Jonathan Sloan has been appointed the new chairman of the Visit USA Association, replacing Kate Burgess-Craddy who has stepped down after five years in the role.
Burgess-Craddy has taken on aspects of the chief operating officer role while a replacement is found for Paul Verhaak, who has left to pursue other interests after just a year in the position.
Sloan, who is managing director of PR and representation company Hills Balfour, is a previous head of Visit USA’s PR committee.
He said: “Kate has done a brilliant job during a period where the association has undergone change and seen the unforeseen death of (former COO) Alan Waddell.
“The UK Visit USA Association is the biggest in the world, and as the market continues to grow I believe there is a great opportunity to drive even more business to the USA through our members.”
He added: “The emergence of [central marketing organisation] Brand USA in the past few years has given us another strong force to promote travel to the US, and we need to work alongside them to deliver growth.
“Visit USA has around 45 to 50 volunteers driving various committees and activity, and that is a real force to promote travel to a fantastic destination.”
Sloan said he hoped to expand VUSA membership, but declined to set a target figure. The association currently has around 200 members including tourist boards, airlines and operators.