by Lacey Pfalz
Last updated: 9:55 AM ET, Wed November 15, 2023
The U.S. Travel Association (USTA), the non-profit advocacy organization focusing on the nation’s travel industry, announced the creation of a new position, the Vice President, Group Travel, and the hire that will spur the organization’s increase of group travel in the U.S.
The new Vice President, Group Travel is Ishma Haider. Haider previously served as Director of Convention Marketing for Visit Orlando for four years. Previous to this, she worked at Caesars Entertainment on the national meetings and events team.
“It is an exciting time to join U.S. Travel and, working collaboratively across the industry, help the group meetings segment thrive,” said Haider. “I look forward to engaging with U.S. Travel members and the Meetings Mean Business Coalition to leverage their collective reach and help this segment continue to grow.”
Business travel, according to an STR report published in October, is still down from pre-pandemic levels, but is nearly recovered. Small and mid-sized businesses are the ones leading the recovery of the business travel sector, which is incredibly important for the travel industry, and especially so for hotels.
“Investing in group travel and strengthening our role in this critical segment of the travel economy is central to U.S. Travel’s future focus, and we welcome Ishma to the team to lead this effort,” said Geoff Freeman, President and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association. “Her accomplishments in convention marketing and her deep understanding and passion for the meetings segment will help drive increases in group travel that will benefit communities and travel businesses nationwide.”
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