Destinations International, the world’s largest resource for official destination organizations and convention and visitors’ bureaus (CVBs), today announced Gathan Borden as the organization’s senior vice president for marketing and communications.
Currently, Borden is the vice president of marketing at VisitLEX in Lexington, KY. In this role, he oversees the advertising, branding, marketing, public relations, social media, visitor services and web strategies for the city of Lexington as it relates to travel and tourism. Gathan is a 15-year veteran of the tourism industry, having spent time at Louisville Tourism in Louisville, KY in various marketing roles, before accepting the role of vice president of marketing at VisitLEX in July of 2015.
As a frequent industry speaker, he speaks at local, regional and national tourism conferences across the country on various marketing topics and trends and in 2021 was selected as one of the “Top 25 Most Extraordinary Minds in Sales, Marketing, and Revenue Optimization” by Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI).
In his new role as SVP of marketing and communications at Destinations International, Borden will be responsible for the strategic development and implementation of all marketing and communications efforts. These initiatives will advise and facilitate engagement opportunities for partners and members, and position Destinations International as an industry thought leader across the globe.
“Gathan is an experienced and proven leader in our industry, and I am excited to have him join our team,” said Gretchen Hall, chief operating officer of Destinations International. “Gathan’s creativity and passion for marketing will no doubt elevate the great work that Destinations International does on behalf of our industry.”
“Destinations International has long been a leading resource and voice in our industry for destination marketing organizations. I am extremely excited and look forward to joining the team and continuing to help our industry grow in all areas of destination marketing and destination management,” Borden noted.
Borden’s first day at Destinations International will be August 15, 2022.
The search for this position was led by SearchWide Global, a full-service executive search firm primarily for companies in the travel, tourism, hospitality, convention, trade association, venue management, experiential marketing, sports and entertainment industries.
