Bill Connors has 25+ years of nationally acclaimed executive experience in the Travel & Tourism and Business sector.
From June of 2009 to December 2023, Bill Connors was the President & CEO of the Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce. Prior to coming to Idaho, Connors had broad national experience in the travel, aviation and convention industries. He was Executive Director of the world’s largest business travel organization, the Global Business Travel Association from 2002-2009. Prior to that post he was a senior executive for the American Society of Travel Agents, and VP of the Travel Institute.
President George W. Bush appointed Connors to two key aviation panels in Washington DC; The Aviation Security Advisory Committee and the FAA’s NextGen Air Transportation System Council. Bill served on the national Executive Board of Directors of the Convention Industry Council (CIC), The Travel Business Roundtable and the Travel Institute. He designed and authored the National Travel Agency Proficiency Exam, or TAP Test, used throughout North America today, he was a key advisor on Marriott’s Hotel Sales Specialist (HSS) program and the Certified Travel Counselor and Associate (CTC, CTA) designations. He has been on the Board of Governors of the Alexandria, VA Convention and Visitors Bureau, and a member of GBTA’s Sports Travel Council. He is a long-time member of Meeting Professionals International (MPI) and the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE). As a national spokesman on travel industry issues, he has been featured in, or on, ABC World News Tonight, CNN, CNBC, the USAToday, the New York Times, the LA Times, and the Wall Street Journal. He has frequently testified before the United States Congress on travel industry issues.
Locally, Connors was appointed Vice-Chairman of the Boise Airport Commission in 2013, he also participated on the Boise Chamber’s Travel Industry Board. He served on the Boards of the Visit Boise, the Pacific NW Chapter of ASTA, and is a member of Skäl International-Boise. He is largely responsible for merging the Boise CVB into the Boise Chamber. He has been a 20 year member of the US Chamber of Commerce’s “Committee of 100,” and served on the Board of the American Chamber of Commerce Executives. He served on the Board of the United States Travel Association for more than a decade. In 2020 he was appointed by the Idaho Senate to the Idaho IntraState Air Service Committee. He was named “CEO of Influence” and a community “ICON” by the Idaho Business Review, and the Chamber has been named one of the “Top Ten Places to Work in idaho” for four years by the same publication. He is currently part of a coalition to restore AMTRAK service to the intermountain west. He was recognized the Leadership in Practice Professional Award from COMPASS, the Community Planning Association. He plans to retire in December of 2023. He is a graduate of St. Lawrence University and holds four masters degrees.
BILL HAS BEEN RECOGNIZED BY:
Bill is an Honorary Navel Aviator of the USS Abraham Lincoln & member of the USS Boise Nuclear Submarine Committee
Creative Services
Lana Newman has marketing and creative content strategy experience ranging from the tourism and travel industry, retail, to commercial construction.
