Trailfinders founder Mike Gooley knighted

Trailfinders founder and chairman Mike Gooley has received a knighthood in the 2021 Queen’s Birthday Honours List.

The honour was made for services to business and charity.

Trailfinders was founded in 1970 by former SAS officer Gooley with a staff of four.

The company remains privately owned but has a staff of more than 1,000 at 39 travel centres and has made travel arrangements for over 16 million clients.

Gooley received a CBE in 2007 for services to the travel industry and his charity work through the Mike Gooley Trailfinders Charity, founded in 1995.

He was honoured by the British Travel & Hospitality Hall of Fame in 2001.

Others in the wider travel sector to be honoured included Heathrow airport carbon strategy director Matthew Gorman, who received an MBE for services to decarbonisation of aviation, and the CAA’s consumer policy and enforcement manager Jacqueline Knight, who retired last month, received the same honour for services to consumers.

An MBE was also awarded to Peter Waters, executive director of Visit East of England, for services to the tourism industry during Covid-19.