Job Title: Associate Vice President of Tourism Development FLSA: Full-time, Exempt Reports to: Chief Brand & Marketing Officer Department: Marketing
Primary Responsibilities: Salt Lake is a place where elevation meets aspiration. A modern city set at the foot of spectacular mountains. A place for open minds and fresh perspectives. This is an exciting time to be in Salt Lake: a $5.1B SLC International Airport expansion, a recently opened 700-key Hyatt Regency convention hotel, several new hotels in the development pipeline, population and business growth (Utah was the fastest growing state in the nation 2010-2020, primarily driven by Salt Lake), host of the 2023 NBA All Star Game and a pending bid for the 2030/34 Winter Olympics. To manage the growing portfolio of destination assets and associated opportunities, Salt Lake is seeking a tourism development and travel trade sales and marketing leader to develop and lead a new tourism development and travel trade strategy. Reporting into the Chief Brand and Marketing Officer, this new position will play a pivotal role in working with local suppliers and international distributors to grow the trade segment for Salt Lake globally. The right candidate will come with a strong background in the travel industry, existing business relationships and can think strategically with a bias for action and a drive for results.
Key Accountabilities: Tourism Development -Conduct industry relations with local tourism businesses across all categories to confirm quality and service standards and connect them to preferred list of travel distributors -Lead local tourism supplier training workshops and events to accelerate product distribution -Identify tourism product development opportunities and work closely with local partners to bring to market -Establish and strengthen ITO relationships and influence package development -Develop new 2+ night Salt Lake County itineraries covering all elements of the travel journey by highlighting unique destination product—attractions, experience providers, accommodations, restaurants/retail, transportation, etc. -Develop and manage travel agent training portal to educate travel trade about brand-aligned destination offering -Create and deliver targeted trade training sessions to increase product and destination knowledge throughout the industry for assigned territory/market segments -Regularly call on preferred list of travel distributors to ensure new 2+ night itinerary packages are created and work with them on promotional opportunities -Manage travel trade content and resources on vsl.com -Maintain strong account relationships with a preferred network of wholesalers, tour operators, travel agents and ITOs/RTOs/DMCs
Commercial and Pricing Strategy -Lead domestic and international travel trade sales efforts -Advise local supplier network on wholesale pricing strategies work with RTOs/ITOs/DMCs on overall package pricing -Run VSL pass product programs: negotiating wholesale pricing with local suppliers, setting net rates and securing product distribution across channels while ensuring rate parity -Lead contract negotiations for key experience suppliers -Collaborate with marketing team on VSL owned channel pass product ecommerce sales to drive performance
FAM Trips -Develop and lead FAM strategy -Plan and execute all aspects of FAM trips by managing budget, itinerary, partner / supplier involvement and client invites -Accompany FAM while in market to continue to sell and promote the destination to ensure packaging International Market Development -Build program and strategy for international office representation for travel trade -Negotiate and manage international office contracts -Develop new MICE strategy
Budget Management -Own the management and reconciliation for tourism development budget -Work closely with CFO and finance on all spending forecasts -Liaise with ticketing manager on all pass product forecasted sales reporting for budget reconciliation Integrated Trade Marketing Plan, implement, execute and optimize integrated marketing campaigns, including full funnel management from brand awareness to conversion and identifying revenue generating partnerships: -Tour Operator, Airline, OTA, UOT and BUSA co-ops -Multi-channel digital B2B and B2C campaigns -Influencer marketing
Tradeshows, Events & Sales Missions -Identify and attend key industry trade shows and sales missions -Manage trade show registration, submissions, appointments, shipping and travel -Execute trade show follow-up including distributing leads to Salt Lake County partners -Work collaboratively with industry colleagues e.g. Utah Office of Tourism, Brand USA and others -Identify gifts and promotional materials needed for events and manage budget, costs, fulfillment and delivery of items
Production Management & Reporting -Administer and maintain the CRM database (Simpleview) for assigned accounts/markets -Maintain activity log for trades how appointments, trainings, networking, agent assists, etc.
Qualifications: -Proven experience and track record leading tourism development and travel trade sales and marketing programs -Strong existing relationships with domestic and international travel trade partners -Excellent management skills, including strategic planning, financial and resource management and administration -Ability to think strategically and analytically and deliver through execution -Outstanding communication skills; must be able to write, communicate and present clearly, effectively and persuasively -Experience building, executing and evaluating and measuring the success of coop partner marketing programs; digital and offline -Advanced MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and CRM database proficiency for lead tracking and management -Ability to travel domestically and internationally -BA/BS from a four-year accredited university
Benefits Package: Insurance: medical, dental, life, long term disability. 401(k) plan, Vacation, Sick, and major holidays PTO.
Application: Submit cover letter and resume to: Kelly Ware: HRvisitSL@visitsaltlake.com Application deadline is January 31, 2023.
Final candidates will be subject to a background and reference check. E/O/E
The Mission of Visit Salt Lake is to improve the area economy by attracting and providing support to conventions, leisure travelers, and visitors to Salt Lake County.
