The Greater Wilmington Convention and Visitors Bureau appointed Jennifer Boes as its new executive director, effective June 1.
Current executive director Sarah Ridgway Willoughby will retire from her position at the end of June 2021.
Boes is currently the director of marketing communications and media relations for the Bureau, a position she has held since January 2020. She has more than 25 years of experience in tourism marketing and public relations.
Bill Sullivan, chairman of the Bureau’s board of directors, said, “Jennifer possesses a deep knowledge of our tourism regions and has significant experience in tourism strategic planning. We are confident she will bring the bureau to the next level, building upon the strong foundation Sarah has built over the past 12-plus years.”
As executive director, Boes will lead the Bureau’s efforts to promote and sell New Castle County, Greater Wilmington, and the Brandywine Valley as a destination for leisure travelers, meetings, sports, conventions, and group tours. She will work with tourism partners throughout the state on the shared goal of driving economic development through tourism. Boes will also collaborate on existing marketing efforts that promote New Castle County and Delaware.
A travel and tourism veteran, Boes worked previously at Marshall Communications, a Maine-based PR agency, for 15 years.
At the agency, she developed and implemented strategic marketing plans for destination marketing organizations and market sectors including travel, hotels, the cruise industry, restaurants, retail, and international tourism marketing. A Delaware native, she is also a former tourism public relations director of the Delaware Tourism Office.
