After four decades in the travel and tourism industry in the New York City area during which she served a variety of tour and ground transportation products in senior sales and marketing positions, Blanca Rosa Espinosa has launched her own company—White Rose Experiences, which, she tells us, provides airport transfers for the New York area; hourly-as directed services; tours; corporate and school shuttles, point-to-point transfer transfers. Espinosa can be reached at 347.675.1873.
Martha Palacios has been appointed to the position of senior director, international MICE (Canada, LATAM, & Europe) for NYC & Company. She joins the agency from Marriott International, where she was US accounts sales leader, wholesale. Previously, Palacios was international group & leisure sales leader, New York City Metro Market, for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide.
The tour operator Canadian Affair has appointed Nick Talbot as marketing manager. Previously, Talbot was sales and marketing director at Funway Holidays for eight years and worked at Kenwood Travel as head of marketing since November 2020. In his new role, Talbot will work closely with the management, product and sales teams across the Canadian Affair brand and its sister operator American Affair.
Louise Heatley has joined Leger Shearings Group as group product delivery manager and will take a lead on the company’s product and operations. A veteran of some 25 years in the tourism industry, she comes to Leger Shearings Group from Great Rails Journey. She has previously worked for Page & Moy, Travelsphere, Bridge Travel, Thomson and British Airways.
Montreal-based carrier Air Transat has appointed Sonia Kurek as its new commercial director of UK, Ireland and general sales agent markets. She will lead revenue responsibility in markets across Europe and the Americas. Kurek joins Air Transat from British Airways, where she started in 2004 as a corporate account manager looking after corporates and TMCs moving up to sales manager where she managed groups, MICE, retail and OTA, cruise, sports, students, tour operators and specialist agents. Prior to British Airways, Kurek spent four years at travel agency Trailfinders and nine years at Australian airline Qantas as key account manager.
The Arlington (Texas) Convention & Visitors Bureau has announced that Brent DeRaad, current president and CEO of Visit Tucson, has been chosen to lead the city’s destination marketing organization. He will start his new position on Dec. 6, 2021. DeRaad is replacing Ron Price, who had been president and CEO since 2013. Price resigned in May to head Visit Phoenix in Arizona. DeRaad comes to Arlington with over 20 years of hospitality leadership, sales and marketing experience. With Visit Tucson, he was responsible for a $10 million annual budget and 16,000 hotel rooms.
Dan Tavrytzky has announced his retirement at the end of this month after more than a decade guiding the DMC Network as managing director in order to spend more time with family and pursue hobbies and other interests. Tavrytzky had been with the organization for 11 years. Previously, his résumé tells us, he served in senior positions for various travel and tourism entities, including a tenure as vice president of sales and services at the Scottsdale Convention & Visitors Bureau. Based in Phoenix, the DMC Network is a member-owned community of destination management companies (DMCs) operating in 100 destinations across North America, Central America, South America, the Caribbean and Europe.
Scott Dunn USA Luxury Travel has appointed Bridget Lackie as its new general manager of U.S. operations. With two decades of experience in program management, sales enablement, client relations, marketing and sales operations servicing in a mix of B2B, consumer and non-profit organizations, Lackie also has expert travel industry knowledge following her role as senior managing director of global sales and guest services for Geographic Expeditions.
Philip Edel has become co-managing director of Studiosus, the German tour operator that specializes in study and educational tours throughout the world. Edel has been with the Munich-based family company since 1999. The company was founded in 1954. After training at a major German bank and studying economics, Edel joined the finance department as an assistant. In 2004 he was appointed Deputy Head of Department and in 2011 Head of Finance & Controlling
The Globus family of brands announced that it has hired Camille Olivere as the company’s chief sales officer. She replaces chief sales officer Paula Hayes, who is retiring at the end of the year, Olivere will be responsible for managing all facets of the company’s sales operations, including leading the national sales team for Globus, Cosmos, Monograms and Avalon Waterways. Having held executive leadership positions with Norwegian Cruise Line, DeCurtis Corporation, World Travel Holdings and ClubMed North America, Olivere brings with her 20 years of cruise and travel expertise.
The Kaua‘i Visitors Bureau has named Patricia “Patti” Ornellas as the organization’s destination manager. In this newly created position funded by the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority (HTA), Ornellas will lead efforts to implement and execute the goals and vision of Kaua‘i’s Destination Management Action Plan, with an emphasis on perpetuating Kaua‘i as a destination focused on regenerative tourism and mindful travel. Ornellas spent 15 years in the hospitality industry taking on a variety of roles, including front of house operations and homeowner assistance. While serving in those roles, her responsibilities also consisted of room and revenue management, working with travel wholesalers and handling owner and guest concerns.
The Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau has appointed Carol Motley as the next senior vice president of convention sales & services. In her new position, Carol will be responsible for driving occupancy and attendance for conventions, trade shows, and meetings in Greater Miami and Miami Beach. Motley brings several years of experience in the tourism industry in sales and leadership roles. She is relocating to Miami from Washington, DC, where she previously acted as Director of Convention Sales at Destination DC. Before Destination DC, Carol was Senior National Account Director at Visit Orlando.
Úna O’Leary has been named general manager for Canada for the luxury travel company Virtuoso. In her new role, O’Leary will be responsible for driving Virtuoso’s business development to increase its footprint within the country through strategic partnerships focused on expanding its global network. O’Leary brings extensive industry experience and deep market knowledge to her new role, including more than five years at CWT (formerly Carlson Wagonlit Travel), a Virtuoso member agency, as senior director of marketing and strategic partnerships, North America.
Tim Paul has joined the Discover the World Canada team as senior manager focused on Expedia’s Travel Agent Affiliate Program (TAAP). Paul has twenty years of aviation and travel industry experience, having worked at WestJet with the Canadian travel agency industry, where he was responsible for customer service, B2B Marketing, inside sales and digital travel agent platforms for the travel trade. He was a member of the travel agent advisory board at WestJet.
The Wausau/Central Wisconsin Convention and Visitors Bureau has named Tim White its new director. A public relations veteran, White has helped lead numerous projects with national media groups such as ESPN/ABC, Turner, CBS, Fox, and NBC. A native of the area, White was born in Wisconsin Rapids and graduated from high school in Amherst. after growing up in the Stevens Point area. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point and holds a master’s from Bethel University in Minnesota.
Jennifer Breed-Wilson has joined the Las Vegas Convention and Visitor’s Authority as director of sales & marketing-transportation. She joins the organization from TUI Musement, the attractions and travel experiences arm of TUI. Previously, she was director of sales and marketing at The Las Vegas Monorail Company.
Tom Loftus has been named vice president of marketing Visit Richmond (Richmond Region Tourism) in Virginia as vice president of marketing. He had most recently been chief marketing officer at Visit Pittsburgh after first serving as its vice president of communications after he joined the organization in 2015.
Job Postings
From SearchWide Global:
—A world-wide hospitality group is looking for an executive director of hotel sales & marketing a position that would be based in San Francsico, Toronto or remotely. More details here:
—Visit Greater Palm Springs has an opening for a vice president of sales. More details here.
—Experience Grand Rapids is searching for a vice president of engagement and inclusion. More details here.
—Visit Annapolis & Anne Arundel County is looking for a director of marketing & communications. More details here.
—Visit Denver is seeking to hire a new vice president of tourism. More details here.
—Visit Santa Cruz is searching for a new CEO/Executive Vice President. More details here.
—The Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau has an opening for a director of marketing. More details here.
—There is an opening for the position of president & CEO at Visit Fort Wayne. More details here.
—The North Lake Tahoe Resort Association is looking for a CEO. More details here.
—Visit Savanah has an opening for a vice president of communications & marketing. More details here.
—Destinations International is searching for a vice president of equity, diversity & inclusion. More details here.
—Valdosta-Lowndes Co. Conference & Tourism Authority has an opening for a catering and sales director. More details here.
—The City of Tacoma has an opening for a director of venue & events. More details here.
—Visit Dana Point is looking for an executive director. More details here.
—Visit Milwaukee is searching for a vice president of marketing and communications. More details here.
—Discover The Palm Beaches is looking for an associate vice president of group sales. More details here.
—Discover The Palm Beaches is searching for a director of events, tradeshow & strategic sales partnerships. More details here.
—The Petoskey Area Visitors Bureau, which represents an area of coastal communities in northwestern Michigan, has an opening for a new executive director. More details here.
—The Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau is seeking a senior vice president of convention sales. More details here.
—The Colorado Office of Economic Development & International Trade is searching for a director of marketing and communications. More details here.
—Freeman is searching for a vice president, national graphics. 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
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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.
—Visit Stockton is looking for a director of sports & tourism development. More details here.
—Amazon Web Services is searching for a head of travel & hospitality industry marketing. Located in Seattle. More details here.
—City Experiences has an opening for a national associate director of tourism. More details here.
—Delta Air Lines is searching for a specialist, reservations strategic initiatives. 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.
—The Park City Chamber of Commerce has an opening for a director of sustainable tourism. More details here.
—The city of Eustis, Florida is looking for an events & tourism manager. Salary range is $50,361 to $75,670 a year. 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.
—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
