"A year ago, I didn’t have this job; now I'm sat here on the front of a boat in the Maldives. Davina McCall is whooping as I get my photo taken, and I'm thinking – 'What is going on? What is my life?'."

Alice Preece is telling TTG about her "bonkers" career with Tui's press offices, which saw her work on a Maldives campaign with McCall and influencers like Chessie and Bronte King, all within her first year on the job.

Three years later, Preece has been promoted to Senior Press Officer – and has also been named a member of TTG's 30 Under 30 Class of 2026.

Alice Preece

Her role has expanded well beyond traditional press office work, with Preece now leading Tui's work on generative engine optimisation (GEO) and how PR can influence the way travel brands appear in AI-generated search results.

She has built Tui's GEO-focused digital PR workstream from the ground up, secured senior stakeholder buy-in and manages agency partners delivering the strategy. "I've been really trusted and empowered by my team to become the expert in this area," she says.

"At my age, I was almost shocked to have people look at me with that respect and see campaigns and ideas that I've suggested secure investment and become a reality."

Preece moved to Tui after a brief stint in digital PR with Rise at Seven and Hallam, where her focus was largely on SEO and securing coverage containing links. Joining a traditional press office changed her view of the role of PR, she says.

Alice Preece

"Before, I'd been quite honed in on getting coverage for links and SEO purposes. Now I have a much wider, strategic viewpoint."

Preece argues AI search gives PR an opportunity to demonstrate its value beyond conventional measures such as coverage and reads, because third-party content can contribute to the information AI tools use when responding to travel queries.

"It doesn't necessarily change the fundamentals of what good PR is, but it means we're able to prove our worth in a new way," she says. "It's also constantly changing, right? So we're always learning."

'I built a river cruise itinerary around my dad'

Her work has also had a direct impact on Tui's product line. Through Tui's internal Springboard development programme, Preece was given a "stretch project" with Tui River Cruises. The brief was to find a way to attract customers who already enjoyed ocean cruising but had not yet tried river cruising.

Her answer was a 1970s-versus-1980s themed sailing, inspired partly by her father and his particular music tastes. "My dad loves ocean cruises, but has never done a river cruise," she explains. "I used him as a case study and thought, 'what would get my dad to buy a ticket?'."

The idea was subsequently launched as Rewind on the Rhine with Gary Davies, which is due to sail this November – with her dad already eyeing up some dates.

Alice Preece

Preece was also involved in Tui's Mini Memory Makers campaign, which put children aged three to six in charge of photographing their family holidays.

The activity was trialled over Easter 2025 across three Tui Blue resorts. Children were given reusable cameras and, through a partnership with PhotoBox, received 24 free prints from their holiday.

The campaign reached 131 million people and the concept has since been rolled out to a wider number of Tui Blue resorts.

"It went down really, really well – we got really great feedback from the resorts," Preece explains. "The internal teams who coordinate the kids' club activities loved it."

'PR is the glue that brings teams together'

Preece tells TTG the projects reflect what she sees as the wider role of PR within the travel industry. "PR is the glue that brings teams together," she says. "Working at Tui has meant I get really close contact with our brand team, SEO team, and affiliates teams, which is rare to see in big companies."

She credits her manager, Senior PR Manager Karen Abrams, with helping her develop the "instincts" needed to grow her career. "She's really helped me get more strategic in the way I approach things," Preece says.

Her sister, Lisa Preece, has also influenced her career. Six years older and also a travel PR professional, Lisa previously worked at LA Tourism and has recently joined Finn Partners. "She’s essentially laying the roadmap out six years ahead for me," Alice jokes. "It's pretty handy."

Alice Preece

Preece studied journalism at university and initially joined an agency where she worked across non-travel accounts while trying to secure opportunities on travel clients. She says she had always wanted to work in travel, having grown up in a family where holidays were a priority.

"My parents instilled it in me," she says. "Saving up for a holiday has always been my goal. Who needs a house? I just want to travel."

Her next ambition is to move into senior management and eventually become a "travel industry leader", although she is reluctant to put a specific job title on the goal.

'Don't wait for the door to open for you'

"I think it's keeping a hold of that bigger picture and thinking beyond PR and everything I do, but trying to connect every other area of the business together as well," she says. "I'm also quite passionate about future-proofing communications as well."

For Preece, that means continuing to identify changes in consumer behaviour and search before they become established, rather than waiting for the industry to catch up. Her advice to fellow under-30s reads similarly.

"Sometimes it's about getting your nose in and figuring out where the opportunity could lie, rather than waiting for the door to open for you."