Texas Border Business
McAllen Chamber of Commerce President/CEO, Steve Ahlenius, has named Robert Lopez Vice President of Visit McAllen. Lopez served as the organization’s Director of Sales for seven years before his most recent stint as Interim Vice President and comes with 14 years experience working in the hospitality industry. As Director of Sales, he accounted for 73% of the total hotel room nights generated by Visit McAllen with an estimated economic impact of $73,054,182.
“I’m grateful for this opportunity, and I embrace the challenges that come along with it,” said Lopez. “McAllen’s tourism industry is evolving rapidly, and our goal at Visit McAllen is to build on the positive momentum we’ve created by constantly innovating our approach.”
Lopez is a member of the National Association of Sports Commissions where he earned his Certified Sports Event Executive accreditation and is responsible for revitalizing the sports tourism industry in McAllen. During his time as Director of Sales, McAllen hosted the Texas Amateur Athletic Federation Games of Texas and Pop Warner Southwest Regional Championships twice, for the first time in each organization’s history.
Steve Ahlenius stated, “Robert brings leadership, key core values, selling and a new perspective on innovative ideas and opportunities for the CVB. He has earned this opportunity, and he is a great fit for the direction we need to go.”
Lopez is a McAllen native and graduate of the University of Texas-Pan American where he earned a degree in Broadcast Journalism. He is a member of the Texas Association of Convention & Visitors Bureaus where he served on its board of directors in 2017. In addition, Lopez is a Leadership McAllen graduate and a member of McAllen’s Parks & Recreation and Civic Center Advisory Boards.
