Lt. Governor Crouch announces tourism director

STATEHOUSE (Dec. 18, 2018) – Today, Lt. Governor Suzanne Crouch announced Misty Weisensteiner, an experienced tourism executive director, will serve as the director of the Indiana Office of Tourism Development effective Jan. 14, 2019.

Weisensteiner most recently served as the executive director of the Orange County Economic Development Partnership, where she initiated the organization’s restructuring, created and implemented their strategic plan and boosted the economic outlook and vitality for the county.

“Misty’s impressive resume and career made her a front-runner immediately for the position,” Crouch said. “Her experience in the tourism industry and her work invigorating the economic outcome for Orange County will translate well to the tourism industry in our state. She is an excellent choice as director for the tourism department.”

Crouch said that Weisensteiner has direct experience in understanding Indiana tourism, its potential in the national audience and how it fits within a larger economic development strategy. Her demonstrated and continual improvement in the tourism industry will bring significant recognition and results to Indiana.

“I am excited to be a larger part of Indiana tourism and take the assets Hoosiers know are spectacular and share those with the nation,” Weisensteiner said. “It is important we recognize that tourism has an impact on creating superior quality of place, our ability to retain talent and how we grow businesses. Tourism plays a vital role in our economy, and I am ready to work with our tourism leaders to take it to the Next Level.”

Additionally, the Tourism Task Force, created by the General Assembly in 2017, completed their report last month. The purpose of the task force was to study state tourism offices across the nation to learn how they are structured, how they are funded and the relationship between state funding and economic impact. The report has been submitted to the General Assembly for their review.