Georgia Entertainment recently released the names of the 200 Most Influential of Georgia’s Creative Industries. The individuals are highlighted in the bi-annual printed publication – Georgia Entertainment: The Creative Economy Journal. See the digital version. Our 200 Spotlight series showcases many of those that were included.
By Carol Badaracco Padgett, Senior Writer
James Tsismanakis
When people visit DeKalb County in Georgia, it’s the mission of James Tsismanakis to help them discover the unexpected – and to linger long enough to make a mark on the local economy. Whether DeKalb visitors are drawn to the area for tourism, sports, performing arts, museums, conferences, or other creative endeavors, Tsismanakis and his team roll out the red carpet to welcome them into the fold of the local Creative Economy.
A certified destination management executive and travel marketing professional, Tsismanakis pulls from the cities of Chamblee, Doraville, Stonecrest, Stone Mountain, Tucker, Stone Mountain Park, and unincorporated DeKalb County – areas with an authentic attractional pull – to boost the local economy.
He is also a fixture in that economy himself – living with his wife and three children just minutes from Atlanta in DeKalb County’s Northlake community.
In his role as executive director and CEO, Tsismanakis is responsible for directing a staff of sales and marketing professionals who serve to favorably impact the local economy by strategically executing events and happenings that visitors flock toward.
But he doesn’t stop there; Tsismanakis also has his hand in creating additional avenues to draw attention and investment into DeKalb.
Under his leadership, Discover DeKalb is ever-evolving and growing. For example, some of the fruits of his labor are the DeKalb Talks Tourism Podcast and a new culinary podcast in development. An international culture podcast, too, is slated to join the lineup.
Tsismanakis also serves as the tourism product development leader on a current convention center and hotel project that includes a sports plex, the Georgia Air and Space Museum, and a conference center with a performing arts component.
In addition, h serves in a score of other leadership roles, including on Georgia State University’s Cecil B. Day School of Hospitality Administration’s industry advisory board; as a founding board member of NSPIRE Aviation, a flight school in Chamblee, Georgia; as a Georgia Hotel & Lodging Association Governmental Affairs committee member; and on the board of directors of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce.
His professional journey got its wings in the South, where he now works vigilantly to fortify Georgia’s Creative Economy. He started at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia, followed by earning a master’s degree in global hospitality management from Georgia State University, and currently he is working toward a Ph.D. in parks, recreation, and tourism management at Clemson University in Clemson, South Carolina.
Like the Creative Economy he champions, Tsismanakis is set on transformation — and on helping the Peach State secure and hold fast to its spot on the global stage of hospitality, sports, and entertainment.
Georgia Entertainment: The Creative Economy Journal
