Long-time inbound tourism industry veteran Gina Jackson has joined New World Travel in its group department. She comes to her new role with an impressive resumé showing extensive experience at major inbound tourism brands, including a previous tour of nearly 14 years at AlliedTPro, as well as tenures at Jetabout North America and Americantours International.
Edison Rivas has started a new position as contract manager, Northeast USA, W2M WORLD 2 MEET. He joins the company from Trip.com Group, where he was executive contract manager. Previously, Rivas served at such well-known NYC tourism entities as Secret Escapes, JacTravel and GTA.
Katie Bunting has joined the trade sales team G Adventures. She’ll be working with the company’s global purpose specialists team to help elevate and support its agent relationships across the south of the UK. Bunting has a long career in the tour and travel sector. She began her career in travel as a consultant for First Choice, then moving to Co-op Travel as an assistant manager. In 2013 she became a branch manager for Hays Travel. Bunting crossed over in 2019 to the adventure operator sector, taking on the role of partnership growth manager for Intrepid Travel.
John Feenaghty has joined Australia-based Inspiring Vacations as president, North America. He will be responsible for growing the company in B2C and B2B markets across North America. Feenaghty joins the company from Toronto-based Goway Travel; where he was chief operating officer for nearly three years. Previously, he held several senior positions across his 15-year career with the Flight Centre Travel Group, including two years with Liberty Travel in New Jersey.
Luxury tour operator Ker & Downey has promoted Tiffany Dunn to the role of executive vice president and general manager. Dunn will oversee the daily operations and sales strategies of the company, which includes a diverse group of employees in Houston and across the United States. Dunn has served in a variety of capacities at Ker & Downey during her 12-year service for key VIP clients, and oversaw a core team of worldwide travel designers. tenure with the company. She began in inside sales, specializing in luxury travel to Africa. She was then appointed director of sales and operations in 2020 and led the company through the worst of the pandemic.
Adventure tour operator Explore has appointed two senior heads of team in newly created roles: Rachael Stone, who joins as the new head of product role; and Andrew Steward has been promoted to the new post of head of digital transformation. A veteran of the tourism industry, Stone joins has considerable experience in the sector, having worked for Tucan, Exodus and, most recently, Flash Pack, where she led product innovation and strategy. Steward has spent 10 years in the adventure travel industry, having work for six years in a senior digital role with the Intrepid Group before joining Explore to lead the digital marketing team three-and-a-half years ago.
The Globus family of brands is expanding its Canadian marketing team with the addition of a new senior director of marketing for the region. Joining the company into the role of senior director of marketing for Canada is Ainsley Ericksen, who brings more than 20 years of travel industry experience, most recently at Rocky Mountaineer, the world’s largest privately owned, luxury train tourism company, where she served for more than six years.
Lindblad Expeditions has announced the appointment of industry executive Bertha Espinosa as vice president of expedition sales. Espinosa joins the company from Crystal Cruise Lines, where she oversaw all facets of their customer support and service, spanning reservations, group sales, air services, guest relations, and consumer sales. Espinosa brings over 25 years of call center/reservations leadership experience to her new role. Her tours included service at American Express and Carnival Cruise Lines.
Internova Travel Group has announced that Simon Brooks has been named president of Bonotel Exclusive Travel. Bonotel is a leading inbound marketing and distribution partner of branded and boutique luxury hotel rooms to international business-to-business clients. Brooks has over two decades of commercial leadership experience in the airline industry. Having led teams in the leisure and corporate sectors in the UK, his most recent position was as senior vice president of sales, North America, for British Airways, leading the Atlantic Joint Business team alongside American Airlines and Iberia.
Collette recently named Willie Montano as senior director, global brand marketing. In this position, Montano will drive the creation and execution of brand marketing strategy at a multi-channel level in the United States, Canada and Australia markets. Prior to joining Collette, Montano served as the vice president of marketing at Insight Vacations & Luxury Gold USA, and vice president of marketing at CIE Tours USA.
