David McDonald - / Profile / Director

David comes from the land of "the long white cloud ", New Zealand and he was educated and brought up in Melbourne, Australia. He and his wife Caroline have two daughters.

David in his early career had the travel bug and traveled and worked internationally with Contiki Tours and worked in the hotel industry in London. This was after working as a wheelchair carer in Australia and undertaking university studies in Human Movement at Latrobe University.

Over a period of years from the1980's David and his father were recognized as tough competitors in racing their sailing boats offshore and competing in the famous Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race.

It was in this period and through their mutual love of offshore sail racing that David and Peter Young developed a long term friendship.

 

David has business interests in the hospitality industry, including the manufacture of hotel equipment in Thailand, and works for the Try Youth Services group that delivers philanthropically based services and enterprises for disadvantaged youth in Australia.

He has been making business trips to Thailand for five years now and it was during this time that he and Sami Alanko met through business associates. It was during one of these trips that the idea of a wheelchair holiday resort was born.

That was two years ago and now after many trips to Thailand David and Sami's dream is being realized as WheelchairHolidays have the support of the Thai government to build Thailand's and Asia's first wheelchair holiday village resort.

David has traveled globally for the past 20 years and extensively through South East Asia in the past 10 years - David knows and loves Asian cultures and is a veteran traveler along the back tracks.