As CEO of Tourism Nova Scotia, Michele Saran is focused on establishing strong relationships with industry stakeholders, understanding global best practices, making research-based decisions, and leveraging national, regional and local partnership opportunities to grow Nova Scotia’s tourism economy.
Since joining Tourism Nova Scotia in 2016, Michele has overseen the development of its export-focused strategic plan Driving Export Revenue, helped reshape the Business Development unit to provide sector-specific supports, worked to utilize a proactive communications approach across the organization, and led her team to several national awards for exceptional work in product development and media relations.
Michele has almost 30 years of sales and leadership experience in the tourism industry. Prior to taking the helm at Tourism Nova Scotia, she served 7 years as the Executive Director of Business Events Canada (BEC), a specialized unit of Destination Canada, where she oversaw the development of a new brand identity and implemented a unit strategy that aligned with Canada’s private-sector trade and investment growth priorities.
Previously, she was Director of Incentive Sales Development for 11 years where she was responsible for attracting international tourism to Canada and driving private-sector growth. Her background also includes sales positions with Tourism Toronto, Schenker International and several major hotel chains.
Michele holds a Bachelor of Applied Arts in Hospitality and Tourism Management from Ryerson University.