Paul is also an expert in strategy session facilitation, including Board, senior management and multi-stakeholder groups, and large town-hall forums with communities. He works with airports and other travel sector clients to deliver innovative and customized master plans, strategic plans and business plans that incorporate extensive engagement and collaboration initiatives. While these airport and other travel sector projects vary in theme and design, they have commonly involved enhancing customer experience, maximizing commercial revenue opportunities, while also supporting and showcasing authentic, inclusive, and sustainable approaches for communities and the environment.

Prior to consulting, Paul held senior posts in market research in Canada with Tourism Whistler and the Vancouver Airport Authority, and in marketing and sales with Forbes Travel International, a boutique leisure tour operator. He also served in an executive secondment position for Tourism British Columbia from 2008-2010, specifically responsible for maximizing international tourism market development opportunities for the Canadian Province of British Columbia for the lead up period and during the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Paul earned a Bachelor of Science Honours Degree in Geography from the University of Glasgow in Scotland, and a Master’s Degree in Geography from Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada. For both degrees, Mr. Clark completed specialized studies in travel market research and strategy.