The former President of Virgin Galactic, Will Whitehorn, is set to present the first-ever keynote address of its kind at World Travel Market London, exploring the potential for space tourism.
Whitehorn will lead the session ‘Space: the final travel frontier?’ on November 8 on WTM London’s Future Stage, exploring whether widespread space tourism really is feasible, what it could look like in the decades to come, and the sky-high opportunities for the travel and tourism sector.
The session will also ask if space tourism is even worth considering right now, given the ongoing global climate emergency, and why billionaires such as Richard Branson, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk are obsessed with the space race.
Whitehorn is set to discuss the topic with UK Travel Journalist Mark Frary, Co-Author of the book The Origins of the Universe for Dummies, who has previously worked at the Mullard Space Science Laboratory.
Whitehorn himself, currently President of UKspace – the space trade association – has a lengthy track record in the travel sector, having started his career with British Airways Helicopters in 1982. He was a graduate trainee at Thomas Cook before joining Virgin Group as Group Public Relations Manager in 1987 and became President of Virgin Galactic in 2004, a post he held until 2011.
In addition to his long-standing involvement with Virgin, he has held senior positions and board roles in other sectors, such as PR and communications, science and technology, transport, online estate agents, gaming and software, and the space industry.
Whitehorn is also Chair of the world's first quoted space investment company, Seraphim Space Investment Trust PLC, and a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society, The Marketing Society and VP of The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport. He currently holds the Royal Aeronautical Society's prestigious Geoffrey Pardoe Space Award for services to the space industry.
“For so long, space tourism has been a futuristic dream and it is now becoming a reality – albeit just for a handful of travellers; but of course, air travel was once seen in a similar light,” says Juliette Losardo, Exhibition Director of World Travel Market London.
“It’s important that we embrace new opportunities for leisure like this, to drive an improved future for travel. This is particularly thought-provoking as we emerge from a period which forced us to re-evaluate what we know as normal.”
