COMMUNITY NEWS
NTA members are indicated in bold text. Do you have news you’d like to share with the NTA membership?
Please send it to Bob Rouse, Courier editor, at [email protected].
Everton named
president and
CEO of Visit
Oakland
Mark Everton is
the new president and CEO of
Visit Oakland.
The DMO made
the announcement in May following
a search that lasted several months.
Everton had been filling the role in an
interim capacity following the departure
of Alison Best.
Everton has more than 30 years of
experience in hospitality management.
Most recently, he was area managing
director at Commune Hotels & Resorts’
Silicon Valley and San Francisco hotels.
He was also the general manager of
the Waterfront Hotel in Oakland’s Jack
London Square. He has served as the
chairman of the board for the Oakland
Chamber of Commerce and as the CFO
of the Visit Oakland Board of Directors.
“Mark’s experience in hotels and his
relationships with key city and community leaders is incredibly valuable,” says
Michael LeBlanc, chairman of the Visit
Oakland Board of Directors. “As Oakland
continues to emerge as a top national
and international destination, we’re
confident in his leadership and feel that
he will be able to build onto the work
that has been done and propel Oakland
to the next level.”
“I’m very excited to be joining the
great team at Visit Oakland,” says
Everton. “My vision for Visit Oakland is
to leverage the city’s recognition as one
of the most diverse cities in America
and a top travel destination to continue
the positive trend in generating room
nights and visitors in Oakland.”
Mexico Tourism Board CEO
to retire
Mexico Tourism Board CEO Rodolfo Lopez
Negrete announced his retirement. He
has not set a date for stepping down.
Lopez Negrete joined the tourism
board in 2010 as its COO, and he was
promoted to CEO by Mexico’s Secretary
of Tourism Claudia Ruiz Massieu
Salinas in 2012. During his time with
58
July 2016
the organization, arrivals increased
from 22.3 million in 2010 to 32.1 million
in 2015. He also oversaw the development of partnerships with international brands such as Cirque du Soleil,
Formula 1 and the James Bond films.
AIANTA receives president’s
“E” Award
The American Indian Alaska Native
Tourism Association received President
Obama’s “E” Award in May for its work
to increase international tourism to
American Indian, Alaska Native and
Native Hawaiian lands.
The award was presented by U.S.
Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker
at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. The
“E” Awards recognize U.S. organizations
that make a significant contribution to
the expansion of U.S. exports.
“At AIANTA, we feel there is no better
way for tribes to share their stories than
to tell them themselves,” says AIANTA
Executive Director Camille Ferguson. “In
2014 the U.S. travel and tourism industry generated $2.1 trillion in economic
output. Indian Country tourism plays a
significant role in those numbers, and
AIANTA is the only national organization out there today dedicated to ensuring Native America is an integral and
growing part of this industry.”
Massachusetts Office of Travel
and Tourism names new
executive director
Francois-Laurent
Nivaud is the new
executive director of
the Massachusetts
Office of Travel and
Tourism. He assumed
the role in April.
Nivaud was the
managing director of the Boston Harbor Hotel from
1988 to 1999, and founded the Boston
Wine Festival, now in its 27th year, and
the Boston Wine Expo. He also served
as the dean of the Roger A. Saunders
School of Business & Hospitality
Management at Newbury College, as
the director emeritus of the Greater
Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau
and as a board member of the Greater
Boston Chamber of Commerce.
Hawley joins Visit Seattle
Visit Seattle hired Nick Hawley as its
new director of marketing. Hawley works
alongside the DMO’s marketing firm
Publicis to develop new ways to promote
Seattle. He will also work on the 20th
annual Taste Washington festival.
From 2013 to 2016, Hawley was
the parking program manager at the
Downtown Seattle Association, where he
developed a communications and marketing plan. He has also worked for Team
Soapbox, a media relations, marketing and
branding firm whose clients include the
city and state transportation departments.
“We are thrilled to welcome Nick to
the team,” says Ali Daniels, vice president of marketing for Visit Seattle. “He
is uniquely qualified for this role, and
his experie