Founded on a first — and built on demand
SE1 Media Ltd was incorporated on 6th March 2006, born directly out of the success of iPod Traveller — the first travel podcast to be listed in the Apple iTunes Store. Released at the very moment podcasting was emerging as a medium, iPod Traveller reached number one and remained there for several years, building a subscriber base of over 24,000 listeners with no marketing spend, and outperforming commercial productions from publishers including Lonely Planet. The response from the travel industry was immediate: destinations, tour operators and travel brands wanted to understand how to harness the same digital channels. SE1 Media was founded to meet that demand, quickly establishing itself as the go-to specialist for digital media production and strategy in the sector. Major clients included TUI, for whom SE1 Media produced a record-breaking podcast series for the German outbound travel market — an early benchmark for what digital content could achieve in tourism at commercial scale.
European Travel Commission
SE1 Media's founder served at the European Travel Commission in Brussels, first as Marketing Manager — overseeing consumer marketing activity across long-haul markets including the USA, Canada, Brazil, Japan and China — and subsequently as Acting Executive Director, responsible for the organisation's strategic direction, financial stability and institutional relationships. This period established the international networks that would later become central to the DTTT's global standing.
Digital Tourism Think Tank — launched
In 2012, SE1 Media launched the Digital Tourism Think Tank, conceived as one of the tourism sector's most significant thought leadership platforms. The DTTT was built from the outset to serve three distinct communities — destinations, industry and academia — through a combination of research, editorial content, events and structured Destination Programmes. It quickly became the sector's go-to resource for understanding and responding to digital change.
Building the sector's defining events programme
The DTTT developed a flagship calendar of international events connecting destination leaders, technology providers and digital practitioners — including DTTT Global, DTTT Campus, the Digital Tourism Innovation Campus and X Festival. A consultancy practice grew alongside, advising governments and national tourism bodies across Europe and globally on digital strategy and transformation. The 12 Stages of Transformation framework was developed during this period as a structured methodology for guiding destinations through digital change, and became widely adopted across the sector.
Navigating the pandemic
When COVID-19 brought the global travel industry to a halt, SE1 Media moved quickly. The company pivoted its entire event and consulting offer to remote delivery, launching the 'Remote, Design, Rebuild' recovery programme — a series of digital design sprints to help destinations and operators plan for recovery. The business retained its team, maintained its financial position and emerged from the pandemic with strengthened visibility and a significantly expanded digital reach.
New ventures and a broader portfolio
With the DTTT firmly established as the industry's defining platform, SE1 Media explored new ground — launching The Quarter Co-working in Canterbury as a test bed for community-led workspace and new ideas within the group. The DTTT's advisory, training and content offer continued to deepen, expanding into AI strategy, sustainability leadership and data advisory, and broadening its reach across destinations in Europe, the Middle East, North America and beyond.
Twenty years on — and the conversation continues
As SE1 Media enters its third decade, the context has changed again: artificial intelligence is reshaping the tourism industry at a pace and scale that rivals any previous wave of digital disruption. The DTTT is once again at the centre of that conversation — helping destinations, governments and industry navigate what comes next. A comprehensive chronicle of the group's history, milestones and achievements will be published here as the company's twentieth anniversary programme unfolds.