The Los Angeles Tourism and Convention Bureau recently announced the promotion of Ms. Kate Chang from regional director of China to managing director of China. Chang, who joined Los Angeles Tourism in 2013, and is based in Beijing, is responsible for growing L.A.’s business in China, including four offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu. She and her team are dedicated to promoting Los Angeles as a top destination for Chinese tourists, driving traffic and tourism economic growth, while increasing Los Angeles’ share of the Chinese outbound travel market.
In Germany, Matthias Lange is moving into the top management level of the DER Touristik company and has been given new, additional tasks. According to published reports, DER Touristik wants to further sharpen its focus on customer centricity and has appointed Lange as chief marketing & customer experience officer (CMXO). Lange thus expands his existing management role as marketing manager and managing director of online sales to include the topic of customer experience. He will also become a member of DER Touristik Germany’s central management body, the Executive Committee. Lange joined DER Touristik nearly five years ago from DB Vertrieb GmbH, a truck transportation company.
Jourdan Mackey recently joined the team at Visit Baton Rouge as tourism sales manager. She joined the bureau from her post as manager of new business development at the Hyatt Centric French Quarter where she was manager of new business development. Previously, she held managerial positions at several hotel brands in New Orleans. Mackey points out that she is a Louisiana native, wife, mother, and avid traveler. And she’s ready to assist with your travel plans so you can experience the unique culture, food, and hospitality for yourself! She can’t wait to welcome y’all!
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Industry Jobs
From SearchWide Global:
—Brand USA, the USA’s destination marketing organization, is recruiting for a senior vice president of integrated marketing. More details here.
—The Society for Incentive Travel Excellence has an opening for a new executive director. More details here.
—Explore Butte County in California is looking for an executive director. More details here.
—The City of Vacaville, California is searching for an executive director for its Downtown Vacaville. More details here.
—Visit Williamsburg has an opening for a chief marketing officer. More details here.
—Visit Walla Walla (“Where wine, culture and the beauty of the outdoors meet”) is searching for an executive director. More details here.
—The Fredericksburg (Texas) Convention and Visitors Bureau is recruiting for a new president and CEO. More details here.
—Visit Dallas has an opening for a director of the Film & Creative Industries Office. More details here.
—The Pacific County Tourism Bureau, which serves the Washington coast and Long Beach Peninsula and Pacific County, is looking for an executive director. More details here.
—Visit Vancouver WA is searching for a director of group sales. More details here.
—The Los Angeles Convention Center is recruiting for a new general manager. More details here.
—Visit Bath, in Virginia, is seeking a president and CEO. More details here.
—The Gatlinburg Convention and Visitors Bureau is searching for 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 recent IPW 2022 in Orlando, has an opening for a deputy director. 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.
—The Muncie Visitors Bureau is looking for an executive director. More details here.
—Visit Greenville SC is searching for a president and CEO. More details here.
—The Shreveport-Bossier Convention & Tourist Bureau has an opening for a vice president of marketing and communications. More details here.
—Visit Wichita is searching for a new vice president of 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.
—Hilton has an opening, based in McLean, Virginia, for a director, executive communications. More details here.
—MGM Resorts International has posted a job for the position of public relations manager (hybrid) in Las Vegas. More details here.
—Visit Detroit has an opening for a sales manager—all levels of experience (Hotel, Tourism, CVB). More details here.
—New York City-based USA Guided Tours is searching for a tour guide in the New York City area. More details here.
—Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corporation looking for a senior director, communications. Job is based in Los Angeles, but reporting to the senior vice president, marketing & communications. More details here.
—Santa Monica Travel & Tourism has an opening for a communications manager. More details here.
—The Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau is searching for a creative copywriter. More details here.
—The Fruit Company in Hood River, Oregon is recruiting for a tourism manager. 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.
—The Wisconsin Department of Tourism is searching for an Industry Marketing and Partner Relations Manager. The position is headquartered at the Wisconsin Department of Tourism’s office in Madison, Wisconsin. More details here.
—Argonaut, a Noble House Hotel, has an opening for an area managing director in San Francisco. Click here for more details.
—Travel Wisconsin has an opening for a visual production specialist. More details here.
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