Former Pinellas, Lee tourism chief enters Florida Hall of Fame

A longtime Florida tourism executive who led Pinellas County’s tourism agency for seven years, has been inducted into the Florida Tourism Hall of Fame.

DT Minich, now president and CEO of Experience Kissimmee, received the honor this week during the 2026 Florida Governor’s Conference on Tourism in West Palm Beach, a release says. The recognition comes from the board of directors for Visit Florida, the state’s tourism marketing organization.

“This recognition represents every community, partner and tourism professional I have had the privilege of working alongside throughout my career,” Minich says in the release. 

The Florida Tourism Hall of Fame recognizes people whose work helped establish the state as one of the top vacation destinations in the world. Previous inductees include Walt Disney; railroad and hotel developer Henry Flagler; circus magnate John Ringling; and hotelier Harris Rosen, according to its website.

Minich joins their ranks after more than three decades working in destination marketing, the release says. He also holds the distinction of being the only tourism executive in history to lead three of Florida’s destination marketing organizations. His resume includes numerous senior roles working for the Lee County Visitor and Convention Bureau, Visit St. Pete-Clearwater and Experience Kissimmee, the official tourism authority for Osceola County.

He began his destination-marketing career in Southwest Florida, where Minich played a key role in helping develop the Great Calusa Blueway, a nearly 200-mile paddling trail. Minich also directed tourism communications after Hurricane Charley struck the region in 2004 and during the fallout from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the release says. 

Later, Minich was named executive director of Visit St. Pete-Clearwater, Pinellas County’s tourism bureau. He spent seven years at the organization before leaving in 2014 to become the first president and CEO of Experience Kissimmee as the Osceola County tourism organization shifted to a public-private operating model.

In 2025, Minich became the first Experience Kissimmee leader appointed to Visit Florida’s board of directors. Visit Florida President and CEO Bryan Griffin saus Minich’s influence can still be seen in tourism markets across the state.

“He has supported destinations from the Gulf Coast to Central Florida, enhanced the industry, and made extraordinary contributions to Florida tourism,” Griffin says in the release. “That kind of career is exactly what the Florida Tourism Hall of Fame exists to honor.”