Richard Crawford is a Tasmanian entrepreneurial success story having established and run a number of profitable businesses in the tourism and hospitality sector beginning in 1993.

As his first venture 17 years ago, Richard established Tas Vacations, a wholesaler of Tasmanian holiday packages as an arm of his family’s American Express travel agencies, building it to become Tasmania’s largest independent travel wholesaler and a Tasmanian Tourism Award winning business. Richard sold Tas Vacations in 2007.

In 1998, Richard received the Minister for Tourism’s Award for Young Achiever for his role as general manager and director of family owned Thrifty Car Rental franchise across Tasmania, a position he held for ten years. Operating up to 600 vehicles, the multi award winning franchise was sold to Thrifty Australia in 2007 after seventeen years of operation.

In 2004, Richard co-founded The Henry Jones Art Hotel, a first class boutique hotel on Hobart’s waterfront, Australia’s first and only dedicated art hotel, furnished with over 250 art works. The Henry Jones has received international acclaim and more than sixty awards, including three Tasmanian Tourism Awards and two Australian Tourism Awards. Awards include best unique accommodation, best new accommodation and best luxury accommodation. The hotel has also received notable gongs from Conde Nast Traveller for best overseas leisure hotel Australasia, best hotels in the world for ambience and design, and top 100 hotels in the world. Richard and his business partner sold The Henry Jones Art Hotel to the Federal Group in 2007 but not before he received the award for Young Manager of the Year at the Tasmanian Business Leaders Awards.

Richard was a director of Tasmania’s peak tourism industry body, Tourism Industry Council Tasmania for six years. In 2008, Richard was appointed by the Premier of Tasmania to be a founding board member of the Tasmanian Skills Institute, a statutory authority established as part of the Tasmania Tomorrow reforms. Richard is also currently a board member of Tennis Tasmania.

Through diverse business interests including his board positions, Richard has developed skills in marketing, corporate governance, finance, business administration, stakeholder management and communications. Richard is a proud Tasmanian, committed to Tasmania's business community, recognising the state's outstanding potential through a contemporary, global vision.

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