Matt West
managing director
Imaginative Traveller

Matt West is the managing director of Imaginative Traveller and comes from a strong background of working within the holiday industry.  Prior to joining the company in May 2007, he had worked his way up to the position of managing director of Sunsail from joining as an engineer for one of their resorts in Greece, in 1983.  Outside of work, Matt (47), lives with his wife Niki and sons Sam (17) and Max (15), plus two Labradors, and is a keen supporter of Portsmouth Football Club, where you’ll regularly find him on a Saturday afternoon. 

Matt’s career has spanned the merger of YCA & arch rival Island Cruising to form leading sailing specialist Sunsail, and subsequently the takeover by First Choice.  His move to Imaginative Traveller last year, also under the First Choice umbrella, has brought him a wider and more adventurous travel remit. 

When asked about this new challenge, Matt said, “Obviously, the product portfolio is much more extensive, but we are also undergoing an exciting new branding exercise and re-launching ourselves for the first time in 17 years.  Imaginative Travel is all about offering something special, out of the ordinary and unique to our clients.  There is still a whole world of people out there who have yet to experience travel the Imaginative way and I’m delighted to be part of this exciting journey”.

His enthusiasm for the Imaginative Traveller brand is second to none, and this is apparent in the way he speaks about the product, “The Caribbean is great and I have spent a lot of time in St Lucia, Martinique, St Martin, the BVI and Antigua, but now, having seen all the great places that Imaginative Traveller goes to, I don’t think I have enough years left to do it all.  I will certainly be encouraging my boys to start travelling young!”