The board of directors of VISIT PHILADELPHIA® has announced that Angela Val has been selected to lead the organization as its new president and CEO beginning June 27, 2022. Board Chairman Manuel N. Stamatakis said the new role is a homecoming for Val, who spent 17 years at the beginning of her career with VISIT PHILADELPHIA, contributing to its growth and ultimately concluding her first tenure with the organization in 2016 as chief external affairs officer. Val is currently the chief operating officer of Tempest, an integrated marketing agency helping Destination Organizations and Convention and Visitors Bureaus across the country strengthen their local communities.
Jody Bell has been named director of sales, theatre, for Stellar, a widely known New York-based ticketing service for some 150 partners providing theatre, event and online-featured entertainment as well. Bell has more than a dozen years of experience in the field, including tenures such as operations manager and theatre marketing manager at RMP Travel, director of group sales at Davenport Theatrical Enterprises, and most recently as director of partnership and events at Ampla, a FinTech platform designed for consumer brands.
Visit Greater Palm Springs has announced the hiring of Carolina Viazcan as vice president of sales. Viazcan brings more than 20 years of tourism sales experience to the role, most of which is in Greater Palm Springs. Most recently, Viazcan was director of sales & marketing at the Renaissance Esmeralda Resort & Spa in Indian Wells, California, where she has worked since 2010 in a variety of sales leadership roles. During her tenure, Viazcan led recovery efforts through the pandemic and directed sales and marketing efforts during a property renovation. Prior experience includes PGA National Resort & Spa, JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa, and La Quinta Resort & Club.
Danillo Barbizan has been promoted to the position of sales manager for Delta Air Lines in Brazil. Barbizan replaces Rodrigo Sienra, who has moved on to a position at CVC Corp. Barbazan began his career at Delta in 2009 when he took on a job through Ancoradoura—at the time it was Delta’s general sales agent. In 2015, he joined the carrier’s sales team as area manager for offline markets. He was promoted to manager for the corporate market in 2018.
Traxo, Inc., provider of real-time corporate travel data capture, has announced the expansion of its sales department. Joining the Traxo sales team are Aash Shravah and Sarah Smith. The mission of both is to help corporate travel departments worldwide obtain full visibility into all of their employee business travel bookings and expenses, regardless of where or how the travel is booked. Aash Shravah, the new vice president of sales for the eastern region, is based in the New York City area. She brings to Traxo more than 25 years of corporate travel experience, having been responsible for sales at several large TMCs. Based in Malaysia, Sarah Smith joins the Traxo sales team as Global Enablement Manager, filling a new position at the Company. With more than 14 years experience working with and for several global TMCs and travel consultants, including Portman Travel, Radius Travel, Clarity, CTM, and PTC, she will support the sales team in responding to the recent surge of interest in Traxo’s services.
In Colorado, the Telluride Tourism Board of Directors recently named Kiera Skinner as the new executive director, Skinner is a longtime Telluride local with years of experience working in tourism in several mountain communities. She has served as director of marketing and public relations for 12 years. A graduate of the University of Colorado Boulder, Skinner lives in Telluride with her husband, Matt, and two children, Kyle and Camille. She has spent over a decade with the tourism board, where she first served as director of marketing and public relations, starting in 2010. Previously, she worked for ResortQuest International. Skinner also opened and launched the Lumiere hotels in Mountain Village and Purgatory Resort.
Kelsey Rush, the current vice president of marketing and communications for Tuscaloosa Tourism and Sports, has been named the organization’s president and CEO in waiting. She will assume her new role in July 2023 after the retirement of current president and CEO Don Staley, who announced his intention to step down from his job earlier this year. Rush first joined the Tourism and Sports organization in 2010 and served for nearly five years as director of event operations and sports marketing. She also served as vice president and marketing director of the Bryant Bank in Tuscaloosa.
GOL Linhas Areas has announced a change in its leadership management. Celso Ferrer, current chief operating officer, will assume the executive command of the Company as of July 1st. Paulo Kakinoff, who has been CEO of GOL for 10 years, will join the company’s board of directors Ferrer has been GOL’s our vice president and chief operations officer since March 2019. He has been with GOL for 16 years and served as our vice president and chief planning officer from February 2015 to the present. Headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, GOL primarily serves domestic markets in Brazil, but it also has significant flight capacity to Florida.
Christopher Heywood has been for some time the “go-to” person for the global tourism community’s media and communication needs when it comes to New York. And now Heywood, NYC & Company’s executive vice president, global communications for more than 15 years, has announced that his last day on the job will be on June 30, 2022. “I felt like the moment was right to step aside and begin to focus on the next stage of my career,” Heywood said. Before arriving in New York City. Before his move to New York, Heywood spent more than eight years as manager or corporate communications at the Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board.
The Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau has named 26-year industry veteran Alex Batista vice president of convention sales. A 26-year veteran of the travel and tourism industry, Batista will assist Senior Vice President of Convention Sales & Services Carol Motley in creating initiatives to draw meetings and conventions business to Miami and Miami Beach. Batista most recently held the position of complex director of sales and marketing for the Eden Roc and Nobu Resorts in Miami Beach and has also served in roles with such brands as Marriott, Hilton, Kimpton and The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company in the Miami and Miami Beach area.
