One year ago, Dan Williams joined the Greater Birmingham Convention & Visitors Bureau as President & CEO with a simple belief: Birmingham’s best days are ahead.
Since then, under his leadership, the GBCVB has been focused on a shared mission: to fuel economic growth for the Greater Birmingham Region by attracting visitors, meetings, conventions, sporting events, and experiences that strengthen our community. Along the way, we’ve worked to build something equally important: a more connected, collaborative, and community-focused organization.
Over the last year, the GBCVB has undergone significant transformation, establishing a new mission, vision, values, and strategic direction for the future. Together with our Board of Directors, industry partners, community leaders, and staff, we have identified four key strategic initiatives that will shape our next chapter: strengthening our destination brand, advancing hospitality workforce development, elevating sports tourism, and deepening our role as a convener and collaborator across the region.
While these initiatives provide a roadmap, perhaps the most meaningful progress has been cultural.
We have worked intentionally to become a different kind of organization, one that is more open, accessible, transparent, and collaborative. We have spent time listening to stakeholders, engaging community leaders, strengthening industry partnerships, creating new opportunities for dialogue, and ensuring that the voices shaping Birmingham’s future are represented in the conversations we convene.
Today, the GBCVB is increasingly serving as a convener, bringing together business leaders, elected officials, hospitality partners, educators, cultural institutions, sports organizations, and community stakeholders around a shared vision for Birmingham’s future. Whether discussing workforce development, destination stewardship, tourism’s role in economic growth, or opportunities to elevate Birmingham’s national profile, we believe our greatest impact comes from working together. We believe that tourism is most successful when it is built with the community, not simply for the community.
We are grateful to the countless partners, stakeholders, community leaders, elected officials, hospitality professionals, and residents who have welcomed Dan with open arms and embraced that spirit of collaboration over the past year. Their willingness to engage, share ideas, challenge assumptions, and work alongside us has helped create the momentum we are experiencing today.
That commitment to collaboration has helped create remarkable momentum, and the results are already taking shape.
In 2025, tourism generated record-setting impact for the Greater Birmingham Region, welcoming more than 4 million visitors, generating $2.6 billion in visitor spending, supporting more than 53,000 jobs, and producing growth across every major economic indicator. Those numbers represent more than statistics; they represent local businesses supported, careers created, tax revenue generated, and opportunities expanded throughout our community.
This year also marked important milestones for our destination. Birmingham welcomed major events and visitors from around the world, strengthened its position as one of the Southeast’s leading sports destinations, celebrated the arrival of the MICHELIN Guide to the American South (with 11 Birmingham restaurants earning MICHELIN recognition), and continued to earn national exposure for its food, culture, hospitality, and quality of life.
Recent highlights include:
– Birmingham was named one of the country’s best sports cities by Sports Business Journal, ranking No. 38 among the top 50 nationwide.
– Birmingham named a top 15 dining destination worldwide by Eater
– Birmingham named one of the top 24 places to travel worldwide by AFAR Media
At the same time, we have laid the foundation for the future.
We are particularly proud of the momentum behind initiatives designed to deepen tourism’s impact on our community. The creation of the GBCVB Foundation reflects our commitment to community stewardship and our belief that tourism can be a catalyst not only for economic growth, but also for workforce development, education, and long-term quality of life improvements throughout the region. Likewise, the evolution of the Birmingham Sports Commission and the development of a refreshed destination brand will help position Birmingham for continued success and long-term growth in the years ahead.
For Dan, that has meant fully immersing himself in the community. Experiencing its events, celebrating its successes, building relationships, and seeing firsthand the passion and pride that make this region unique.
From the World Police & Fire Games to the Magic City Classic. From SEC Baseball and Regions Tradition to Sloss Tech and Southbound Food Festival. From welcoming visitors and convention attendees from around the world to celebrating local traditions and community milestones, we have seen the power of hospitality to bring people together and tell Birmingham’s story in meaningful ways.
While we are proud of the progress made over the last year, we are even more excited about what lies ahead.
Major opportunities are on the horizon, including FISE in August, TEAMS Conference in October, the Congressional Medal of Honor Society Convention in 2027, the continued growth of the GBCVB Foundation, expanded workforce development initiatives, and the launch of a new destination brand that will help tell Birmingham’s story to audiences around the world.
The work is far from finished. In many ways, it is just beginning.
As we reflect on the past year, we do so with gratitude. For our partners, stakeholders, elected officials, hospitality professionals, Board members, community leaders, and residents who have helped build this momentum. The progress we’ve made belongs to all of us.
Birmingham’s story has always been compelling. Our responsibility is to tell it boldly, authentically, and together. Together, we are building Birmingham’s future. Together, we are demonstrating the power of tourism to strengthen communities. And together, we are just getting started.
