Tobias Morter recently started his new role as Business and Travel Trade Executive at Birmingham Airport. Travel Gossip found out a bit more about him…
I never travel without… a playlist of aviation and travel podcasts I have spent too long putting together, and at least one charger too many. I always think I will need them all, and rarely do.
The famous person (dead or alive) I’d most like to sit next to on a plane is… Michael Palin. He has always approached travel with genuine curiosity, focusing on people and cultures rather than simply moving between destinations.
The next place I’ll visit is… Istanbul.
The last place I visited was… Salzburg. I did a self-guided Sound of Music tour, which was a great way to see a lot of the surrounding area.
The worst thing I drank abroad was…durian [the pungent Southeast Asian fruit] in Singapore. The was still quite something. I am glad I tried it, but once was enough.
My bucket-list destination is… an Italian road trip, ideally in a classic Fiat 500, travelling at a slower pace, enjoying regional food, and taking in the changing scenery along the way. It is less about ticking off locations and more about experiencing the journey itself.
Born and brought up… close to RAF Brize Norton. Growing up with aircraft such as the TriStar and VC10 regularly overhead sparked an early interest in aviation.
Live in… the Cotswolds.
The best piece of advice I’ve been given is…listen first. Whether engaging with passengers, airline partners, travel agents, or colleagues, real insight comes from understanding what people genuinely need. That principle underpins how I approach my role.
If I could eat one meal for the rest of my life it would be… a combination rather than a single dish. For starters, I’d have chicken satay from Singapore’s Tiong Bahru Hawker Centre. Then, for mains, either a blackened mahi mahi sandwich from Anna Maria Island’s City Pier Restaurant in Florida (now sadly closed), or a cuttlefish cutter from Cuz’s Fish Stand in Bridgetown, Barbados. Dessert would be a Tunisian-style doughnut called a bambalouni.
The emoji I use most often is…✈️, fitting given both my career and personal interest in aviation.
The thing I miss most while travelling is… family. Beyond that, it is the small consistencies, particularly a reliably good cup of coffee.
When I left school, I wanted to be… cabin crew was the initial goal, as it felt like the most direct route into the aviation industry, but I quickly became interested in the broader picture.
In my new role, I’ll be… working closely with airlines, travel agents, tour operators, and businesses across the West Midlands to understand how and where people want to travel, and using that insight to help grow and strengthen routes from Birmingham.
What attracted me to the job was… the combination of clear ambition and strong industry relationships. It provides the opportunity to work at the centre of the airport’s growth while collaborating closely with agents and partners, listening to their insights, and ensuring the right routes, options, and connections are in place to support both them and the passengers they serve. Being my local airport also makes the role more meaningful on a personal level, I take a great deal of pride in what it represents for the region.
The first thing I notice about a person when I meet them is… how they communicate. A genuine interest in others, combined with the ability to listen, is usually very telling.
If I won the Lottery tomorrow, I would… continue working in travel, albeit with a far more ambitious personal itinerary, taking advantage of the growing range of destinations available from my local airport.
