Marek Andryszak is leaving TUI Germany. Andryszak will be leaving the tourism group at his own request. A succession plan is already being prepared. A long-time veteran of the TUI Group—the largest tour operator in Europe—Andryszak took on the TUI Germany post in the spring of 2017. Prior to that, he had served as CEO of Tourismus AG, another company within the TUI Group; as CEO of TUI Poland; and as vice president, aviation trading for TUI Germany. David Burling, member of the TUI Group’s Executive Board, announced the news last week in a letter to employees. “I would like to inform you today that we are in talks with Marek Andryszak about the termination of his contract as managing director of TUI Deutschland GmbH, which will expire in 2022, and that I am preparing the succession plan,” said Burling, who indicated that Andryszak will continue to fulfill his contract and “push ahead with the restart of operations in the central region with all his energy.”
Kama Winters was recently appointed president of Delta Vacations, Delta Air Lines’ official vacation provider. Winters joins the company from Delta Air Lines, where she served most recently as director of product retailing. She succeeds former Delta Vacations President Jennie Ho, who was recently appointed vice president – in-flight field operations at Delta. Winters has been a partner to Delta since 2005, where she served as a client lead with longstanding agency partner Digitas. She joined Delta in 2016 and served in roles of increasing responsibility throughout marketing and digital strategy.
Tisha Rogers has been named group sales manager at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. She joins from Universal Studios Hollywood, where she was sales manager and served for more than a dozen years. Prior to that, she was travel marketing manager at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
Brian Wright has joined Mammoth Lakes Tourism as director of marketing. Previously, he was director of global business development at Santa Monica Travel & Tourism. Wright also served as director of DMO & executive relations for Visit California, where he worked for more than five years.
WestJet has announced that Executive Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) Diederik Pen, will join the airline’s executive leadership team in the early fall, following the completion of the immigration process. At that time, acting interim COO, Robert Antoniuk will take on a new role as chief safety, health and environment officer. Mr. Pen has more than 25 years of aviation-industry experience in the Asia-Pacific and European regions, and joins WestJet most recently from Wizz Air.
In the UK, independent tour operator Prestige Holidays, which was established by John Dixon more than 30 years ago, has been purchased by M&A specialist Embrace Travel Group for an “undisclosed” sum. Dixon, who is currently chairman and managing director, will retire following Prestige’s sale to Embrace after working for more than 50 years in the travel industry. The operator’s commercial director David Skillicorn will stay with the company after its acquisition.
Emily Bates has joined the New Mexico Tourism Department as tourism development coordinator. She has spent the previous 1½ years in Guadalajara and previously worked in the travel and tourism industries in Boston and had a tourism marketing internship in Bordeaux, France. Bates has a bachelor’s degree in French from Loyola University Maryland in Baltimore and a master’s degree in management and valorization of heritage through tourism from the Sorbonne in France.
Hahn Air announced the appointment of Christoph Althoff as vice president airline business Hahn Air is a German scheduled and executive charter airline. The industry professional joined the Hahn Air team on July 1st and will be in charge of an international team of experts managing the partnerships with Hahn Air’s more than 350 partner airlines worldwide as well as acquiring and implementing new partner carriers. Christoph Althoff takes over from Steve Knackstedt who has been in this role for more than 13 years and who will retire at the end of 2021. In the past 17 years, Althoff has been working for major travel industry players such as PROS Holding and Amadeus where he successfully developed data-driven and customer-centric sales strategies for airlines and other travel-related clients
Maria Wahby Hernandez has been hired as a JetBlue customer service crewmember. Prior to her appointment, she had spent nearly nine years as contracts manager for Miki Travel.
Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert has named Deborah Ward the new executive director of the Omaha Convention and Visitors Bureau. Ward has served as interim director since July 2020. Previously, she was the Vice President of Marketing and Communications. She’s also worked for Visit Omaha for 14 years.
Naples, Marco Island and the Everglades CVB has announced that Jack Wert, the well-known figurehead of Collier County’s Tourism Division has announced plans to retire from his post, effective September 30, 2021. Wert has held his position as Executive Director in Collier County since 2002. ++
Lagina Fitzpatrick is the new executive director of the Lake of the Ozarks Tri-County Lodging Association (TCLA) in Missouri. Prior to being named executive director, Fitzpatrick had been the interim director since December. She also served as director of sales at TCLA from 2010 through 2020.
The newly created Iowa Travel Industry Partners has hired Chelsea Lerud as its interim director. Lerud has served as the executive director of the Greater Burlington Iowa Convention & Visitors Bureau since 2014. Lerud will begin her duties with the Travel industry partners August 9.
Hammond, Indiana’s longtime South Shore Convention and Visitors Authority President and CEO Speros Batistatos was removed from his position at a board meeting last week. Batistatos, who began with the SSCVA more than three decades ago, has been in conflict with its board of directors for weeks, after board members raised concerns during contract negotiations about his total compensation, which exceeds $330,000 between salary and benefits. Batistatos was president and CEO of the Indiana organization for two different periods—a from March 1989-July 2000 and from October 2005 until his dismissal. In between, he served for a while as president and CEO of the Atlantic City Convention & Visitors Authority.