At the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corporation, Scott Wright was recently promoted to the post of senior vice president, sales. Wright has held various senior-level positions at the bureau, which he joined at the very beginning of the year 2000.
Rachel Healey, former business development manager of Tradewind Voyages, has joined Virgin Limited Edition— Sir Richard Branson’s collection of luxury retreats and hotels from around the world—as senior sales manager. Healey joined Tradewind as UK business development manager in April 2020. Prior to her appointment, she was national sales manager at Uniworld, and has previously held sales roles with Abercrombie & Kent, USAirtours, Qantas Holidays and Travel 2.
The trade-only UK tour operator, Gold Medal, has appointed Sarah Lancashire as marketing director. She will report directly to managing director, Simon Applebaum, and manage inhouse campaigns, partnerships and studio teams which produce marketing collateral for agents selling Gold Medal, Cruise Plus, Pure Luxury and Incredible Journeys. Lancashire replaces Kerry Gallagher, who moved to Silver Travel Advisor in December. Lancashire spent four years with Carrier Holidays and most recently a two-and-a-half-years spell as brand and marketing manager at cruise and tour specialist Scenic.
G Adventures has appointed Hays Travel Tour Operating product specialist Jen Watson to its team of UK global purpose specialists. Watson, who brings more than 16 years’ travel industry experience to the role, will support G’s agent partners in the north of England, Ireland and Scotland. She joins G after 18 months managing Middle East and Africa product development at Hays. Watson has also previously worked across a range of worldwide sales, commercial and product roles for Travel 2, Walt Disney’s Epcot theme park and Thomas Cook.
Fox World Travel announced the addition of Colleen Hughes as global sales director. In her role, she will present Fox World Travel’s strategic travel management services to prospective customers. Hughes brings more than 20 years of travel industry experience to Fox World Travel—ranked number 25 in Travel Weekly’s Power List of the largest travel agencies doing business in the USA.
The Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau has promoted Adam Berrios to the position of vice president of sales and services. Berrios joined the bureau in March 2021 as director of sales, bringing more than 10 years of convention and visitors bureau experience to help promote Little Rock as a destination for conventions and meetings. Prior to joining the LRCVB, Berrios was senior sales manager with VisitGreenvilleSC and the Alpharetta Convention and Visitors Bureau.
After nine years, Howard Pickett is retiring as San Francisco Travel’s chief marketing officer. During his professional career in the tourism industry, Pickett has served in senior-level positions for some well-known products including the Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, Kerzner International Resorts, Inc. and Walt Disney Parks and Resorts.
Job Postings
From SearchWide Global:
—The Gatlinburg Convention and Visitors Bureau is seeking a president & CEO. More details here.
—Discover Santa Clara™ is searching for a chief executive officer. More details here.
—The Orange County Convention Center, site of the upcoming IPW 2022 in Orlando, has an opening for a deputy director. More details here.
—Longwoods International, a tourism industry leader in marketing, advertising and public opinion research, is searching for a senior vice president. More details here.
—The Rockford Area Convention & Visitors Bureau is searching for a new vice president of marketing. More details here.
—Santa Monica Travel & Tourism has an opening for a new director of communications. More details here.
—Discover Santa Clara is looking for a new CEO. More details here.
—Choose Chicago is searching for a senior vice president of sales. More details here.
—The National Comedy Center has an opening for a director of marketing and communications. More details here.
—The Muncie Visitors Bureau is looking for an executive director. More details here.
—Visit GreenvilleSC is searching for a president and CEO. More details here.
—Visit Tulsa is recruiting for an SVP-president, Tulsa Regional Tourism. More details here.
—The Shreveport-Bossier Convention & Tourist Bureau has an opening for a vice president of marketing and communications. More details here.
—Visit Albuquerque is searching for a vice president of sales. More details here.
—Destinations International is looking for a senior vice president of marketing & communications. More details here.
—Visit Wichita is searching for a new vice president of sales. More details here.
—There is an opening for the position of chief tourism development officer at OneSpartanburg Inc. More details here.
—The Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau is looking for an executive director, PHL Diversity. More details here.
—The Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce is looking for a director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. More details here.
—The Manistee County Visitors Bureau in Michigan, is searching for a new executive director. More details here.
—Conference Direct, a provider of global meeting planning solutions, is searching for vice president of global sales. More details here.
—The Cincinnati USA Convention and Visitors Bureau is seeking a new chief financial officer. 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 sample of some of those jobs currently listed.
—The Colorado Tourism Office has an opening for an office website marketing manager. More details here.
—Walk & Bike the Burgh Tours in Pittsburgh, PA is searching for a tour manager. More details here.
—In Atlanta, Delta Vacations is recruiting for the position of copywriter, Atlanta/Hybrid. More details here.
—The City of Scottsdale is looking for an executive director of planning, economic development and tourism, More details here.
—Visit Detroit is searching for a sales manager (Hotels, Tourism, CVB). More details here.
—Visit Seattle has an opening for a public relations manager. More details here.
—BCD Travel is searching for a senior travel consultant. The job is a remote. More details here.
—Bloomingdale’s in Long Island City, NY, is looking for a senior manager of international marketing/tourism. More details here.
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Other Openings:
—There is an opening for a senior manager of social media currently available at Visit Florida. More details here.
