Kara Franker, CEO of Visit Estes Park (VEP) for the past three years may be trading marketing vacations in Colorado’s premier mountain spot for pitching Florida beaches in the near future.
A selection committee of the Monroe Tourist Development Council (TDC) in Key West, FL will put forth Franker’s name as the top candidate to be President and CEO of a county-wide tourism council on Tuesday, July 30. A public announcement of her position after the interview process earlier this week was released yesterday by The Key West Citizen and Free Press and keynews.com, a digital publication based in Key West.
Saturday Franker said she has notified the VEP board of directors and staff about being interviewed.
There is a significant difference in the budgets of the two organizations. VEP has an annual operating budget of nearly $9.7 million, of which about $5.4 million is passed through to the Town of Estes Park for workforce housing and childcare support funding. TDC works with about $60 million each year.
“I love Visit Estes Park, the staff, and this community, and this is a very hard decision for me to make,” said Franker in an interview Saturday with the Estes Valley Voice. “We have worked so hard together over the past three years to make significant steps forward in so many ways, from rebuilding the organization to launching the lodging tax extension campaign. I need to figure out the best decision for me and my family moving forward, but that doesn’t take away from how proud I am of the work we’ve done.”
Franker was selected for the Estes Park position in 2021. During the intervening three years she has been instrumental in growing the staff, introducing VEP to cutting edge marketing initiatives such as AI, being a significant partner in promoting the advantages of an expanded tourism sales tax on behalf of increased funding for workforce housing and child care support and leading the charge toward developing new events such as Frozen Dead Guys, expanding activities surrounding cold season events such as Catch the Glow. She also has been responsible for having VEP reinstated as an accredited Destination Marketing Organization, a recognition that was given with distinction.
While here, Franker also has expanded her reach in state and national tourism recognition. She serves on several national boards, including the board of delegates for the U.S. Travel Association; the advisory board for Simpleview, a leading provider of CRM, CMS, website design, digital marketing services, and data insights for convention bureaus, venues, tourism boards, destination organizations, and attractions; and the Destination International’s Certified Destination Management Executive Board of Directors, the tourism industry’s highest individual educational achievement.
Franker also obtained an executive certificate in artificial intelligence and business strategy from MIT and published several white papers about AI. Franker is recognized as one of the 2024 Top Women in Travel and Hospitality honorees, and most recently was named Destinations International’s Foundation Board of Trustees.
During her interview in Florida, candidates were asked about creating marketing campaigns based on sustainable tourism, plans for advertising, messaging following hurricanes and other emergencies, and balancing tourism with the needs and wants of the residents and concerns for the Keys fragile ecosystem.
According to keywest.com, an alternate candidate also was named for the Monroe County director position “in the event a contract cannot be worked out between Franker and the TDC.”