Raleigh, N.C., -- Dave Heinl, president and chief executive of the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau since its inception in 1987, yesterday announced his retirement, effective next March 30.
"We've come a long way, and I'm proud of what has been accomplished," Heinl said in a statement. "I will leave the bureau in good hands with an extremely competent staff."
Bureau board chairman Russ Smith said, "Dave Heinl is certainly leaving with Raleigh and Wake County on a tourism high note. Hotel occupancy and overall visitor spending are at record levels."
Last year, an estimated 10.25 million visitors spent more than $1.2 billion locally, according to the bureau.
Heinl has 35 years of experience in top management at convention bureaus. Prior to his tenure in Raleigh, he headed the Hartford, Conn., and Portland, Ore., bureaus, and before that was sales director at the Seattle bureau.
Heinl also served as president of the International Association of Convention and Visitor Bureaus, now Destination Marketing Association International, in 1982-83.
At the Raleigh bureau, Heinl directs a staff of 21 people and an annual budget of $3.5 million.