Tom McLoughlin, chief executive officer of Per Aquum Resorts • Spas • Residences, has been recognized as one of the 15 most powerful men in the travel industry by the UK’s leading men’s lifestyle magazine, GQ, in an article in the inaugural GQ Travel supplement, launched with the February 2007 issue of the magazine.
Edited by Bill Prince, deputy editor of GQ, and founded on the belief that men think about travel differently to women, being motivated less by the “where?” than by the “why?”, GQ Travel embodies the best of today’s celebrated travel writing, with contributions from the likes of John Simpson and AA Gill.
As part of its launch issue, GQ Travel “crisscrossed the globe in search of sun, sea, sand and success to compile the definitive list of travel trailblazers… who are redrawing the map” for its 15 Most Powerful Men In Travel editorial feature. The second youngest member of a select list which includes established global heavyweights such as Richard Branson, the world’s second wealthiest man Warren Buffett, and Sol Kerzner, Tom McLoughlin is described as “developing resorts, spas and residences from the ground up, aiming them squarely at wealthy Gen X and Gen Y-ers who want relaxed, private fun with their tropical luxury… the general feel is of private jet-set luxury, 21st-century style.”
Tom set up Per Aquum Resorts • Spas • Residences in 2003 as a joint venture with Universal Enterprises. Having established Per Aquum’s resort and spa credentials with the award-winning Dhoni Mighili and Huvafen Fushi in the Maldives, Tom is overseeing a meteoric expansion of the company, both into new geographical areas - as evidenced by the recent opening of The Fortress on the south coast of Sri Lanka, the imminent opening of Desert Palm in Dubai, and forthcoming new projects in Grenada and the Seychelles - and into new markets; Per Aquum’s residence management division is rapidly building up an iconic and innovative portfolio with confirmed projects in Morocco, Grenada and the Seychelles.
A Universal Enterprise, Per Aquum Resorts • Spas • Residences is a specialist luxury resort, spa and residence management company that offers a different kind of company ethos: one that is passionate, visionary, imaginative and naturally modern. Each property embodies regional tradition and combines luxurious fittings and furnishings in a culturally sensitive way. No two properties are alike. Literally translated, Per Aquum means ‘through water’, and the vision of the company is to develop and manage properties in desirable locations using naturally modern, ecologically responsible design. Per Aquum currently manages properties in Maldives, Sri Lanka, Dubai and Seychelles and is looking at additional locations in the Indian Ocean region, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Morocco and the Middle East.
