Beth Potter: Leading through Disruption

The tourism industry is facing the gravest challenge in the last year and a half the impact of the crisis is being felt throughout the tourism ecosystem. Tourism leaders and policy makers are confronted with highly complex decisions to make to steer the rebuilding and recovery of their respective destinations. ·       What should tourism leaders be prioritizing on right now during the crisis?·       Should tourism boards continue or stop marketing their respective destinations?·       As we face the “Great Reset”, how should tourism leaders rethink and recalibrate tourism plans as they drive their economies towards tourism recovery?In this episode, we are pleased to have on our show, Beth Potter, President & CEO, Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC). Beth joins TIAC at a critical time to bravely lead the tourism sector to be resilient and to move towards recovery. She shares with us her plans, insights, challenges and aspirations. Beth Potter is an accomplished leader with over 35 years of diversified provincial, national association experience, and close to 20 years in the tourism sector. From 2011 to 2021, Beth served as President & CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario (TIAO), representing over 200,000 tourism businesses. In March of 2021, Beth joined the Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC), with a vision to heighten the awareness of the industry across Canada, and to strengthen the organization’s advocacy objectives and results as the sector works through and post the COVID-19 pandemic. TIAC is the national voice of Canada’s tourism industry, representing the tourism economy’s interests at the national level. An involved leader, Beth will focus on working in partnership with other organizations to advance the policy work that TIAC undertakes on behalf of the industry.  At the international level, Beth is an active member of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) COVID-19 Taskforce and Government Affairs working group. As a testament to her leadership in the industry, Beth was recently named one of the Top 50 Women in Travel by the Global Business Travel Association.Beth has worked with a variety of boards, committees and volunteers across the tourism industry and from all walks of life.  She currently holds a board seat for the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, Provincial & Territorial Tourism Industry Association Council, Destination Ontario Sector Advisory Committee, and for Tourism HR Canada.You can follow Beth Potter on:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/beth-potter-tiaoEmail: [email protected] Follow Women We Watch in Tourism on: https://www.linkedin.com/in/women-we-watch-38bb78216 Follow World Women Tourism on:  https://www.linkedin.com/company/worldwomentourism Follow The Flapper Life on:  https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-flapper-life