Tourism
The Visit Pensacola Board of Directors selected Tony Lyle as its next CEO and president at a board meeting Wednesday afternoon, Sept. 23.
- Lyle is currently Chief Tourism Officer and Executive Director of Visit Galveston in Texas, a post he has held since May 2023.
Who Is Tony Lyle?
Current job: At Visit Galveston, the official destination marketing organization for Galveston Island and the tourism arm of the city’s Park Board of Trustees, Lyle runs a 26-person staff with six direct reports and a $10 million budget covering marketing, sales, visitor services, operations and procurement.
Career path: His resume lists more than 25 years in tourism and hospitality, including more than a decade in senior destination marketing leadership.
- Visit Galveston (2023 to present): Chief Tourism Officer and Executive Director
- Visit Lake Tahoe (2012 to 2023): Chief Marketing Officer for the South Shore destination
- Aramark Parks & Destinations (2011 to 2012): Director of Marketing and Sales
- Skiset (2009 to 2011): Vice President, North America, for Europe’s largest ski rental company
- Vail Resorts (2006 to 2009): Corporate Head of International Marketing and Sales
Education: Lyle holds a Bachelor of Education with honors in Outdoor and Science Education from Liverpool John Moores University in the United Kingdom.
The Galveston Record
The candidate summary provided to the Visit Pensacola board highlights several results from his time in Texas:
- Record group sales: The sales team booked an all-time high of 84,692 definite room nights in fiscal year 2025, up 4% from the prior year. Seventy-one percent were booked during off-peak periods.
- Sports tourism: Lyle restructured the organization to create dedicated Sports Sales and Travel Trade roles. Sports now account for more than one-third of group room nights.
- Visitor numbers: Galveston drew 9.1 million visitors and $1.315 billion in direct visitor spending during the period cited, growth of 2.2% and 3.0%, respectively.
- World Cup partnership: He built support for a $600,000 FIFA World Cup 2026 partnership with Houston, which drew concerns about the size of the public investment.
- Awards: A year-long campaign marking the 125th anniversary of the 1900 Great Storm, built around a Guinness World Record attempt, won PRSA Houston’s Grand Excalibur Award and four Houston AMA Crystal Awards.
Lyle began his Galveston tenure with a 30-day listening tour that included every employee, City Council members, hoteliers, attractions and community leaders.