The Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) announced that Paul Pennicook resigned as Jamaica’s director of tourism on August 18 after concluding his three-year term.
Pennicook, who returned to the JTB in July of 2014, was given the mandate to lead and oversee the promotion of Jamaica’s tourist industry to ensure optimum visitor arrivals and increase Jamaica’s share in the marketplace.
During his tenure, Pennicook gave much attention to modernizing the operations of the board and to deepening the partnership with industry players. His strong relationships with industry partners were important to ensuring that the destination remained at the forefront of the travel industry.
He served the board previously in a similar role between 2003 and 2006. John Lynch, chairman of the JTB, expressed his appreciation to Pennicook and thanked him for his service and contribution to the JTB and the people of Jamaica, wishing him well in his future endeavors.
The director of tourism vacancy has been advertised and a search committee is in place to find a suitable candidate to fill the post. Donnie Dawson, deputy director of tourism, sales, will serve as acting tourism director during the interim.
But regardless of who steps into the position, you can expect the JTB to continue its ongoing mission to attract more Millennials.
In a recent interview we conducted with Pennicook before his term concluded, he told us the overall strategy of the JTB was to "actively engage [Millennials), using the various social media channels."
"We have sought to keep pace with the trend as Millennials are expected to make up almost 50 percent of the workforce by 2020," he told Travel Agent back in May. "With this group spending much of their day online, we have become much more socially engaging to ensure we reach these Millennials, who have a huge disposable income and who are looking for cool and unique experiences."
Visit www.visitjamaica.com and keep visiting www.travelagentcentral.com for all your latest travel news. Be sure to follow Travel Agent’s Joe Pike on Twitter @TravelPike and Instagram @pike5260.
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