Christine Best, executive director of Visit Perrysburg, took center stage during the Ohio Conference on Travel. She was selected by more than two dozen peers in the Ohio Tourism Leadership Academy to represent the class as valedictorian.
Best spoke on the closing day of the conference Friday in Wooster.
“This is a huge honor, and an example of the respect Christine has earned throughout the state,” said Melinda Huntley, executive director of the Ohio Travel Association. “Her knowledge of the travel economy, its opportunities for growth and its intersection with cultural and environmental interests is stellar. But it was her spirit of collaboration and willingness to learn that really stood out as her peers voted who could best represent them in front of tourism businesses and leaders throughout the state.”
Best’s speech preceded the Ohio Tourism Leadership graduation ceremony. The Ohio Tourism Leadership Academy is a six-month program designed to develop and connect those working in the Ohio travel economy. Coursework explores travel and tourism’s role and contributions to outdoor recreation and conservation, transportation, economic development, heritage and historic preservation, and arts and culture. Sessions also focus on transportation, leadership skills, advocacy and media.
Including this year’s class of 27 graduates, there are now 287 Ohio Tourism Leadership Academy alumni.
Best became executive director of Visit Perrysburg in January 2022. She currently serves as a board member for Ohio Has It!, a nonprofit organization focused on marketing Ohio destinations and attractions to the group tour market.
The Ohio Travel Association is the non-profit association representing attractions, destination marketing organizations, hotels, museums, suppliers, restaurants, campgrounds and other businesses who make up Ohio’s $53 billion travel industry.
