Based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Denise is a results-driven professional with over 35 years of successful experience in the tourism & hospitality industries.
Her most recent Account Director DMO experience involved collaborating with tour operators, airlines, OTA’s, retail travel agency partners & various media with the overall goal to strengthen relationships & brand awareness and increase overnight visitation through strategic, cost-effective & innovative sales & marketing plans, trade shows, sales missions, networking, sales calls & trainings and she prides herself on continually delivering beyond clients’ expectations.
As the Account Director in Canada for Experience Kissimmee, she secured the prestigious Air Canada Race, an annual & highly anticipated national travel agent competition. Notably, this was the 1st time the race was held in North America. 48 “Circle of Excellence” travel advisors from across Canada qualified for a spot in the race and joined members of the Air Canada and Experience Kissimmee sales teams for a five-day adventure in 2018. The itinerary for the race successfully showcased many of the destinations key pillars covering 3 theme parks, golf courses, outdoor adventure activities and more. A unique hashtag for the race, #ACRaceKissimmee, was also created and generated over 50K impressions on Twitter. In total, over 60 pieces of coverage were generated across social, online and e-blasts and at least 1 hit was secured across every Canadian travel trade outlet (English speaking) generating an impressive combined reach of over 1 million.
Experience also extends to senior roles with Canadian tour operators/wholesalers including Air Canada Vacations, where she developed, coached and mentored a dynamic team of 8 Area Sales Managers, continually increasing market share and exceeding both personal goals and professional KPI’s. She is also proud to have played an instrumental role in Air Canada’s record sales and profits in their 77-year history in 2014.
As a BDM at Transat Holidays, she successfully sourced and identified new business opportunities & mentored her colleagues throughout Canada meeting all team and personal objectives and at Wholesaler Red Seal Tours (dba: Sunwing Vacations), where she held the position of Director of Product & Marketing. She was responsible for full strategic product planning for all destinations throughout the Caribbean, Canada, USA, UK and Europe including all contract negotiations in line with market trends.
A short stint in Hotel sales while raising her family, exceeding budget expectations on a monthly basis in both occupancy and average daily rate & maintaining top market share position on a continual basis along with two successful terms as VP, Memberships & Sponsorships on the board for Discover America Canada rounds out her extensive professional experience.
Contact Email: denise@canuckiwi.com