Heather Johnston, CDME

Heather Johnston is the President of Visit Dana Point, the official destination marketing organization for Dana Point, California. With more than 20 years of experience in tourism, hospitality marketing, destination development, and organizational leadership, Heather leads the organization’s efforts to grow qualified overnight visitation, support hotel partners, strengthen group and leisure demand, and elevate Dana Point’s recognition as a premier Southern California coastal destination.

Since joining Visit Dana Point, Heather has focused on building a more strategic, data-informed, and partner-focused organization. Her work includes destination marketing, group sales strategy, tourism partnerships, stakeholder communication, budget planning, brand positioning, and long-term organizational development.

Heather works closely with Dana Point hotels, the City of Dana Point, tourism businesses, industry partners, and agency teams to align marketing and sales investments with the needs of the destination’s lodging and visitor economy. Her leadership emphasizes clear strategy, strong partner value, disciplined execution, and measurable results.

Under her leadership, Visit Dana Point continues to focus on generating qualified overnight demand, strengthening Dana Point’s destination identity, supporting meetings and travel-trade opportunities, and preparing the organization for the next phase of growth tied to major hospitality and harbor investments.