Mr Long is currently the National Strategic Acquisition Manager at American Express and was formerly the Head of Public Policy and Strategic Partnerships with the Australian Federation of Travel Agents, and previously held senior roles within the NSW Government.

The President of the AAoA, Mr Julian Clark said, “I am very pleased to announce that after a rigorous recruitment process which attracted a very large volume of quality candidates, we have made the decision to appoint Dean Long”.

“Dean has a proven track record of leading high performing organisations and has effectively influenced Government policy and legislation throughout his career, and this significantly enhances the organisations capability in this area to continue the positive trajectory the AAoA is on.”

Mr Long commented, “I am very excited and humbled to be appointed to this role and will ensure that the AAoA continues its leadership position in the accommodation and broader tourism industry on behalf of the members ”. The AAoA is the leading organisation for accommodation operators and I look forward to advocating important issues such as banning rate parity and finding the balance for compliant operators across Australia”.

Mr Clark went on to say, “I am confident Dean will take the AAoA into its next chapter, our organisation is over fifty years old and has never been in such a strong position. Dean will be tasked to continue to evolve our value proposition for our members and continue to be a leading voice, advocating on behalf of the Accommodation industry on the back of the quality work that Richard Munro was able to do for the past eight years.”

Mr Long will commence his new role on the 10th of June 2019, with a handover from Richard Munro.

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