David Atkin

Managing Director & Safety Consultant, Sanderson Phillips

​David began his travel career at luxury tour operator Elegant Resorts in 1998, where he remained for 10 years. He was Product Manager for regions including Caribbean, Middle East, Indian Ocean, Far East, Europe & North Africa, USA & Ski, before progressing to Marketing Manager and latterly, Head of Product. David then spent three years at ITC Luxury Travel Group as Director of Sports before joining golf and events business The Aspiration Group as a director and shareholder, where he created a new travel division and established a dedicated golf breaks programme.

David joined Sanderson Phillips in 2016, progressing to the role of Managing Director in April 2019. During his tenure, the business has grown to provide its travel safety auditing services to over 60 clients both in the UK and overseas, whilst introducing new risk assessment services for the Modern Slavery Act, sustainability and accessibility. As well as advising organisations on risk management and creating travel safety management systems, he has also created an online training course in Travel Safety & Risk Management to compliment the bespoke training courses Sanderson Phillips offers. .

David is a Fellow of the International Institute of Risk and Safety Management, a Fellow of the Institute of Travel & Tourism, an Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, holds a Professional Diploma from the Chartered Institute of Marketing and a Professional Certificate in Sustainable Tourism from the Global Sustainable Tourism Council. David also holds Level 3 Risk Assessment, Level 2 Fire Safety and Level 2 VRQ in Gas Safety Awareness qualifications.