Tourism director resigns

The Wyoming Business Council continues to form partnerships with statewide groups such as the Wyoming Association of Municipalities and an international group, the International Development Research Council, to help promote economic development in Wyoming.

But it may have jeopardized its relationship with one of the integral parts of Wyoming’s economy — the state’s tourism industry — with the abrupt resignation of Gene Bryan, a long-time tourism advocate, as director of the council’s tourism arm.

Bryan said his resignation was triggered by a “core philosophical difference in management style” with Business Council CEO John Reardon, and he concluded that it was time to move on.

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Bryan has been involved in promoting Wyoming tourism for most of his professional life and has many friends in the tourism industry, which contributes about $1.5 billion a year to the state’s economy and has been one of few growth areas in the past decade.

The Business Council has tried to smooth over the flap by heaping praise on Bryan, but influential members of the state’s tourism industry remain upset.