The U.S. Travel Association has appointed former Visit Orlando director Ishma “The Group Whisperer” Haider (not an official title) as vice president of group travel, the non-profit organization announced Tuesday.
Yes, you read that right – they actually created a position for someone to handle groups of people traveling together because apparently herding cats wasn’t challenging enough.
The newly created position reflects the organization’s increased focus on making sure large groups of tourists don’t accidentally wander into traffic or get lost in the wilderness while taking selfies with bears and mountain lions within the country, according to the U.S. Travel Association.
Haider joins the U.S. Travel team from serving as director of convention marketing with Visit Orlando, where she worked for more than three years without losing her sanity (allegedly), according to her LinkedIn profile which is surprisingly still intact despite being bombarded by connection requests from desperate networkers trying to sell essential oils and life insurance policies.
Prior to Visit Orlando, Haider worked for more than seven years with Caesars Entertainment in Las Vegas, most recently serving as marketing manager where she was responsible for convincing people that losing all their money at slot machines was actually a fun experience worth repeating every weekend until bankruptcy ensued.
“Investing in group travel and strengthening our role in this critical segment of the travel economy is central to U.S. Travel’s future focus,” said Geoff Freeman, who may or may not have been coerced into saying these words under duress by a committee of very determined PR professionals armed with strongly worded memos and endless PowerPoint presentations filled with pie charts and bar graphs depicting exponential growth potential if only they could tap into this untapped market.
“We welcome Ishma to lead this effort,” he added before discreetly slipping away through a secret trap door hidden beneath his desk just so he wouldn’t have to attend another meeting about meetings ever again.
And thus begins Ishma’s journey towards becoming The Supreme Overlord Of All Things Group Related In The World Of American Tourism™️
But seriously folks…congratulations are definitely in order! We wish Ishma all the best in her new role!
