Media release: Ottawa Tourism confirms board of directors for coming year

OTTAWA, June 7, 2022—Ottawa Tourism’s Annual General Meeting, held in person yesterday afternoon at the Shaw Centre, confirmed the organization’s volunteer Board of Directors for 2022-2023 (names and titles below). Representatives from the organization’s more than 400 member businesses reviewed the previous year’s accomplishments and networked.

Attendees were reminded of the multiple lockdowns and repeated pressures on the tourism industry experienced in 2021. They were also reminded of the steps taken by Ottawa Tourism to respond, such as the #Invite2 campaign to encourage locals to invite their friends and relatives to visit, the novel Room Service Concert Series offering performances available only to hotel guests, the #MyOttawa savings passport, and the City Friends With Benefits campaign that saw Ottawa partner with traditional rivals Toronto and Montréal to attract visitors, among others.

“The tourism industry has reinvented itself dozens of times during the pandemic,” says Michael Crockatt, President and CEO of Ottawa Tourism, “always with a goal of continuing to provide engaging experiences for our visitors, employment for Ottawans, and a better quality of life for all.”

“I am proud of the work that Ottawa Tourism and the entire local tourism industry has done over the past year, as challenging as it was,” says Colin Morrison, General Manager of the Ottawa Embassy Hotel and Suites and Chair of the Board of Ottawa Tourism. “The foundations are solid for the coming recovery.”

Ottawa Tourism’s Board of Directors for 2022-2023:

• Colin Morrison, Ottawa Embassy Hotel and Suites, Chair of the Board, Chair of the Travel Trade Committee
• Stefanie Siska, C’est Bon Ottawa, Vice Chair of the Board
• Stéphane Pelletier, AC Hotel by Marriott, Chair of the Meetings and Conventions Committee
• Chris Pierce, Les Suites Hotel, Ottawa, Chair of the Marketing Committee
• Nyle Kelly, Brookstreet Hotel, Chair of the MAT Management Committee
• John Swettenham, Canadian Museum of Nature, Past Chair
• Cindy VanBuskirk, City of Ottawa
• Steve Ball, Ottawa Gatineau Hotel Association
• Joel Tkach, Ottawa International Airport Authority
• Nina Kressler, Shaw Centre
• Paul Akehurst, Intertask Conferences and JPdL Ottawa
• Sofia Santiso-Borsten, Zak’s Diner
• Marc Forgette, Makatew Workshops
• Liliane Lê, National Gallery of Canada
• Anthony Leblanc, Ottawa Senators
• Steve Wilson, Escape Manor

About Ottawa Tourism

Ottawa Tourism provides destination development and marketing, strategic direction, and leadership in cooperation with its members and partners, welcoming leisure travellers, business travellers, group tours, and conventions to Ottawa and Canada’s Capital Region. Its goal is to support the local tourism economy, fueled by an estimated 11 million visitors annually in recent years and with $3 billion in typical economic output for Ottawa, generating community prosperity through tourism. Ottawa Tourism’s vision is to offer the complete capital experience, tell the story of Canada, and get people talking.

For more information, please contact:

Jantine Van Kregten
Director of Communications, Ottawa Tourism
press@ottawatourism.ca