Media contact: Linda Whitfield, Travel Manitoba
Ph: 204-927-7825; [email protected]
The Tourism Industry Association of Canada announced today that three distinguished tourism industry leaders, including Travel Manitoba President and CEO Hubert Mesman, will be the latest inductees to the Canadian Tourism Hall of Fame.
At a ceremony in Gatineau, Quebec on Tuesday, November 2, 2010, the honorees will also include Don Cudmore, President and CEO, Tourism Industry Association of Prince Edward Island, and Jim Storie, President and CEO of The Vancouver Trolley Company. Mesman is the first inductee from Manitoba. Past inductees include Clive Beddoe, founder of WestJet, Guy Laliberte, founder of Cirque du Soleil, and the Honourable Charles Lapointe, former Minister of State for Small Business and Tourism and former Chair of the Canadian Tourism Commission.
Hubert Mesman
“This is an incredible honour”, said Mesman, who announced his impending retirement earlier this year. “Tourism is an exciting industry, and Manitoba’s diversity of tourism experiences is increasingly garnering attention in Canada and around the world. I’m really proud of the fact that Travel Manitoba has established a solid reputation as a Destination Marketing Organization in Canada and internationally.”
Currently the first President and CEO of Manitoba’s Provincial Crown Tourism Agency, Mesman’s career in the tourism industry spans more than 35 years, including serving as Assistant Deputy Minister of Tourism with the Manitoba Department of Culture, Heritage and Tourism. He has championed a variety of projects with Manitoba’s tourism and business communities, including a successful bid for and hosting of the 1999 Pan American Games. He coordinated divestiture negotiations for a Crown held resort and golf course and the development of an Aboriginal tourism strategy for Manitoba. Mesman has also provided tourism destination consulting services in South Africa, the Caribbean and Canada’s North.
He continues to be actively involved in major event bid acquisitions in partnership with Tourism Winnipeg, and this year championed a successful year long Manitoba Homecoming project. He has served on numerous national, regional and local industry boards and committees including the Tourism Alliance for Western Canada, and the Provincial and Territorial Tourism Industry Association.
“We are proud to welcome these tourism industry veterans to the Canadian Tourism Hall of Fame,” said TIAC President and CEO David Goldstein. “All three have dedicated themselves to the success of Canada’s travel and tourism industry, and their contributions have helped to shape our sector as a vibrant contributor to our economy, and welcoming destination for visitors from around the world.”
Travel Manitoba is a Crown Corporation under provincial legislation that leads and stimulates sustainable tourism growth in Manitoba’s $1.2 billion tourism industry. In partnership with the tourism industry, the agency is responsible for tourism marketing, visitor information services, product development, research and public information.
The Tourism Industry Association of Canada is the only national organization representing the full cross-section of Canada’s $70 Billion tourism industry, including air and passenger rail, airport authorities, local and provincial destination authorities, hotels, attractions and tour operators.
