David Whitaker has been appointed president and chief executive officer of destination marketing, the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau said Monday.
Tourism has been Miami's top job creator, supporting almost 144,800 jobs annually. In 2019, tourists paid 38% of all sales taxes collected in Miami-Dade County, which comes out to about $1.25 billion annually and visitors also pay around $270 million in tourist taxes. In addition, hotels pay a large part of all property taxes collected. These taxes directly fund county transportation and healthcare services and help pay for schools, public safety, environmental and infrastructure projects and programs to promote local arts and culture.
Whitaker, 61, was previously a member of the GMCVB team for 17 years, from 1990 to 2007, finishing his tenure as the organization's executive vice president and chief marketing officer. Before coming to GMCVB, he was on the executive staff of the United Way of Miami-Dade.
Whitaker left GMCVB in 2007 to become president & CEO of Tourism Toronto, where he stayed for eight years. During his time there Whitaker led successful bids to host an NBA All-Star Game and a Pan American/Parapan American Game.
He left Toronto in 2016 to become president and CEO of Choose Chicago, where he had the responsibility of promoting McCormick Place, the largest convention center in the U.S. Under his leadership, the group had successful bids to host an NBA All-Star Game, an MLS All-Star Game, North America's first Laver Cup international tennis tournament and a NCAA Frozen Four.
The GMCVB is an accredited not-for-profit sales and marketing organization whose mission is to attract visitors to Greater Miami and Miami Beach for leisure, business, and conventions.
"David brings back to us a rare and powerful combination — an immense wealth of experience and knowledge of our community, coupled with a significant world of experiences gained from promoting two of North America's most diverse and global brands in Chicago and Toronto," GMCVB Chairman Bruce Orosz said in a statement. "David has also had great success in promoting diverse communities and exhibits a powerful passion for promoting diversity, equity and inclusion."
