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Member Profile: Josie Ratnayake,
Travel Portland
In November 2017, I began my career at Travel Portland as a Partner Services Manager. A few months ago, I applied for the Tourism Manager position and was thrilled when I was offered the position. I now oversee the domestic travel trade segment and will assist in managing projects for the international affairs team. Prior to that I worked at the Nines Hotel as the Concierge Manager. My background also includes working at Henry V Events as an Event and Meeting Planner.
One of my first jobs out of college was working for Ambassadair / Grueninger Tours, a travel company based in Indianapolis, Indiana. As a Travel Director, I escorted groups ranging in size from 10 to 250 passengers on domestic and international trips. Group tours hold a very special place in my heart 😊
In my spare time, I love dining out at Portland's eclectic food and beverage scene, exploring Portland's endless natural beauty at outdoor spaces like Forest Park, and traveling throughout Oregon visiting its extraordinary sites and attractions.
Travel Portland is a private not for profit Destination Marketing and Management Organization. Our mission is to generate travel demand that drives economic impact for Portland.
Travel Portland is looking forward to more in-person partner programming this year. We have a networking event scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 8 from 3 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. at Coopers Hall in Southeast Portland. Visit this link for more details and to RSVP.
Also save the date for Travel Portland's Partner Summit on Wednesday, Oct. 26 from 11:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. The half-day conference will feature workshops focusing on topics related to equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI), marketing and business development.
While working at Travel Portland, I’ve attended a few of the networking events that took place in Portland. Despite going to those events at Portland Center Stage and Hotel Rose, I’m relatively new to OTTA and look forward to connecting with its members at the upcoming general meeting in Ashland this October.
At the beginning of the pandemic, Chanel Sheragy who works on our Convention Sales team, became the Travel Portland liaison for OTTA. Chanel has recently been promoted to the National Account Director and has returned to work full time on the Convention Sales Team. When I was hired as the Tourism Manager, she introduced me to Tammy and Stephanie. Moving forward, I will be the new Travel Portland liaison for OTTA and am excited to deepen my knowledge of OTTA.
OTTA has benefited Travel Portland by advocating for domestic travel trade and creating itineraries that include the Portland region.
Although I’ve had very little experience thus far, I can say that I always look forward to OTTA’s raffle during the Governor’s Conference on Tourism.
Portland’s tourism numbers have yet to return to pre-pandemic levels. Our destination hasn’t recovered as quickly as comparable cities. Overall, urban destinations have been slower to see the return of visitors in comparison to rural destinations; however, there are many factors in which why Portland’s recovery isn’t moving as swiftly as others. Thankfully, we’re doing much better than 2020 and 2021 and consumer sentiment regarding Portland is really looking positive. We’re definitely moving in the right direction.
Travel Portland is committed to four priorities in our strategic plan which include the following: 1) equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI); 2) drive leisure room nights; 3) support convention sales strategy; 4) destination reputation.
As part of the destination reputation priority, Travel Portland strategically invested in large-scale events that returned to Portland this summer such as the Portland Rose Festival, Waterfront Blues Festival, and Portland Pride to name a few. These types of events and activations help to create vibrancy in the destination which in turn enhances our reputation as a travel destination and creates travel demand.
Also within that priority, we’ve developed a visitor-facing strategy to support visitors’ pre-arrival planning and on-the-ground experiences. As part of our strategy, we’re working toward opening a Visitor Center by summer of 2023 to serve visitors where visitors are.
As we continue working on these our four priorities, we remain optimistic for Portland’s future. This is where we are now, and we will continue to stay informed and advocate for our destination.
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