Results: The Most Influential Leaders in Travel

Expanding this project in partnership with Connect Travel and the eTourism Summit in year two, Alvaro Melendez, Co-founder and CEO of CRANT—a creative machine learning company—commented for The Travel Vertical, “CRANT helps marketing teams create brands people love. We developed a Brand Tracking Technology to build high-impact brands by using AI to take the guesswork out of social media so that you can use Brand Storytelling to convert more leads and maximize revenue. To determine the most influential leaders in travel we applied that same technology to personal brands on LinkedIn.”

Related: Who’s On the Leaderboard? Top DMO People by Conversation Engagement (2021)

He added, “This project is close to my heart because it shines a light on the transformational power of personal brands. We have created the world we know through stories and we can change it through stories. Each one of us has the power to influence this world through our personal brand and the stories we tell, this project is a celebration of the leaders that are driving our industry forward.”

The top 10 leaders across all categories are:

1)     Christine Duffy, Carnival Cruise Line
2)     Rafat Ali, Skift
3)     Julie Coker, San Diego Tourism Authority
4)     Dorothy Dowling, BWH Hotels Group
5)     Elliott Ferguson, Destination DC
6)     Adam Burke, Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board
7)     Dr. Jens Thraenhart, Barbados Tourism Marketing
8)     Peter Greenberg, CBS News
9)     Jennifer Berthiaume, Lion Country Safari
10)  Brad Dean, Discover Puerto Rico

Related: Most Influential Leaders in Travel Award Goes to Christine Duffy, Carnival Cruise Line

More results from the study and a few reactions:

“Thanks, Will Seccombe, to the Connect Travel, eTourism Summit and CRANT teams for celebrating the diverse voices of our industry! I’m honored and humbled to be included with such amazing leaders, and particularly grateful that this is related to our collective efforts to build a more equitable and inclusive global tourism community.” — Adam Burke

“#DiscoverPuertoRico‘s CEO, Brad Dean, was recognized as one of the 10 most influential leaders in the industry in a study released by eTourism Summit and CRANT. We couldn’t be #PRouder of our CEO’s accomplishments. ¡Felicidades!” — Discover Puerto Rico

“What an unexpected surprise. Thank you Will Seccombe and the eTourism team. I guess machines don’t lie. :)” — Dr. Jens Thraenhart

“Our very own CEO & Founder Rafat Ali was named one of the Most Influential Leaders in Travel last week by eTourism Summit and CRANT. We might be a little biased, but we have to agree!” — Skift

Below: Screenshots of two of the interactive tools you can use within the study to gain more insights into popular industry conversations and trends, who is leading them, and when they occur.

To see more data and use the tool, go to: https://bit.ly/3y6I2Dm

By category, these are the top three leaders with the highest engagement score on LinkedIn for the period May 2021 through May 2022.

The Most Influential Leaders in Travel – Overall

1. Christine Duffy, Carnival Cruise Line
2. Rafat Ali, Skift
3. Julie Coker, San Diego Tourism Authority

The Most Influential Leaders in Travel – Industry News & Trends 

1. Rafat Ali, Skift
2. Julie Coker, San Diego Tourism Authority
3. Christine Duffy, Carnival Cruise Line

The Most Influential Leaders in Travel – Awards and Recognitions 

1. Christine Duffy, Carnival Cruise Line
2. Dorothy Dowling, BWH Hotel Group
3. Julie Coker, San Diego Tourism Authority

The Most Influential Leaders in Travel – Constant Learning 

1. Elliott Ferguson, Destination DC
2. Julie Coker, San Diego Tourism Authority
3. Rafat Ali, Skift

The Most Influential Leaders in Travel – Creativity and Brand Storytelling 

1. Jens Thraenhart, Barbados Tourism Marketing
2. Adam Burke, Los Angeles Tourism and Convention Board
3. Alvaro Melendez, CRANT

The Most Influential Leaders in Travel – Diversity Equity and Inclusion 

1. Adam Burke, Los Angeles Tourism and Convention Board
2. Dorothy Dowling, BWH Hotel Group
3. Alvaro Melendez, CRANT

The Most Influential Leaders in Travel – Advanced Technology 

1. Rafat Ali, Skift
2. Alvaro Melendez, CRANT
3. Douglas Quinby, Arival