Tara Hippensteel has been named national director of tourism for Hornblower Cruises and Events. She joins the company with more than 20 years of experience in both the domestic and international travel trade industry. As national director of tourism, Hippensteel will be responsible for defining and leading the short and long-term strategy around national travel trade and third-party client relationships for Hornblower Cruises and Events. With over two decades of industry experience, Hippensteel recently developed a national tour and travel program for nearly 60 Topgolf venues across the country. Prior to that, she held various roles with Hard Rock Cafe including national tourism sales director, North America. She began her Travel & Tourism career at Hornblower’s Spirit of Chicago in 2002–2003 as a tourism development manager.
Peter Seibert has been named president and CEO of Philadelphia’s Independence Seaport Museum. Seibert previously served as executive director and CEO of the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, Wyoming’s largest museum, which is in Cody, Wyoming. Earlier career postings in his nearly three-decade career include the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, the Millicent Rogers Museum, the National Council for History Education, and the Heritage Center of Lancaster County, Inc.
James Bermingham has been appointed CEO of Virgin Hotels. Bermingham, who has more than 35 years of industry experience in the hospitality and tourism industry, was previously executive vice president of operations for Montage International, and also worked at ITT Sheraton Corporation. As chief executive, he is responsible for the company’s global growth and customer experience. This year, Virgin Hotels open in three more key destinations: Las Vegas, New Orleans and New York City. There are three Virgin hotels currently operating in Chicago, Dallas and Nashville.
The Uncommon Operator in Brazil has expanded and now operates in São Paulo, with Nivaldo Egeia as its director of sales. Egeia has 17 years of experience in tourism, including eight years at Visual Turismo. He has also served in the Othon and Windsor hotel chains.
Kristin Wenger has joined Baker Public Relations in Pittsburgh as senior account director. She comes to the post from VisitPITTSBURGH, where she served for 20 years in various public relations and communications positions, lastly as communications director.
Donna Jeavons and Chris Townson have been promoted following the resignation of Rachel Coffey as sales and business development director for Trafalgar, Costsaver Tours, Insight Vacations and Luxury Gold. The move follows the recent resignation of Rachel Coffey. In addition to their existing remits, Jeavons—sales and marketing director for Contiki Holidays in the UK and Europe—will now take the reins of Trafalgar and Costsaver Tours in the UK and Ireland, while Chris Townson, managing director of Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection in the UK and Ireland, will take responsibility for Insight Vacations and Luxury Gold.
John Weatherill been named executive vice president and chief commercial officer at WestJet Airlines following the departure of Arved von zur Muehlen, Weatherhill has been with WestJet since August 2013, holding several roles within the airline’s commercial team: director, of network & schedule planning, director of revenue management, vice-president of pricing & revenue management and his most recent role, vice-president, network & revenue.
Adam Berrios has been hired by the Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau as its new director of sales, where he will be responsible for leading the bureau’s local, regional, and national efforts to bring meetings and conventions to the city. Berrios brings with him 10 years of CVB experience. Prior to joining the Little Rock bureau, Berrios was senior sales manager with VisitGreenvilleSC and the Alpharetta Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Tour operator Exsus Travel has hired North America travel expert Bradley Roper as worldwide travel expert. The operator said in statement that the appointment means its trade-facing destination experts team is “growing to a similar level” as pre-COVID. Exsus reported a “big growth in enquiries and bookings” in recent weeks with a spokeswoman confirming “most of our enquiries are coming from the trade.” Roper, previously served the Inspiring Travel Company (ITC), Kuoni, and Best at Travel, among other companies, and is a recognized expert on the U.S. and Canada.
Matt Lewis was recently named president and CEO of HospitalityMaine. He succeeded Steve Hewins, who officially stepped down from the post last month. Lewis joins the organization from Visit Richmond (California), where he was executive director for 3½ years. Prior to that, he was head of business travel sales leadership for Hotel Nikko San Francisco, where he represented the hotel both nationally and internationally for a decade. The departing Hewins served four-and-a-half years at the helm of the 1,000-member association. In 2018, he directed the merger of the Maine Innkeepers Association and the Maine Restaurant Association into HospitalityMaine.
Accelya, a global provider of technology to the travel industry, has announced that William (Bill) Cavendish has joined Accelya in the role of principal-global business development. He will be responsible for building and managing commercial relationships with airline partners by aligning their retailing-led growth requirements with Accelya’s portfolio of next-generation solutions. Cavendish joins Accelya from Emirates, where he was vice president, distribution strategy. Prior to Emirates, he held a number of leadership roles at aviation technology companies, global consulting firms, and major corporate travel management organizations.
