Executive Bios

Gary Sain

President & CEO
Visit Orlando

Gary Sain is president and CEO of the Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau, Inc. d/b/a Visit Orlando. Founded in 1984, Visit Orlando is the only officially recognized sales and marketing organization for the Orlando and Orange County area.  The organization is dedicated to promoting the area as one of the world's great vacation and convention/meeting destinations and providing unbiased information to travelers on all aspects of the destination.

Prior to joining Visit Orlando in February 2007, Sain was executive vice president, chief marketing officer, and partner of Yesawich, Pepperdine, Brown & Russell, an Orlando-based international advertising and public relations agency specializing in travel, leisure and lifestyle categories. He was responsible for the overall marketing and sales efforts of the firm including overall agency branding and communications, business and strategic partner development, and executive portfolio account management.

Sain previously served as executive vice president of sales and marketing for GES Exposition Services, one of America’s leading exhibition and tradeshow marketing companies; senior vice president of sales, marketing and passenger services for Premier Cruise Line aka The Big Red Boat; and assistant vice president of sales for Hyatt Hotels Corporation. Prior to Hyatt, he served as corporate vice president sales/marketing for the Ritz-Carlton in D.C./New York and the Whitehall/Tremont Hotels in Chicago, in addition to successfully opening the Stouffers Hotels in Chicago and Atlanta as director of marketing.  In the early 1990s, Sain successfully positioned Premier Cruise Line’s “Big Red Boat” as one of the most recognizable brands in the cruise industry.  He was voted a member of Travel Agent magazine’s “Winners Circle” for two years in a row, and is the recipient of Warner Bros. “President’s Award” for most creative use of the Looney Tunes characters.

Sain received a Bachelor of Science degree with a major in Business Administration and a minor in Marketing from Davis and Elkins College.  He serves on the board of directors of the Travel Industry Association of America and is a member of Destination Marketing Association International, ASAE, IAEE, the Center for Association Leadership, Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International, Professional Convention Management Association and Meeting Professionals International. His community involvement includes serving on the advisory council of the University of Central Florida’s Rosen College of Hospitality Management, the boards of Florida Citrus Sports, Myregion.org, Orlando Museum of Art, Boy Scouts of America, Central Florida Hotel & Lodging Association and as the Hospitality Cabinet Chair for the 2007 United Way Campaign.  He is immediate past chairman of the Association of Travel Marketing Executives, past executive committee member of the Cruise Line International Association, past board member of HSMAI and past president of SKAL International Orlando.

He is also the recipient of numerous professional designations including Certified Travel Counselor (CTC), Certified Hospitality Marketing Executive (CHME) and Certified Travel Marketing Executive (CTME).