Small Ships, Big Opportunities: Unlocking Demand in an Experience-Led Travel Era

Sean brings a wealth of tourism market research and analytics experience to Tourism Economics having spent nearly two decades undertaking a wide variety of research and consulting assignments in the UK and beyond.

Sean’s responsibilities include managing primary and secondary research activities, including survey work, for our travel and hospitality projects and collaborating closely with clients to enable a deeper understanding of tourism trends. A meticulous analyst with a deep understanding of the industry, Sean plays an important role delivering our tourism and hospitality research reports and regularly shares travel and consumer insights at industry conferences.

Prior to joining Tourism Economics in 2023, Sean was a Director at STR for over 5 years and prior to that he was Managing Director of LJ Research, a boutique tourism market research agency. Most recently, during his tenure at STR he was responsible for leading their Tourism Consumer Insights division which delivered a broad range of tourism and hospitality studies. This included collecting and disseminating powerful consumer insights and B2B data such as hotel performance data and business intelligence to help tourism organisations grow and make more effective decisions.

Sean studied Actuarial Mathematics and Statistics at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh. He still lives in Edinburgh and works remotely from there.

Elizabeth Persons is Head of Business Development for Travelzoo and founder of Travelzoo’s Cruise Advisory Board, which she launched in 2020 to deepen the company’s commitment to the cruise industry. She serves on the board of the U.S. Travel Association and is a member of the World Travel & Tourism Council. An avid cruiser, Elizabeth’s next cruise will take her to the Arctic.

Christian Savelli is a seasoned professional with decades of experience in research and intelligence and joined Tourism Economics from Cruise Lines International Association, where for more than six years, he served as Vice President, Research and Business Analytics. He has a rich background in developing business intelligence solutions, conducting analysis and research, and synthesizing input from multiple sources to deliver executive recommendations. Before CLIA, Savelli was the Senior Director of Business Intelligence and Research at MPI (Meeting Professionals International) and Director of Business Intelligence at Maritz Travel. Additionally, he has ten years of experience in the hotel industry and holds an MBA from Kenan-Flagler Business School, UNC-Chapel Hill.