Annie Allman recently became the new the general manager of Philadelphia’s Reading Terminal Market Corporation. The historic Reading Terminal (it actually was a railroad terminal at one point) attracts 100,000 local residents and tourists weekly. Prior to joining the Reading Terminal Market, Allman founded Last Frontier Consulting, a management consulting firm. Over the years she has held multiple positions in the hospitality and gaming industry, including posts at Harrah’s Atlantic City and Harrah’s Philadelphia Casino and Racetrack. She also served as senior vice president of strategic marketing at Encore Boston Harbor and as senior director of marketing at Comcast.
Emirates Group promoted Steve Allen to the role of executive vice-president at dnata. He will be responsible for all dnata’s businesses, covering ground handling, catering and travel across six continents. Allen will also assume responsibility for managing Emirates Group’s relationships with its associated businesses, including MMI, Emirates CAE Flight Training and Premier Inn. In his new role, Allen will continue to report to Gary Chapman, president of group services and dnata, until Chapman’s retirement at the end of March. Allen will then report directly to Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman and chief executive of Emirates Airline and Group.
The Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC) has appointed Beth Potter as its new president and CEO. She began her new job on March 15. Most recently Potter served for more than a decade as president and CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario. Prior to that, she was executive director of Camping in Ontario. She is a recognized leader with more than 30 years of experience in the not-for-profit and tourism industries and has worked with a variety of boards and committees, including her recent contributions to the World Travel & Tourism Council’s tourism recovery efforts.
Job Postings
From SearchWide Global:
—The tourism research and intelligence company Arrivalist has an opening for a chief sales officer. More details here.
—The Seattle Southside Regional Tourism Authority has an opening for a new president and chief executive officer. More details here.
—In Franklin, Tennessee, which is about 20 miles south of Nashville, the Williamson County Convention and Visitors Bureau is searching for a president and CEO. More details here.
—The position of president & CEO is open at the Big Sky Chamber of Commerce & Visit Big Sky is open. More details here.
—Headquartered in Irving, Texas, the Promotional Products Association International, is searching for a president & chief executive officer. More details here.
—The Valdosta-Lowndes County Conference Center & Tourism Authority in Georgia is looking for a new executive director. More details here.
—Visit San Antonio is looking for a new president and CEO. More details here.
—The Explore Ashville Convention & Visitors Bureau has an opening for a new vice president of sales. More details here.
—The Bermuda Tourism Authority is searching for someone to fill the post of Chief Executive Officer. More details here.
—The Washington County (Ore.) Visitors Association is seeking a new president & CEO. Click here for more information.
—There is an opening for a CEO at Experience Olympia & Beyond in Washington State. For more information, click here.
—The Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce is searching for a new chief marketing officer. Click here for more information.
—VisitGreenvilleSC is looking for a president and CEO. For additional details, click here.
—Visit Florida is searching for a vice president of marketing. For more information, visit here.
—In the Charlotte/Concord area of North Carolina, Great Wolf Resorts as an opening for a director of sales and catering. For details, click here
—Georgia’s Valdosta-Lowndes County Conference Center & Tourism Authority is searching for a conference sales director. More details here.
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From Indeed.com: We’ve taken a look at this site (click here) which says that it has more than 850 jobs listed, including a fair number in the travel, tourism and related industries. A sampler of what to expect is below.
—Tourism Economics, the U.S. arm of Oxford Economics, has an opening for a head of business development. More details here.
—Scenic Luxury Cruises and Tours, in Miami, Florida, is searching for a vice president of marketing. More details here.
—The Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens in Washington, D.C., is looking for a group sales, special events and tourism manager. More details here.
—In Miami, there is an opening at American Cruise Lines for an excursions director for the 2021 season. More details here.
—The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences museum in Los Angeles is searching for a group sales manager. More details here.
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From LinkedIn Jobs: Known to many across the board in the travel and tourism industry, the LinkedIn list (click here) has numerous job opportunities posted. Following is a brief sample of some of those jobs listed.
—The Hershey Company in Hershey, Pennsylvania has an opening for a senior manager, leadership & transformational communications. More details here.
—The City of Katy, Texas, just west of Houston, has an opening for a tourism and marketing event coordinator. More details here.
—In Worcester, Massachusetts, there s an opening for a tour programs coordinator at the Worcester Art Museum. More details here.
—The Sabre Corporation has an opening for a senior content writer & campaign manager. More details here.
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