PAUL HUMPHREYS
Chairman & C.E.O.
Born in the north of England, Paul has a career spanning almost 40 years in the luxury hotel and tourism industry.
After selling his family newspaper publishing and printing business, Paul owned and managed an award-winning luxury country house hotel in the Scottish Highlands during the 1980’s, as well as publishing numerous hotel guides. He has acted as consultant on many projects in the luxury hospitality sectors around the world.
He was the founder and first Chairman of the Travel Trust Association (TTA), the industry protection body in the U.K.
In the early 1990’s Paul was a Director of a major Pan-African inbound tour operator, along with Alan Brown, developing tourism into East Africa, and the “New South Africa”, before setting up his own holding company, dmEARTH Group of Companies in 1993, specialising in tourism to the newly emerging markets of Eastern Europe and the former USSR, where he had travelled extensively. Recognising the need for a more client-driven DMC in Africa, Paul established dmAFRICA in 1997 with Daniel Brown, and in 2010 established dmASIA.
Paul has a love for international travel, has visited 124 countries and lived in 7 countries on 3 continents. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a Fellow of The Royal Geographical Society, a member of Skal International, The Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand, The British Club Bangkok, and The Eccentrics Club. Paul divides his time between homes in Thailand and Spain, and his offices in Africa and Asia.
BASTIAAN RENS BRUNING
Managing Director
Born in The Netherlands, Bastiaan graduated with an MSC in Business Management, and embarked upon a career as a management consultant.
In 2008 his love for adventure and travel saw him embark upon a career change, and he re-located to Asia to join a large Asian inbound tour operator as Operations Manager for their Adventure Tourism division in northern Thailand.
Having firmly established himself in the tourism industry Bastiaan decided that he wished to become involved in a new business, and in 2010 established dmASIA with Paul Humphreys.
Bastiaan is fluent in English, Dutch, French and German, as well as being able to converse in Spanish, Italian and Thai!
ALAN BROWN
Director of Sales & Marketing
Born in England, Alan is an industry veteran of almost 50 years, with experience in tour operating, hotels and destination management. He has lived and worked in several countries in Africa, as well as the Seychelles, Fiji, Australia and the UK.In 1964 he pioneered the first UK charter flight inclusive tour programme from the UK to East Africa, followed soon after by Sri Lanka. Alan is also credited with introducing the first “Weddings Abroad” programme when, in 1978, he offered the opportunity to wed in resort in the Seychelles and the Caribbean, an innovation which was quickly seized upon by tour operators worldwide.
Alan has a great passion for Africa and an intrinsic understanding of tour operations and the present day travellers’ needs in that region.
His travels have taken him to over 100 countries, covering all continents. Alan is a life-long supporter of Wasps Rugby and Chelsea Soccer, and regularly attends their games.
LIDIA DOMONDI
Media Relations Manager
Lidia was born in Serbia and in her early years were spent in Croatia. In the time of civil war she moved to Budapest, Hungary with her family, where she later completed her Bachelor’s in Media and Communication. Having a great interest in different languages and cultures, she continued her masters in Cultural Anthropology, completing the fieldwork in Thailand, where she lived for 10 years.
Her love of travel led her to various destinations; she travelled to more than 30 countries but returned several times to South-East Asia, which she has real love for. She is fluent in 5 languages and speaks several others.
In the early 2000’s she worked in MTI Hungarian News Agency Corporation, in Foreign Correspondence Department and experienced journalism in various newspapers, magazines and TV’s. Continued as Marketing Manager of a luxury medical centres operating in Hungary and Israel. Meanwhile she kept her job in higher education with foreign Student’s and in international programs (Erasmus, Socrates).
Lidia has real love for arts, sports and culinary arts, and supports several animal shelters and rescue programs in Budapest.