Erica Hummel was announced on Monday as the successful candidate for the society leading the city's tourist outreach programs.
"Tourism Prince George is excited to have Erica on board," said Roya Compo, the interim CEO since previous boss Aidan Kelly amicably departed the position in late fall. "With her strong background in tourism and marketing we are confident she is the ideal fit for our organization as we move forward into 2015."
Originally from Logan Lake, Hummel has relocated to Prince George from Toronto after a two-year position with Central Counties Tourism, one of Ontario’s official regional tourism organizations. She holds a Master of Arts in Tourism Policy and Planning and has several years of experience working in the tourism sector in both B.C. and Ontario.
She arrived on Thursday and is now familiarizing herself with the Tourism Prince George team and meeting with the stakeholders who work with the organization. It will be a steep learning curve, she said, but with her accrued experience, she already has some ideas she would like to sound out.
"I'm working on that right now," she said. "I haven't met yet with the planning committee, and I will want to work within their current plans, but I definitely have some ideas I want to float very soon."
This position has some extra excitement to it, she said, because of the Canada Winter Games less than one year away and much of that event hinging on tourism opportunities.
"That just brings such a great opportunity not only to launch the sport development aspects for this region but also the cultural and heritage side and the legacy pieces for years to come," she said.
