Bernard Donoghue OBE, Chief Executive of Association of Leading Visitor Attractions
Bernard Donoghue has been the Director and CEO of ALVA, the UK’s Association for Leading Visitor Attractions, since September 2011 following a career in advocacy, communications, and lobbying, latterly at VisitBritain. ALVA is the principal advocacy body for the most important and significant museums, galleries, palaces, stately homes, cathedrals, heritage sites, gardens, zoos, performance venues and visitor attractions. Under Bernard’s leadership the organisation’s membership has more than doubled in size and it undertakes six times more events and activities for members. He has been a member of the UK Government’s Tourism Industry Council, advising Ministers on all matters relating to domestic and inbound tourism, since 2016.
In 2020 he was named by Blooloop as one of the world’s 50 most influential people in museums, and in July 2021 won the public vote for the COVID Special Recognition Award from the UK Museums and Heritage Awards for his service to, and leadership of the museums and heritage sector in the UK during the pandemic.
He was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2022 for services to tourism and to culture.