Karen Priest

Karen Priest was born in England and raised in Africa. Her career has spanned over 26 years in the hotel and tourism industry.

Ms Priest held a number of diverse senior management roles in marketing, business development and communications in Western Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and the United Kingdom.

She has been employed in hotel management roles and the wine industry and gained significant experience working for various regional, state and national destination marketing agencies including Tourism Western Australia, New Caledonia Tourism, Tourism Australia and Australia’s South West.

Ms Priest has an extensive network of contacts within tourism, media, and the public and private sectors in Australia and overseas. She is passionate about tourism marketing and is highly regarded by the industry as an expert in her field.

Ms Priest sat on various boards and committees including the Perth Convention Bureau, the WA Branch of the Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC), Fremantle Chamber of Commerce, Friends of the Bibbulmun Track, and also sat on the marketing advisory panel for Tourism Western Australia.

She is the recent recipient of the 2012 Australian Hotels Association (Western Australia) Executive Level Manager Award.