MARIA MANZELLA
Maria Manzella joined the Louisiana Office of Tourism in November of 2022 after 25 years in sales and leadership roles in the hospitality industry. As Director of Tourism Marketing for the state, Maria alongside her team, support state partners by driving the Domestic, International and Sports sales efforts to advance Louisiana as a travel destination.
PENNY BRAND, AUSTRALIA
Starting as a European Tour guide back in the last century (1998), Penny has 25 years' experience within various segments in the tourism industry.
Penny’s experience ranges from guiding to hotel sales and marketing to throwing people out of perfectly good airplanes while she looked after Skydive Drop Zones operations. Her destination marketing career started with Gate 7 back in 2000, and after an 11-year break in 2004, to explore other segments of the industry, she returned to Gate 7 in 2015.
Penny's strengths include campaign management, product development, strong industry relationships, and strategic long term destination growth.
ALLAN COLEN, BRAZIL
With a passion for exploration and connection, Allan Colen has made a lifelong career in the dynamic field of Travel and Tourism. He boasts over two decades of experience, serving as a commercial representative for major attractions and acclaimed international destinations.
His expansive career has led to an in-depth understanding of portfolio management, business visits, and prospecting, allowing him to constantly identify and seize new opportunities. Through his career, Allan has always prioritized the application of strategic business planning and fostering direct relationships with both clients and suppliers.
His ability to analyze competition and market variations is second to none, consistently ensuring his clients maintain market share and profitability. His dedication, strategic vision, and hands-on approach make him an invaluable asset in the realm of Travel and Tourism. Allan Colen - bridging borders, connecting people, and shaping memorable experiences across the globe.
JOANNE SCALAMOGNA, CANADA
A Tourism Marketing Professional (TMP), Joanne has been
Prior to establishing Access Marketing, Joanne worked with the United States Travel & Tourism Administration (USTTA), an agency of the United States Department of Commerce, and managed the Travel USA program, acting as liaison between USTTA and state/city/regional tourism organizations.
BARBARA BOLTOUKHINE, FRANCE
Barbara Boltoukhine, Founder and General Manager of B World Communication, started her own structure in 2020, based on a solid 20-year experience in PR - among which 4 years as the General Manager of a communication agency specialized in tourism in France - along with senior professionals in Communication and Trade Marketing representation.
With a strong expertise in the travel and leisure industry, B WORLD COMMUNICATION offers you a full range of tailor-made services that include product development, public relations, educational seminars, B2B and B2C campaigns, thanks to the responsiveness and open-mindedness that characterize its professional, multidisciplinary and multilingual team.
We treat our clients as individuals with tailor-made solutions, adapted to market specificities to maximize activities and return on investment. The team benefits from a strong network both in the media field and trade industry, which creates opportunities for destinations and products, to open doors and deliver results.
KAREN GILSDORF, GERMANY
With over thirty years of experience in the travel industry, Karen has worked as a travel agent, office manager, tour operator sales professional, trainer and most notably as a travel professional with Wiechmann Tourism Service for 22 years. She has worked with many U.S. destinations over the past two decades and handles all trade, consumer, and media relations within the German speaking markets: Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.With her in-depth knowledge of the US and the travel industry from all angles, she maneuvers easily between clients, tour operators, travel agents, journalists, and consumers.
Her very first client was Louisiana, and she still handles the account since 2001 with the utmost passion. Karen oversees all trade, media and consumer affairs. She is well acquainted with the Louisiana industry partners and has visited Louisiana many times on research trips, Fam Tours, shows, etc. Currently she is the Account Director for the Louisiana Office of Tourism, New Orleans & Company and New Jersey Division of Travel and Toursim.
She lived in Far Hills, New Jersey and Fox Chapel, Pennsylvania from 1991-1992 as an au-pair. Today, Karen lives in Frankfurt, Germany with her husband and two kids, ages 12 and 15
ATTILIA BOSSI, ITALY
Attilia Bossi has been working in the field of tourist representation since 2001 and since 2008 she has been part of the staff of Interface Tourism Italy. The focus of her work is the study and creation of trade communication strategies for the introduction or relaunch of new tourism products in the Italian market. She is able to provide solutions that align the constantly changing markets with her dedication to research and her creativity. Attilia is the dedicated staff team member at Interface Tourism representing Travel South since 2019; she began working with the Louisiana Office of Tourism in May 2023.
NEIL TAGLIAVINI JONES, UNITED KINGDOM
Neil’s love and adventures within the travel industry started on his return from travelling to Australia, Fiji and the USA almost 20 years and several thousand flown miles ago. Neil joined TTM in 2013 bringing with him a wealth of knowledge and experience developed at one of the UK’s largest tour operators. Neil proved a valuable member of the TTM team and became the first Director of the company outside of the owners. Neil is passionate about travel which is clear to see when he talks about the destinations visited and the amazing experiences he has been privileged to encounter during his professional career and in his personal wanderlust for travel.
Motto best describing Neil’s approach to life, “Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."