Janet Whiting appointed New Chair of Visit Victoria

Tuesday, September 10, 2019

Distinguished lawyer Janet Whiting is to become the new chair of the state’s primary tourism and events body, Visit Victoria. The Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events Martin Pakula today announced that Ms Whiting would succeed Paul Little, who has accepted the position of chair of the Australian Grand Prix Corporation.

Ms Whiting is head of the Disputes and Investigations division at Gilbert + Tobin’s practice in Melbourne and has extensive experience in commercial disputes, corporations law and regulatory areas.

In addition to her new Visit Victoria role, which she takes up on September 16, Ms Whiting is president of the Council of Trustees of the National Gallery of Victoria ­– the first woman to hold the position in the gallery’s history.

In 2015, Ms Whiting was made a Member of the Order of Australia for her service to the community through the arts, health and major events sectors and for her contribution to the law, and in the same year was inducted on to the Victorian Honour Roll of Women.

Ms Whiting is currently a member of the Visit Victoria board and was previously deputy chair of the Victorian Major Events Company and a director of Tourism Australia while having also served as president of the Victorian Arts Centre Trust.

The tourism is a significant economic driver for Victoria and supports more than 232,000 jobs across the state, including more than 85,000 in regional areas.

The Andrews Labor Government has set a target of growing total visitor spending from the current mark of $30 billion a year to $36.5 billion by 2025, with an ambition to boost employment in the sector to more than 320,000 jobs over that period.

The Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events Martin Pakula said that Janet Whiting brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to this important position and he is thrilled that she has agreed to take the reins at Visit Victoria. The visitor economy creates and sustains jobs by the tens of thousands and we want to make Victoria an even more attractive place for people to visit.

Visit Victoria Chair Janet Whiting said that he is greatly look forward to helping grow tourism in their great state ­– this is a privileged role and he is honoured to have been given the opportunity to continue the tremendous work of his predecessors.

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