by Lacey Pfalz
Last updated: 9:10 AM ET, Fri November 22, 2024
WHY IT RATES: The two new inductees received the U.S. Travel Association's highest honor for their decades of service to growing domestic tourism. — Lacey Pfalz, Associate Writer, TravelPulse
Travel industry leaders William D. “Bill” Talbert, III, former president and CEO of the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau, and Christopher L. Thompson, former president and CEO of Brand USA, were inducted into the U.S. Travel Association Hall of Leaders on Wednesday.
Talbert and Thompson were honored at a dinner attended by more than 100 travel industry leaders during U.S. Travel’s Fall Engagement Week in Washington, D.C.
Distinguished individuals are named to the U.S. Travel Association’s Hall of Leaders for sustained, noteworthy contributions that have positively impacted the travel industry and raised industrywide standards. To date, 108 individuals have been named to the Hall of Leaders, U.S. Travel’s highest honor.
Christopher L. Thompson
From 2012 to 2024, Thompson served Brand USA—a public-private partnership created by the federal Travel Promotion Act of 2009—as the organization’s president and CEO. He led ground-breaking initiatives, including award-winning storytelling and content strategies, the production of three giant-screen films viewed around the world, and the launch of the first national destination connected-TV channel.
Under his guidance, Brand USA became a model public-private partnership for national destination marketing organizations. Thompson led the organization to record numbers prior to 2020 and it has played an instrumental role in the return of international inbound visitation to the United States in the post-pandemic years.
Prior to Brand USA, Thompson served as president and CEO of VISIT FLORIDA and the Tallahassee Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, in addition to leading the Leon County (Florida) Tourist Development Council. He began his career in travel in 1983 at the former Florida Department of Commerce, Division of Tourism.
William D. “Bill” Talbert, III
Talbert was the long-time president and CEO of the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau, serving the organization from 1990 to 2021. He is credited as a dedicated public servant and a highly respected travel and civic leader who served the industry in Miami-Dade and beyond for five decades.
Under his guidance, Greater Miami and Miami Beach consistently achieved record-setting numbers in terms of visitors, employment and travel-generated taxes, which contributed in significant ways to funding essential initiatives in transportation, public safety, and local arts and culture, among other services.
Talbert was at the forefront of “everything Miami,” offering leadership and expertise to the growth of the Miami region. He was a guiding force in the renovation and expansion of the Miami Beach Convention Center and a key figure in securing prestigious international events, from the Summit of the Americas to five NFL Super Bowls.
He is a former chair of the VISIT FLORIDA board and a leader of other prominent local and national organizations, including the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Travel & Tourism Advisory Board, the Black Hospitality Initiative of Greater Miami and Florida International University’s Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management, among others.
SOURCE: U.S. Travel Association press release.
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