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

OTTAWA, June 9, 2023—At its Annual General Meeting yesterday at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum, Ottawa Tourism confirmed its volunteer Board of Directors for 2023-2024 (names and titles below). Representatives from the organization’s 482 member businesses reviewed the previous year’s accomplishments and networked among a general feeling of optimism.

Memorable opportunities, obstacles, and accomplishments in 2022 included:

• the ending of most global travel restraints introduced during the pandemic and the transition into a recovery mindset;
• an illegal occupation of the city’s downtown core and slow return to in-office work;
• meaningful steps forward in the implementation of the Destination Stewardship Plan and Ottawa Tourism’s Strategic Plan.

“The tourism industry in Ottawa is well-positioned and ready for recovery in 2023 and beyond,” says Stefanie Siska, co-owner of C’est Bon Ottawa and Chair of the Board of Ottawa Tourism. “I look forward to working with the incoming board of directors to build on the achievements of 2022.”

“I’m proud of the work Ottawa Tourism and the board has done over the past year, through sometimes challenging circumstances,” says Michael Crockatt, President and CEO of Ottawa Tourism. “The progress we have made on diversity and inclusion, as well as community engagement, puts us in a much stronger position to represent all that Ottawa has to offer, to visitors from across the globe.”

Ottawa Tourism’s Board of Directors for 2023-2024:

• Stefanie Siska, C’est Bon Ottawa, Chair of the Board
• Colin Morrison, Ottawa Embassy Hotel and Suites, Past Chair of the Board
• Stéphane Pelletier, AC Hotel by Marriott, Chair of the Travel Trade Committee
• Chris Pierce, Les Suites Hotel, Ottawa, Chair of the Marketing Committee
• Geneviève Dumas, Fairmont Château Laurier, Chair of Meetings & Conventions Committee
• Nyle Kelly, Brookstreet Hotel, Chair of the MAT Management Committee
• 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
• Kondwani Mwase, National Arts Centre

About Ottawa Tourism

Through its values of inclusivity, trust, collaboration, and innovation, Ottawa Tourism pursues its vision to be one of Canada’s most visited, sustainable, vibrant, and appealing urban destinations, as well as the tourism authority for key economic development and city-building decisions in Ottawa. Before the pandemic, the industry welcomed an estimated 11 million visitors annually and generated $3 billion in economic output.

For more information, please contact:
Julia Thomson
Manager, Destination Development
jthomson@ottawatourism.ca