g src=”/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/riley.jpg” alt=”” width=”200″ height=”198″ style=”margin: 5px; float: left;” />The Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority announced today that Kim Jack Riley has been named Director of Tourism, USA, based in New York City.

“We welcome Kim Jack Riley to her new position at the helm of the US Tourism Authority,” said Antigua and Barbuda Minister of Tourism, Economic Development, Investment and Energy, Asot Michael. “Antigua and Barbuda has seen incredible growth in the US market in 2016, and our objective is to continue this momentum with continued exponential growth in tourism arrivals, increasing airlift, and affirming our position as the Caribbean destination of choice. Ms. Riley’s wealth of experience in travel, communications and marketing will be a strong asset to the team to carry through our strategic tourism plan. We welcome her wholeheartedly.”

Riley is an experienced and well established Travel Marketing and Hospitality specialist with expertise in content production, integrated marketing and digital traffic growth. Riley began her career in the travel industry in 1997 when she operated a successful home-based travel agency specializing in personalized tours of The Caribbean and Europe.

In 2007, she led a phenomenally successful start-up joint venture for mega-marketers Proctor & Gamble and NBC Universal. From there, Riley joined Flight Center USA (FCUSA) as a Marketing Team Leader where she used her expert knowledge of the North American demographic to install marketing and social media strategies to grow awareness across air, land and sea products (FlightCenter.com, HotCaribbeanDeals.com and DiscountCruises.com). She has also held roles with field sales (MSC Cruises) and destination marketing for various hotels and tourism boards.

Riley comes at a time when Antigua and Barbuda tourism is seeing positive growth from the US market with arrivals being up by an average of 20 percent as was announced earlier this year, and where the tourism product overall has experienced very positive results, due largely to increased airlift, enhancements to the island and intensified sales and marketing efforts.

“I am honored to take on this new position for Antigua and Barbuda, as it is an incredibly exciting time for the country with surging tourism arrivals, and multiple new properties on the horizon. I look forward to the opportunity of helping the twin-island nation achieve even greater visibility and growth in the US,” she said.

In her new position, Riley is responsible for the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority operations in the US. She resides in New Jersey with her husband and celebrated radio journalist, Mark Riley, along with their daughter, Viveca.