Jorge Pesquera

Discover The Palm Beaches, the official destination marketing organization for Palm Beach County, is bidding farewell to its President & CEO of 16 years, Jorge Pesquera, who is retiring at the end of this year. This marks the end of a remarkable chapter for the company. A 50+ year travel and tourism industry veteran, Pesquera took charge of the Discover The Palm Beaches (DTPB) team in 2007, bringing his vast experience, determined advocacy, and unwavering commitment to the Palm Beach County community.

He was a leading force behind the consistent growth figures in The Palm Beaches, seeing bed tax collections increase by 200% from $26.8 million to $84 million, the tourism industry’s economic impact increase by 92% from $5.2 billion to $10 billion, the addition of 35 new hotels, and a record-breaking 9.2 million visitors in 2022. Over his impressive and dedicated career, Pesquera successfully led and managed the tourism agency’s powerhouse team in a complete rebrand of the destination as The Palm Beaches, America’s First Resort Destination. This led to a more inclusive promotion of its diverse offerings and broadened the appeal of the largest county in The Sunshine State to a wider audience.

He has dedicated as much time to cultivating the groups and meetings market as the leisure market and has supported the growth of international markets and niche markets such as multicultural and ecotourism, accomplishing year-over-year consecutive tourism growth. Through his ongoing efforts, he pioneered a wide range of research and forecasting tools and positioned the destination to achieve its greatest years yet, highlighting the impact of his decisive and compelling vision for the destination.

Pesquera is a well-respected destination leader, known for being passionate about economic development, placemaking, community affairs, as well as continuously educating others about The Palm Beaches’ unique history and vast appeal. Discover The Palm Beaches will greatly miss its insightful and impactful leader, a champion of Palm Beach County who created a dynamic and collaborative team that will carry on Pesquera’s legacy of excellence for years to come.