Acorn is a committed, principled tourism consultancy. We work with clients to ensure their tourism projects are market driven, whilst maximising the benefits for visitors, local businesses, residents and the local environment.

Our Germination

Kevin Millington founded Acorn in 1996 as a specialist tourism research consultancy, identifying key trends in the industry. In those early years he spotted the potential for space travel, long before Richard Branson got there, co-wrote the UNWTOs Tourism 2020 Vision and published the bi-monthly Tourism Trendspotter.

In 2002, Alison Burgh joined Kevin as co-owner and expanded the company in the UK. Back in the Nineties while Kevin was looking to the future, she was busy putting event tourism on the map; creating shows that broadcast INXS performing in front of TodaiJi Temple in Japan or promoting Expo ’92 in Seville by staging and broadcasting five nights of Guitar Legends to worldwide audiences.

Our Growth

Since 2002 Acorn has built on its strong relationship with the UNWTO, the UNDP and the World Bank, and extended its range of consulting services to work with a strong client base in the UK and expand its international reputation into Africa, Asia, the Americas and Europe.

Our Innovation

We are always looking at ways our clients can benefit from our specialist knowledge and we've drawn on our many years of tourism statistics experience to create T-STATS, enabling clients to access their tourism data online and produce beautiful analytic reports that they can e-mail to their stakeholders with a simple click of their mouse.

Our Teams’ Awards

We’re proud of the quality of our work and it's always encouraging when it gets public recognition. We also pride ourselves in the quality of the teams we put together for our clients, so to win awards with our associates is doubly pleasing.

Our work with Allen Scott on the Reculver Country Park Master Plan won the Landscape Institute Award in 2009 and with TK Associates on the Public Consultation for Pebsham Countryside Park was recognised by the CIPR awards for Best Public Sector Consultation 2006.

It’s also very satisfying when our clients get the recognition they deserve. So we are delighted that Mahindra Homestays scooped the 2010 Wanderlust Eureka! Award for Travel Innovation and Chedham’s Yard won BBC’s Restoration Village in 2006.

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