Bob DoakChattanooga’s top tourism promoter wants renewed investment on sports and riverfront infrastructure to continue 10 straight years of growth in the industry.
Bob Doak, president and chief executive officer of the Chattanooga Convention and Visitors Bureau, called on city leaders to help generate ideas to expand both areas at the bureau’s annual luncheon Tuesday.
Over the past decade, tourism grew from $543 million to a more than $810 million industry. With that renewed focus, he expects that trend to continue.
“The question will be whether Chattanooga will have the vision to continue to grow,” he told a room of about 900 people. “How can we take the future and mold it into something that will be successful?”
Even Doak is unsure how to do that, but with three new top executives at his bureau and several new faces joining local government following this year’s election, he believes now is a great time to come up with fresh ideas.