Tourism Vancouver introduced a new CEO to members, passed an impressive 2013 financial report and had projections for a solid future at its annual general meeting June 26.
Highlights of the organization’s 2013 fiscal report included a $1.5 million surplus thanks to a 27.2% jump in revenue and only a 4% rise in spending. Its debt related to the Vancouver Convention Centre continues to rise, however.
Many of the members at the morning meeting at the Wall Centre, however, were keen to hear from new CEO Ty Speer, who is relocating to Vancouver from Glasgow, Scotland, where he was deputy CEO of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, which start July 23.
“My mission is for Tourism Vancouver to be the best destination marketing organization on the planet,” said Speer, who officially assumes his new role on July 14.
“I’ll be a listening, learning and straight-talking CEO. I’m not one to spin things.”
Speer replaces Rick Antonson, who was not at the AGM given that his new base is Australia and he is focusing on a career as a travel writer.
Tourism Vancouver’s board recently changed bylaws to allow current chairman Bob Lindsay to serve a second one-year term.
Lindsay touted “solid progress” in the past year and a bright outlook for 2015 given events such as a large Modern Language Association conference in January, the FIFA Women’s World Cup in June and a World Diabetes Congress convention in December.
“Last year we achieved the highest-ever 2% hotel-tax revenue,” Lindsay said after noting that hotel occupancy has jumped 8% so far in 2014 while total visitation is up 5%.
He noted that a major Tourism Vancouver goal is for Vancouver to land a major event and a major conference each month. Last year, Lindsay said, the organization was able to land 20 conferences that will take place between 2016 and 2026.
One of those conventions, the 2025 Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) convention, is expected to bring 48,000 people from around the world to Vancouver, contribute $71 million in direct spending to the local economy and be the single largest meeting ever held in the city.
