JULIA LO BUE-SAID

Chief Executive Officer, The Advantage Travel Partnership

Julia is one of the UK Travel Industry’s pre-eminent leaders having led the Advantage Travel Partnership Group since April 2018. During this time, she has transformed the business with vigor and energy to it becoming the UK’s leading commercial membership organisation for travel intermediaries who operate in both the leisure and business travel environment both in the UK and globally, as well as a leading voice of the UK outbound travel industry in the media and across government.

As CEO, Julia is responsible for the overall strategy and vision for the Group. During her tenure, she has continually improved the Group’s profitability and shareholder value, delivering at least a three-fold value on members’ investment during their membership.  As well as providing leadership to the Group Board, Julia also provides leadership to all the Group’s subsidiaries including Worldwide International Network Ltd, which trades as Global Travel Network and Advantage Financial Services Ltd. 

As one of the UK Travel Industry’s most vocal and high-profile leaders, Julia has been recognised with many industry awards: 

  • In November 2022, Julia was awarded the honorary award of Doctor of Letters of the University of West London (UWL) in recognition of her professional profile and experience that makes her a role model for the University’s students.
  • In September 2022, Julia was honored with The Business Travel People Awards 2022 – Industry Contribution Award• In October 2022, Julia was presented with the Northern Ireland Travel Special Achievement Award – the the first time a special achievement award has been presented to someone outside of Northern Ireland.
  • In March 2022 Julia received an ‘outstanding achievement’ award for her work with the UK government on the resumption of the travel industry, and for ‘amplifying its voice through the media’ during the pandemic, by Celebrity Cruises.
  • October 2021, she was awarded The Travel Legend Award at The UK Travel Industry Awards in recognition of her part in leading the travel industry’s recovery, driving change and representing the Outbound Travel sector tirelessly through the Covid 19 pandemic.
  • September 2021, Julia was awarded highly commended status for the ‘Outstanding Contribution to Business Travel’ category at the Business Travel Awards Europe and for the same category at the Business Travel People Awards
  • January 2021 she was announced as an ‘Industry Influencer’ on the Business Travel News Europe 2021 Hotlist.
  • 2018 Julia was nominated as a Leader of change in the IBM IX Everywoman in travel awards.
  • 2014 she joined an industry-led committee in support of the charity Just A Drop. 
  • 2013 she was the recipient of the Association of Women Travel Executives (AWTE) company award supporting women in business.  
  • 2012 Julia was inducted into Women’s First Top 100 most influential club for Travel, Hospitality, Leisure and Tourism sector, and early on in her career was recognised by The World Travel Market as a Future Travel Leader. 

Julia has dedicated most of her career to commercial and leadership roles, whilst being a mentor to team members and developing key people across the UK Travel Industry. She believes passionately in the SME sector, and that they are the lifeblood of business. In 2019 she represented the company in a Parliamentary Review with the aim of sharing best practice amongst policymakers and business leaders.  

Over the course of the Covid Pandemic and since, Julia has become a high-profile media spokesperson for the industry, regularly appears across all mainstream UK print and broadcast media. She is active contributor to government roundtables and dedicates her time in actively working cross industry as well as on engagement strategies and government lobbying. 

Post pandemic Julia established the UK Outbound Travel Think Tank with the aim of increasing the profile of the sector with government and policymakers. 

In July 2023 she was appointed as an advisor to the UK Government’s Tourism Industry Council (TIC) Board, and as the primary voice for UK Outbound Travel.In 2022 Julia was appointed as a trustee to the Family Holiday Charity, a charity with a mission to ensure that every family feels able to take part in tourism by providing funded holidays to those families that need the charities help.

After studying travel and tourism at college, Julia started her travel career working overseas before taking roles with various UK retail travel agency and tour operator groups.