Donna Pellizzi
Background
After pursuing a career in nursing and graduating with a degree in biology, Donna took a 180-degree turn in her career and began a 32-year adventure in the travel industry. In 1978, she began working for Meridien Hotels, on the sales team for its properties in the French West Indies. In 1985, Donna moved to Mondotels where she has handled group and individual sales for L’Horset Hotels, Pullman Hotels, L’Habitation and Manapany Cottages. Donna now supports the traveling sales executives with database management for every client, and leads the one-stop-information center for Dubai Tourism.
Donnas’ Passion for Places
Donna’s parents introduced her to the enjoyment of travel as a child, visiting numerous “sun and sand” destinations including the Caribbean, Florida, California and Hawaii four times before the age of 15. Donna later discovered the excitement of traveling abroad, visiting Hong Kong, Morocco, Italy, France, Switzerland, Singapore, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Italy remains her true love. Donna and her husband have begun tracing their family’s ancestry during their visits.
Notable Results
- To increase sales results from the U.S. and Canada, Donna managed ongoing relationships with Dubai’s portfolio of tour 0perators to solicit new tour programs. As a result, Dubai increased its active tour programs in North America from 17 to 103, in less than five years.
- To support Dubai Tourism’s need to increase visitor arrivals from the U.S., Donna played a key role in the success of a New York-based event for retail travel agents learning how to expand their Dubai traffic. Donna mapped out qualification criteria to identify the agents with the highest potential for Dubai and created an outreach program that boosted qualified attendance, achieving Dubai’s most well-attended event in North America.
- In a mission to increase convention sales leads for Melbourne, Donna executed a sales qualification project for international association executives in North America, identifying key metrics of interest that led to new leads for Melbourne.
Up Close
Donna hails from Mt. Vernon, New York, was raised in Bayside, Queens and has lived the past 30 years in Staten Island, New York, with her husband, son and an adorable Westie named Happy. The Pellizzi home is a hub for family, friends and feasts, having hosted their annual Super Bowl party with childhood friends for more than 25 years! Donna is an avid theatergoer. She is a trained speech and debate judge and officiates at high school forensic events for her son’s team.
Where You’ll find Donna on the Weekend
Attending a Staten Island Yankees game at Richmond County Ballpark (after being a New York Mets/Shea Stadium ticket holder since 1980 and recently relinquishing her seats). Travelling the tri-state area for forensic tournaments. Cheering on her son’s baseball team. Relaxing on the Jersey Shore beaches, living up to her predisposed genetics for the serenity that only the ocean can present.
Places that Donna has Called Home
Mt. Vernon, New York
Bayside, New York
Staten Island, New York
Surprising Facts about Donna
Major League Goal
Donna and her family are well-advanced toward their goal of visiting every major league baseball stadium in the United States. With 15 visited thus far, the National League Ballparks lead with nine. Favorites include Camden Yards Baltimore, Petco Park San Diego, AT&T Park San Francisco and, of course, Fenway in Boston. They’ll be riding the dugout rails for a few more years to achieve their ambitious target.
Junior Olympian
Donna was a competitive swimmer and was part of the Junior Olympics Team on the local and regional levels. Her love of swimming inspired her to achieve excellence in the sport of swimming and in life.
Guinness World Record in the Family
Donna’s passion for the theater has been instilled in her son who is the current co-holder of the Guinness World Record for longest consecutive performance of a play. He and five of his classmates performed Eugene Ionesco’s The Bald Soprano for 25 consecutive hours in Belmar, New Jersey, during the summer of 2010. How curious and bizarre!
