From studying neuroscience to teaching himself HTML, Ross’s route into travel wasn’t quite what he expected. He shares how he found his place in digital marketing, why Thailand keeps drawing him back and the moment its social channels became an essential source of help for travellers.
I remember being a little boy, maybe four years old, on holiday with my mum and dad in Lynmouth in Devon, and telling them I wanted to own a hotel when I grew up. I never quite got that far, but I got the next best thing.
I got into the industry by chance, really. I studied neuroscience at university, and when I finished, I realised pretty quickly it wasn’t the career path I wanted at that moment.
I’d started building websites for myself, teaching myself HTML. Around the same time, I moved from Glasgow to Edinburgh and landed a job at a marketing agency there.
They worked with a huge range of travel clients, from Thomas Cook and Netflights to Turquoise Holidays. The list goes on and on, so I ended up with a really broad grounding in digital marketing across the travel sector.
I just grew to love it, realised it was an industry I was genuinely passionate about, and never left.
I work on the Tourism Authority of Thailand account. We handle their digital presence across Facebook and Instagram.
I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve been to Thailand at this point. I’ve been for work, I’ve been for leisure, I’ve spent extended periods there and made many friends.
The first time was backpacking in my twenties, and I fell in love with the country the moment I arrived.
It’s not one particular thing. It’s that we’ve built something genuinely useful for people making travel decisions about visiting Thailand.
We can see through the analytics that people are saving these posts, sharing them and talking about them. That tells us the content is helping people as they plan their trips.
Our content covers inspiring people, uncovering lesser-known destinations and experiences, and sharing the big-ticket experiences too. I feel proud that we’re helping local businesses in Thailand attract more visitors.
It wasn’t really a campaign as such. It was more a point in time, just as Thailand and the world were coming out of COVID and opening up again.
It was a genuinely challenging period, and people found our social media profiles and started using them almost as a point of reference.
We had people getting in touch every day, and we had to give accurate information about what could and couldn’t be done when travelling to Thailand.
I remember people messaging us while they were literally in the airport, trying to work out what they could and couldn’t do. It was an interesting time, and we certainly helped people navigate re-entering the country.
Working alongside PR and the Tourism Authority of Thailand to maximise integrated digital marketing campaigns.
I’m a bit of a workaholic, if I’m honest. I kind of live and breathe it!
I’m fascinated by AI. I can see why people find it scary, but I think we need to work out how to use it practically. I’m particularly interested in how AI fits into marketing, and how AI agents could change the way people research and book holidays.
As for where I’d do that in Thailand, Bangkok has amazing co-working spaces. You could genuinely work from a different one every day. Or you could sit on a beach in Phuket doing the same thing.
Probably a 7-Eleven or a sky bar in Bangkok, and definitely getting some street food.
One that will stick with me forever is a dinner within the entrance pagoda at Phulay Bay, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve.
Nasal sprays and menthol. Haha!
Meet Ross’s digital marketing partner in Chrystal Webster, Bringing Thailand’s Stories to Life, or explore practical destination advice in Ask the Expert: Betsie Barr on Selling Thailand.
