The new assistant director of the City of Victoria Convention & Visitors Bureau knows firsthand that residents often aren’t aware of the interesting attractions right in their backyards.
As the former executive director of the Children’s Discovery Museum of the Golden Crescent, Liz Tise recalls that lifelong Crossroads residents would come into the building and remark that they had no idea it was there.
“The Victoria community has so much to offer residents and visitors,” said Tise, who has also served on the tourism advisory board. “Tourism in Victoria is poised to grow, especially with the increase in small businesses, and I’m excited to support the City in promoting our community.”
Tise joined the City this week as the assistant director of the Convention & Visitors Bureau (Explore Victoria Texas). In this role, she will focus on building engagement with residents and community partners; analyzing data, such as visitor metrics; and managing staff.
Before working for the Children’s Discovery Museum, Tise, a Ganado native, spent 20 years working as a volunteer administrator for Texas Medical Center hospitals in Houston.
“Building engagement is an important part of working with volunteers,” Tise said. “You have to convince people to contribute their time and money, so you need to cultivate those relationships.”
Tise’s past experience will also help her as she tracks data that will guide decision-making.
“I’m a data nerd,” Tise said. “As a volunteer administrator, I could tell our leaders how much money we were saving on labor costs and why we needed to retain volunteers.”
Tise is joining Explore Victoria at a time when the City is being more intentional about promoting tourism. The City and its partners have already started preparing for the 2024 bicentennial celebration, which will be used as the launch pad for a new tourism strategy guided by the ongoing tourism rebranding study.
“In looking at our department’s needs, we found that we needed someone to be another face out in the public and provide additional leadership as we expand the scope of our tourism promotion,” said Convention & Visitors Bureau Director Joel Novosad. “Liz is bringing a lot of valuable experience to this role, and we’re excited to have her on the team.”
To learn more about activities and attractions in the Crossroads, visit www.explorevictoriatexas.com.