After a varied career in the industry ranging from hotel reservations to business travel, tour operations and travel law, Susan Deer joined ABTA as a solicitor in 2016 and was subsequently appointed Director in 2019. She leads the Destinations and Sustainability teams in ABTA’s work on sustainable tourism, health, safety and security, operations and crisis management. Susan engages with the UK Foreign Office, destination governments, tourist boards, trade associations and other stakeholders on behalf of Members in relation to travel industry matters.  

As well as being responsible for ABTA’s internal people development strategy, she also manages ABTA’s work on education, skills and career development, helping promote the travel industry as an exciting and rewarding career choice.