Mark Thompson CMP, CDME Named Hospitality Award Winner

Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) Travel Information Division has selected tourism industry veteran Mark Thompson as the winner of the 2020 Gene Phillips Hospitality Award. This award recognizes Thompson’s distinguished career and industry leadership, as well as his support of TxDOT’s Travel Information Centers and the state’s $80.3 billion travel industry. Thompson has more than 35 years in the Texas tourism industry. He has served as the executive director of Visit Plano for 21 years, and previously headed the Convention & Visitors Bureaus for South Padre Island and Tyler. The Gene Phillips Hospitality Award is named in honor of the late Gene Phillips, who managed Aquarena Springs in San Marcos and was an influential, driving force in the emerging tourism industry during the 1970s. Each year the award is presented by TxDOT Travel Information Division staff and recognizes one person for his or her outstanding lifetime accomplishments within the Texas travel and tourism industry.