Visit KC Expands with New Sales Manager

Francis Darko to cover short term meetings in East Coast and Southeast markets

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Expanding the geographic footprint of its promotion of Kansas City, Visit KC, the region’s leading hospitality and tourism organization, is pleased to announce the recent addition of Francis Darko as sales manager. Darko’s hire bolsters a proven sales team, adding another individual with a high level of passion for the destination. His first day was July 6.  

As sales manager, Darko will work in the short term meetings market, consisting of 200 or less room nights on peak. He will handle the East Coast market and Southeast market of the United States, which will allow for Visit KC to maintain a broader national reach to one-hotel pieces of business, a crucial market for the occupancy of the city.

Prior to joining Visit KC, Darko served in a variety of different roles in both the hospitality and financial industries. As a personal financial representative with Northwestern Mutual in Lee’s Summit, Mo., he forged relationships with clients to create personalized financial plans. Prior to that, Darko worked as an intern at African Regent Hotel in Accra, Ghana, where he gained frontline experience in the hotel industry while adapting to the mores of a different culture. Darko is a graduate of the University of Central Missouri with a degree in hotel and restaurant administration and a minor in marketing.

“Kansas City continues to receive national attention thanks to its unparalleled development and growth, and Francis’ addition is a testament to that forward progress,” said President & CEO Ronnie Burt. “His enthusiasm for KC is more than evident. We expect him to utilize this energy to help drive Visit KC’s mission of positioning Kansas City as a premier conventions and meetings destination.”

About Visit KC

Visit KC is a non-profit organization whose mission is to ignite global passion for visiting Kansas City. Through marketing, sales and service of the convention and tourism industries, Visit KC supports a vital and growing component of the local economy—generating more than 46,000 jobs and $5.1 billion in economic impact annually. For more information about Kansas City, go to VisitKC.com.

 

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Media Contacts

Devin Aaron
Devin Aaron 
(National/International Media)
Visit KC
816-691-3805
daaron@visitkc.com
Makenzie Wolters
Makenzie Wolters 
(Kansas City/Regional Media)
Visit KC
816-691-3811
mwolters@visitkc.com

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