Visit Laguna Beach has appointed Emma York as its director of marketing. York will lead Visit Laguna Beach’s core marketing functions, including creative, visitor marketing strategy, digital marketing initiatives, paid media strategy, among other responsibilities.
“Laguna Beach is a dream destination to work for and represent, especially as it is my adoptive home that welcomed me with open arms when I moved from Australia,” York said. “I really fell head over heels in love when I became involved as a cast member in the Pageant of the Masters. It was from then on, I wanted to be able to tell all the incredible stories of this historical beach town. I can’t wait to get the opportunity to work with our devoted community to market this destination and tell our stories.”
York joins Visit Laguna Beach after almost five years with Dana Point-based Burnham Ward Properties and Dana Point Harbor Partners as their director of marketing and communications, where she oversaw the overall marketing and communications strategy for the revitalization of Dana Point Harbor along with promoting the harbor as a tourist destination. York has also held marketing positions at the Ocean Institute in Dana Point and Chefs on Wheels in Adelaide, Australia.
“There are so many different ways to tell the Laguna Beach story – an artist colony, seven miles of beaches and coves, a sustainable destination with more than 20,000 miles of wilderness to explore – there is no end to what we can promote about the destination,” said Visit Laguna CEO Rachel O’Neill-Cusey. “Emma is the right person to help us tell all those stories and uncover the ones that are yet to be discovered so we can grow our relationship with our visitors and community alike.”
