PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla.—Jayna Leach, senior vice president of marketing and chief marketing officer for Visit Panama City Beach, has earned the Certified Destination Management Executive (CDME) designation, the tourism industry’s highest individual educational achievement.
“We are thrilled to celebrate Jayna Leach’s remarkable achievement in earning the CDME designation,” says Dan Rowe, president and CEO of Visit Panama City Beach. “With her valuable leadership and commitment to Panama City Beach’s ongoing growth and success as a destination, we look forward to an even brighter future ahead.”
Leach joined the Visit Panama City Beach team as the vice president of marketing in 2015, with more than 20 years of marketing and public relations experience. Her creative vision and leadership of the organization’s marketing department have resulted in numerous accolades and awards for the destination. Most recently, Visit Panama City Beach earned two of the highest scoring entries from VISIT FLORIDA’s Flagler Awards for the Internet and Radio Advertising categories. Additionally, the team has received national recognition for destination marketing excellence from U.S. Travel Association’s ESTO Awards.
“Congratulations to the new CDME credential recipients, representing the pinnacle of individual accomplishment in the tourism sector,” says Don Welsh, president and CEO of Destinations International. “These distinguished leaders have enhanced their professional expertise, preparing themselves to navigate the evolving challenges and competitive dynamics within our industry.”
The CDME program is the only industry certification program specifically designed for destination management professionals. The program equips destination organization professionals to leverage their experience and knowledge with a focus on vision, leadership, productivity and strategic business implementation.
