Travel vision meets growth strategy in Owensboro, Kentucky with Claude Bacon heading the KTIA role

Published on November 9, 2025

Neighbors, hoteliers, and city partners had an extra bounce in their step this week as Claude Bacon—president and CEO of the Greater Owensboro Economic Development Corporation and current board chair of Visit Owensboro—was selected to serve as the 2026 chair of the Kentucky Travel Industry Association (KTIA). The recognition came during last week’s 2025 KTIA Annual Conference. For many in Owensboro, the appointment feels personal: it places a familiar face with deep local roots at the center of statewide travel strategy.

What the 2026 travel chair means for Kentucky

As chair-elect in 2025 and incoming chair for 2026, Bacon will help guide industry collaboration across destinations, attractions, and lodging partners while Kentucky continues to lean on tourism as a catalyst for jobs and investment. State leadership has emphasized this alignment; Jeff Noel is listed as Secretary of the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development, underscoring the administration’s focus on tying tourism momentum to new business growth.

From hotels to hometown growth: a hospitality-to-economy résumé

Bacon’s background straddles both sides of the visitor economy. Before leading GOEDC, he spent 16 years with LinGate Hospitality, a development, investment, and management company with a portfolio that includes Marriott, Hilton, and IHG brands—experience that translates directly to market-ready product, occupancy growth, and event recruitment. In Owensboro, he has paired that private‑sector perspective with public‑purpose work through Visit Owensboro and regional workforce and business recruitment efforts.

Travel dollars and taxes: how Kentucky funds visitor growth

Part of the chair’s statewide conversation will involve how travel is funded and measured. Under Kentucky law, a 1% statewide transient room (lodging) tax applies to overnight stays, with certain long‑stay exemptions. Local governments may levy additional room taxes to support tourism commissions, enabling marketing and destination development layered on top of the state tax. These mechanisms shape the resources that convention and visitors bureaus use to attract events, fill rooms, and lift small‑business revenue in dining, retail, and entertainment.

Kentucky’s Department of Revenue also clarifies that stays of 30 days or more are generally exempt from the statewide and local lodging taxes—an important nuance for extended‑stay properties and corporate travel planners evaluating markets like Owensboro.

Travel incentives that turn ideas into destinations

Beyond tax policy, Kentucky deploys project‑based tools through the Kentucky Tourism Development Act (KTDA) and the Kentucky Tourism Development Finance Authority (KTDFA). These programs can allow qualified projects to recover a portion of development costs once they generate on‑site sales, a structure designed to incentivize new attractions, lodging, and mixed‑use destinations that drive visitor spending and jobs. For a chair focused on converting strategy into shovels‑in‑the‑ground, these are among the levers that help communities turn concepts into bookable experiences.

Kentucky’s travel economy, by the numbers

Recent state research shows how much is at stake. The Kentucky Department of Tourism reported that visitors spent about $10.1 billion in 2024, generating billions more in indirect and induced activity across supply chains and household spending. In 2023, visitor spending contributed to a $13.8 billion total economic impact and supported more than 95,000 jobs statewide—figures that illustrate why industry leadership roles like KTIA chair can influence everyday outcomes for communities large and small.

Leaders signal alignment

In remarks shared around the announcement, Bacon said tourism is a critical engine for economic growth and that he looked forward to partnering with colleagues statewide to leverage Kentucky’s assets, build more meaningful visitor experiences, and widen opportunity in every region. Kentucky’s economic development secretary, Jeff Noel, emphasized that tourism and economic development are interdependent and described Bacon as a leader who understands how the two must operate in sync. KTIA President and CEO Hank Phillips said Bacon’s mix of hotel experience, Visit Owensboro leadership, and local economic development work make him a strong fit for the 2026 chair role, adding that his steady, insightful approach would benefit the association in the year ahead. Locally, Visit Owensboro’s Mark Calitri said Bacon’s appointment ensures Owensboro’s voice will be foregrounded in statewide tourism conversations after years of regional collaboration to enhance visitor experiences, create quality jobs, and nurture destination growth.

Why this travel appointment matters to Owensboro—and beyond

For Owensboro’s restaurants, venues, and hotels, the chairmanship is not just a title; it’s a conduit to statewide partnerships that can attract tournaments, festivals, and meetings that keep rooms full and main streets busy. With lodging‑tax revenues tied to occupancy—and tools like KTDA ready to accelerate viable projects—the Commonwealth benefits when industry leaders pair on‑the‑ground know‑how with statewide policy fluency. That is the lane Bacon has worked in for years; the 2026 KTIA chair role formalizes it at a moment when Kentucky’s travel economy is still expanding and communities are competing for attention, spend, and talent.

OWENSBORO, Kentucky — For residents, this news lands like a vote of confidence in the region’s progress. People who have watched new hotel keys come online, seen sports and music calendars thicken, and noticed more out‑of‑state license plates on weekends say the appointment feels earned. If Bacon succeeds in aligning travel promotion with broader business recruitment, Owensboro—and towns just like it—stand to see visitor experiences sharpen, small businesses flourish, and more Kentuckians make a living welcoming the world.