Guillaume Arenas is the new director for Discover the World France. He succeeds Michele Bernard, who had been at the position for 24 years, and has retired. Arenas, who has been with Scottsdale-headquartered Discover the World since 2005, and has extensive knowledge of both the operation and the French travel market. Discover The World France represents a broad range of clients including Caesars Entertainment, Copa Airlines, Expedia TAAP, Loews Hotels & Co, Hong Kong Airlines, SATA Azores Airlines, Ukraine International Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, World Ticket Solutions, and mor
Jeffrey Hentz is stepping down from his role as chief executive officer of the North Lake Tahoe Resort Association after serving in the role since for close to two years of service. A news release from the organization says that Hentz will continue to be involved with operations of the association through the remainder of July, with continued focus on implementation of North Lake Tahoe’s Tourism Business Improvement District. Hentz relocated to North Lake Tahoe from Mustang Island, Texas, where he served as President/CEO of Mustang Island/Port Aransas Convention and Visitors Bureau, Chamber of Commerce and Chamber Foundation. Prior to that, Hentz held positions at FINN Partners and the Volusia County Florida/Daytona Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Jason Fulvi is leaving his position as president of Visit KC to be chief sales officer for Arrivalist, a travel research and marketing firm in Kansas City and the producer of such tools as the Arrivalist Daily Travel Index, which measures consumer road trips of 50 miles or more in all 50 U.S. states. Arrivalist is headquartered in New York City, with offices in San Francisco and Toronto. Fulvi will begin his new job on September 13. Fulvi joined VisitKC in 2018. Previously, he was executive vice president at VisitPITTSBURGH, where he served for more than 16 years.
Charlene Lopez has been promoted to the position of vice president of sales for the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau. She joined the organization in 2012 as sales manager, national accounts, and was promoted to director, citywide sales in 2019. Before joining the Atlanta bureau, Lopez held senior sales positions for Omni and Hyatt Regency properties
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IN MEMORIAM: Nobuaki Sakamaki
From the Japan Association of Travel Agents: “It is with great sorrow that we announce that Nobuaki Sakamaki, Chairman of the Japan Association of Travel Agents, passed away on July 13, 2021, while he was undergoing medical treatment. He was 62 years old. Nobuaki Sakamaki started his career with Tobu Railway Co., Ltd., and was elected representative director and chief executive officer of Tobu Travel Co., Ltd. in 2013. In April 2015, he was elected Representative Director and Chief Executive Officer of Tobu Top Tours Co., Ltd., which is a merger company of Top Tour and Tobu Travel. Nobuaki Sakamaki was an empathetic leader who devoted his life to his company, family, and friends. Our sorrow over losing him is profound but our appreciation of his achievements and contribution to the travel industry and the society as a whole will not fade with time.”
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Job Postings
From SearchWide Global:
—Destination Door County (Wisconsin) is looking for a president and CEO. More details here.
—In Oregon, the Josephine County Visitor Association’s Destination Marketing Organization, Experience Grants Pass, us searching for an executive director. More details here.
—Visit San Antonio has an opening for director of market strategy. More detailshere.
—The Oklahoma State Fair is seeking a president and CEO. More detailshere.
—The San Diego Tourism Authority is looking for achief sales officer. More detailshere.
—Visit Pittsburg has an opening for chief sales officer. More details here.
—Visit Carlsbad is searching for a president and CEO. More details here.
—Switch, An Experience Agency based in St. Louis whose product lines include digital marketing, business meetings and events, and trade shows, is looking for a president and CEO. More details here.
—There is an opening for a chief executive officer at Explore Skagit Valley in Washington State. More details here.
—Louisville Tourism is looking for a senior vice president of convention development. More details here.
—Travel Portland is searching for a vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion. More details here.
—Visit Wichita is searching for a vice president of marketing. More detailshere.
—Destinations International is searching for a senior director, membership engagement. More details here.
—The Valdosta-Lowndes County Conference Center & Tourism Authority in Georgia is looking for a new executive director. More details here.
—In the Charlotte/Concord area of North Carolina, Great Wolf Resorts has 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 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 currently listed.
—New York City & Company has an opening for a coordinator, tourism development. More details here.
—American Classic Tours, Inc. in Grayslake, Illinois, has an opening for a tour manager. More details here.
—Visit Denver is searching for a cultural tourism programs manager. More details here.
—Jet Blue is searching for a manager of corporate communications, and his based in Long Island City N.Y. More details here.
—Ralph Lauren is search for a coordinator, brand activation (regional tourism – West). 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 hundreds of new jobs listed, including a fair number in the travel, tourism and related industries. A sampler of what to expect is below.
—Your VIP Pass in New York City has an opening for a director of events. More details here.
—The Philadelphia office of Tiquets, the global ticket booking company for attractions, is looking for a U.S.-based supply coordinator (the company is headquartered in the Netherlands. More details here.
—Saks Fifth Avenue in New York City is looking for a manager of tourism and travel. More details here.
—The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority is looking for a vice president of guest experience. The salary range is $130,000 – $157,000 a year: More details here.
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Have a job to offer in the travel and tourism industry? Let us know and we’ll post your notice—no cost to you. Email tom@tomberrigan.com
