Virgin-Islands-On-Line's Coconut Telegraph

This is good news for us

One of the few bright spots of the Department of Tourisms efforts in selling the territory was Martin PR out of Virginia, and especially the efforts there of Luana Wheatley. So what does the DT do? Fire Martin and go with a new firm. Their loss is the gain of the Hotel & Tourism Association (of which we are a member in good standing). This is from the Daily News:

Luana Wheatley, longtime manager of public relations for the V.I. Tourism Department, has taken a new position as marketing director with the U.S. Virgin Islands Hotel and Tourism Association.

Wheatley's move to represent the private sector comes one month after the V.I. Tourism Department announced it was changing public relations agencies.

The V.I. Tourism Department announced in February that it had replaced its public relations agency of nine years, Martin Public Relations, with M. Booth & Associates of New York after a comprehensive public relations account review.

Wheatley, who was the V.I. government's account supervisor with Martin Public Relations, took her new position working on behalf of the private sector on March 1.

"I am proud of my past work with the USVI and am happy to continue to participate in the marketing effort," Wheatley said. "The hoteliers have supported me since I was a fledgling in this industry and I am excited to use my experience to help promote our wide variety of products to the travel consumer."

"We are very excited that Luana has agreed to join our team," said Beverly Nicholson, President of the V.I. Hotel and Tourism Association. "She brings a wealth of experience that will assist the association with its strategic plan to market aggressively the accommodations, attractions, dining, activities and retail opportunities of the membership. Her appointment will allow us to expand our overall marketing and public relations efforts as she directs the plans of our Cooperative Marketing Initiative."

A Virgin Islands native, Wheatley spent the past nine years with Martin Public Relations. In that position, she managed the territory's strategic public relations efforts, including the distribution of updates to national and international media, press tours, special event planning, trade show coordination, photo and film shoots, crisis communications, and production of promotional materials. Before working in the travel industry, she spent years in radio and as a window dresser and event planner.

Posted by afinta at March 15, 2005 02:47 PM