The Bric Marketing Group (BMG), which specializes in helping businesses and DMOs marketing and promoting to Brazil, India, China and Southeast Asia, have won the contract from Brand USA to assist the agency in designing and evaluating BUSA’s next round of RFPs for its global network of in-country representation companies. Jason Pacheco, based in San Francisco, is president of BMG.
Long-time TUI manager Steffi Schulze zur Wiesch—she’s been with the company for more than 10 years—has taken on a new assignment within the TUI Group. She is taking over as general manager of Atraveo in Düsseldorf. Atraveo runs TUIvillas.com, TUI’s international portal of holiday houses and apartments. Schulze zur Wiesch starts her new job March 1st, replacing by Dirk Froelje, who leaves the company at his own request.
Alípio Camanzano has stepped down from his post as director of online sales for CVC after a year on the job. Camanzano, who told the Brazilian trade publication Panrotas that he would take some time off to travel, plans before resuming his career. Before joining CVC, Camanzano served for more than eight years as managing director at Decolar.com.
Lynn Dorsey, the executive director of the Webster Parish CVB in Louisiana, was dismissed from her post by a 3-2 vote at the bureau’s Feb. 13 board meeting. Dorsey, 61, had been placed on paid administrative leave pending further investigation last month after she mistakenly streamed a live video on the bureau’s Instagram account in December. The video was of Dorsey and contained nudity. At the time of the incident, she said that the video was intended for her husband.
Destination Canada has two new agency partners to work on its account: NYC-headquartered IPG Mediabrands (IPG) and London-based Digital Innovation Group Inc. (DIG). The two new agency partners replace OMD, in collaboration with DDB over the past 15 years, and more recently, Acronym. Destination Canada will continue to work with OMD and Acronym through to the end of April in order to achieve a smooth transition.
The Port of Vancouver USA board of commissioners has voted 2-1 to appoint Julianna Marler as CEO/executive director. Marler was appointed interim CEO by the port’s commission after the departure of Todd Coleman in May 2016. She led the port in dual roles as CEO and chief financial officer. Marler joined the Port of Vancouver USA in 1999 as procurement services manager.
Thomas Cook has announced on Feb. 17 that it is closing 39 of its UK retail stores. These locations employ 180 people. The company’s total retail staff in the UK is 5,500. At the time of the announcement, Thomas Cook had a total of 764 stores—208 of them operating under its Co-operative Travel brand. A Thomas Cook spokesperson confirmed that the number split of Co-operative Travel stores closing versus Thomas Cook shops shutting down was “about half and half.”
Long-time tourism industry professional Jeffrey Hentz has been named president and CEO of the Port Aransas (Texas) Chamber of Commerce and Tourist Bureau. Hentz has 28 years of experience as a destination marketing and tourism industry executive. He relocated from Deerfield Beach, Florida.
His experience includes working for Yosemite & Mariposa County Tourism Bureau, Walt Disney World, Warner Brothers, United Airlines Vacations and the Daytona Beach CVB.
Bob Gilbert has been tapped by Rezdy LLC, a B2B online distribution and reservation platform for tours, activities and attractions, to lead its expansion in the United States. Founded in Sydney, Australia in 2011, Rezdy features a tour, activity and attractions database in more than 83 countries. Gilbert brings decades of travel industry experience, having held leadership positions at such companies as Delaware North, Best Western, SuperClubs, Disney and Choice Hotels. Most recently he has headed up his own marketing firm, Captivation Marketing.
