ACTA Welcomes Their Newest Honorary Member: David Wright CTM(HON)

ACTA Welcomes Their Newest Honorary Member: David Wright CTM(HON). Honorary members are certified members that have gone above and beyond in their contribution to certification and education in the Canadian Travel Industry.

Prior to retirement in 2013, David Wright CTM(HON) spent 28 years at Seneca College in Toronto, ON. During his time as a Professor, David taught travel and business subjects in the School of Tourism, where he was also Program Coordinator and then Curriculum Coordinator. In addition to teaching, David wrote study guides for several courses, and wrote and produced video training programs for Seneca. He was seconded to Seneca’s International Department where he was Program Manager for a CIDA funded training program for the Jamaican Tourist Board. He also developed seversl international tourism training programs and recruited international students for Seneca.

David was born and raised in Glasgow, Scotland. He obtained a BSc (Hons) from Strathclyde University, a Diploma in Education from Glasgow University and a Secondary School Teaching Certificate from Jordanhill College (now part of Stratchlyde University). After teaching high school Chemistry and General Science in Glasgow, David emigrated to Toronto in 1971. He then attended the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), where he obtained an MA in Adult Education from the University of Toronto.

Following university in Scotland and Canada, he began working in the travel industry in Europe. David spent four years in Copenhagen, Denmark where he worked in both retail travel and in operating a shuttle/tour service between Copenhage, Amsterdam, Stockholm and Oslo.

In the 30 years since, David has worked and travelled throughout Europe, Asia, Australia, Central America and the Caribbean. He has developed curriculum in Australia, Belize, El Salvador, Indonesia, Jamaica, and Malaysia, and has participated in tourism projects in Costa Rica, Cuba, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, St. Lucia and Russia. He was hired by AFTA (Australian Federation of Travel Agents) to develop and write the program, policies and criteria required to introduce CTC and CTM certification to Australia. This led directly to a consulting position in Jakarta to replicate and introduce the program in Indonesia.

Prior to joining Seneca College in 1985, David was Education Coordinator then Executive Director of the Canadian Institute of Travel Counsellors (CITC). For four years, he revised exam procedures, planned training programs, and participated in revisions to CITC’s certification requirements. He is the author of CITC’s text Professional Travel Counselling and co-author(with Nelson Reynolds) of the Canadian edition of David Howell’s Passport: An Introduction to the Tourism Industry. In addition to numerous study guides, research and feasibililty studies, and training manuals, David also wrote the original draft of the TICO Manual on which requirements for knowledge of the Ontario Travel Industry Act are tested.

David is a member of CITC, ISSTE and the PATA Eastern Canada Chapter of which he is a past Chairman.