Lori Harnois has been confirmed by the Governor and Executive Council for a second term as the director of the Division of Travel and Tourism Development (DTTD) at the Department of Business and Economic Affairs (BEA).
“Under Lori’s leadership, New Hampshire’s tourism industry has set records nearly every season for visitation and visitor’s spending,” said BEA Commissioner Taylor Caswell. “Her collaborative nature has helped strengthen relationships with key tourism leaders from around the state. Her work in the state has elevated New Hampshire on a national level by being elected to serve on the U.S. Travel Association Board of Directors.”
As state tourism director, Harnois develops and administers programs aimed at growing the tourism industry within the state, specifically increasing visitor spending and jobs; advances strategies to support business and workforce recruitment, and she has overall responsibility of the strategic direction of DTTD, including all campaigns. During her first term as director, she helped the tourism industry face the challenges of the global pandemic.
In addition to serving as DTTD director, Harnois was elected to the board of directors of the U.S. Travel Association (USTA) in 2020, a national, non-profit organization representing all components of the travel industry. In 2023, she was a finalist for USTA’s State Tourism Director of the Year Award, recognizing leadership in improving a state’s travel and tourism profile.
“I’m honored and eager to continue strengthening the New Hampshire tourism industry,” Harnois said. “I look forward to continuing DTTD’s work of promoting New Hampshire as a premier destination for domestic and international travelers.”
Looking ahead, Harnois will continue to work with industry leaders and partners to refine and promote sustainability through
New Hampshire Leave No Trace program, which encourages visitors to plan, understand and respect the state during their visit; working with Manchester-Boston Regional airport on exploring and attracting distant domestic travel markets to thestate, as well as channeling the division’s data tools to strengthen existing markets and reach new ones are also a few of Harnois’ upcoming priorities.
ABOUT THE NH DIVISION OF TRAVEL AND TOURISM DEVELOPMENT
The Division of Travel and Tourism Development, as part of the New Hampshire Department of
Business and Economic Affairs, works with the state’s seven travel regions to increase visitation,
travel and visitor expenditures in order to expand business activity and employment throughout
the state. The division is responsible for domestic and international advertising and public
relations, literature publication and distribution, www.visitnh.gov administration, grant
administration and research to monitor and measure the impact of travel and tourism to the state.
For more information about New Hampshire tourism, call 603-271-2665 or visit
www.visitnh.gov. Stay connected with New Hampshire tourism on
Facebook,
Twitter,
Instagram,
Pinterest and
YouTube, and be sure to follow the #LiveFreeNH tag to see what other
people are saying about New Hampshire.