14 NOV 2018: Tourism Toronto announced new executive appointments today, aligned with the organization’s strategic priorities. Andrew Weir has been named to the new position of executive vice president, Destination Development, and Jon Mamela will join Tourism Toronto as executive vice president and chief marketing officer. Both appointments take effect on January 1, 2019.
“Modern destination marketing is more holistic than just marketing alone and it takes an active role in shaping how Toronto continues to evolve as a top global destination,” said Johanne Bélanger, president and CEO of Tourism Toronto.
“Leading this new initiative, Andrew will become the champion for the visitor experience and key connector for the tourism industry with business leaders and government officials to help shape the policy and business environment to spur continued growth for the visitor economy in Toronto and the region.”
“Jon is a true leader in destination marketing in Canada. His experience and success building national marketing programs – and expanding those programs into international markets and through new strategies and technologies – will help us inspire more travellers and drive more business to Toronto in the years ahead,” said Bélanger.
Mamela joins Tourism Toronto after five years with Destination Canada as SVP and chief marketing officer where he led the organization’s digital marketing and sales transformation and achieved consecutive year-over-year growth resulting in new record highs for international visitation to Canada.
Prior to Destination Canada, Mamela built his marketing and sales career over the past twenty years in the travel sector with Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts, Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, and Travel Alberta, as well as in the consumer packaged goods industry with Procter & Gamble.
“I’m truly excited to be returning to Toronto and joining an organization that has directly impacted the city and region’s global reputation as a must-visit destination in Canada. I look forward to joining an outstanding team where I can bring my combination of tourism and hotel experience to help drive further growth,” said Mamela.
Andrew Weir has been with Tourism Toronto for the past 13 years. For the past four years, he has served as EVP and chief marketing officer, during which time he led the development of a new tourism brand and campaign for Toronto that has won numerous national and international awards for destination marketing. Prior to that, Weir was vice president, communications for nine years. Earlier in his career, he served as communications director to a provincial Cabinet Minister and worked in communications in the biotech and medical device sector.
“The past five years have seen unprecedented tourism growth in Toronto. I’m excited to lead the work of identifying and developing ways of improving the destination experience, and forging stronger connections between tourism and other business sectors to drive sustained growth for our city and region,” said Weir.
Toronto’s tourism sector is a key economic driver for the city and region. As Canada’s most-visited destination, Toronto welcomes more than 43 million people each year for leisure, business, conventions, to visit family and to experience the vibrancy of Canada’s Downtown. Visitors spend $8.8 billion per year in Toronto, supporting the jobs of 315,000 people who work in tourism and hospitality throughout the region.