Who we are
About tourismo
We are building the technology the tourism industry needs today to help create the tourism economy communities deserve tomorrow.
Our Pillars
Our mission is to help build strong visitor economies that deliver positive outcomes to communities and better travel experiences for visitors.
- 01
Keeping dollars local.
We influence tourism spending in ways that benefit local businesses, workers and communities.
- 02
Supporting responsible travel.
We encourage travel that enriches communities and traveller experiences, leaving places better than we found them.
- 03
Building Indigenous relationships.
We support Indigenous nations as they lead, participate in and benefit from the visitor economy in their traditional territories.
- 04
Enabling regional collaboration.
We bring organizations, businesses and partners together to align efforts and strengthen the entire region.
Our story
tourismo grew from our belief that tourism can be a powerful force for strengthening local businesses, communities, and regional economies in a way that truly benefits the people who live and work there.
The starting point
We brought 20 years of experience to a new challenge.
After more than two decades running The Number Creative and helping organizations bring ideas to life through design, marketing and technology, the team found their way into tourism through the award-winning BC Ale Trail initiative.
That work revealed both the power of regional collaboration and a persistent challenge: destinations were investing in disconnected systems and costly custom solutions, often rebuilding the same tools in isolation.
The Number office in Victoria, BC The bigger idea
One platform. More possibilities.
We envisioned a better model. A shared technology that could connect communities, make sophisticated tools more accessible, and help destinations retain ownership of their content, relationships, and data. All while keeping more tourism dollars local.
tourismo today
Technology and expertise for stronger visitor economies.
The team soon learned that technology alone wasn’t enough; destinations also needed trusted experts who understood tourism and could help them turn those tools into meaningful action.
That vision became tourismo: a destination management platform and team of experts helping communities work together, amplify what makes their regions special, and build stronger visitor economies that benefit the people who live and work there.
Birdwatcher enjoying our tourismo powered BC Bird Trail app
Meet the team.
Have fun. Be useful. It’s our motto and it’s how we work. We’re a curious, collaborative team of tourism experts, technologists, strategists and creative thinkers who love learning and solving problems together. We believe the best work is meaningful, genuinely useful and a whole lot better when you have fun along the way.
Founder & CEO
Chris Nohr
Chris is a serial entrepreneur who has spent his career turning ambitious ideas into practical solutions. With decades of experience across technology and creative industries, he founded tourismo to help tourism organizations work smarter, connect their systems and create greater impact in their communities. Today, he leads the vision behind tourismo’s AI-first platform and its continued evolution. Born and raised on Vancouver Island, Chris lives there with his wife, Christine, their two sons, three dogs, six chickens and two beehives.
Sales & Marketing
Kirsten Ovstaas
Kirsten leads sales and marketing at tourismo, connecting destinations across Canada with ideas and technology that can help them do more. A Victoria native and UVic graduate, her career has spanned several industries, including a decade in film and television, before she reconnected with founder Chris Nohr and joined tourismo in 2024. Now based in Nanaimo with her partner and two daughters, Kirsten is happiest outdoors, hugging trees, and is passionate about mentoring young women looking for guidance and community.
Director of Photography
Geoff Tomlin-Hood
Geoff is a filmmaker and story producer who brings narrative, emotion and a sharp creative eye to tourismo’s work. With 20 years of documentary and commercial directing experience, he has spent the past decade helping destinations across BC and Alberta tell their stories on screen. From remote mountain shoots to large-scale productions, Geoff brings the same curiosity and instinct for a great story to every project. A Canadian Screen Award nominee and Leo Award winner, his work has been recognized on some of the country’s biggest stages.
Director of Product Enablement
Rebecca Craig
Rebecca leads product enablement at tourismo, creating the tools, training and processes that help both our team and tourism partners get the most from the platform. A Vancouver Island native and UVic Bachelor of Commerce graduate, she brings a thoughtful, people-first approach to turning technology into something practical and useful. Rebecca is passionate about responsible tourism, great partnerships and the stories that make places worth discovering. She loves helping tourism organizations turn big ideas into experiences that work for their teams, businesses and visitors.
Account Manager
Charles Marshall
Charles is the friendly face connecting tourismo’s partners with the platform, helping turn great ideas into campaigns and experiences that work. As Account Manager, he keeps projects moving from kickoff through launch while making sure partners feel supported along the way. He also brings expertise in SEO and AI-powered workflows, helping clients reach more travellers and find smarter ways to work. Based in Victoria, Charles is a welcoming first call for questions and ideas, always ready with a fresh perspective and the latest tools to help bring them to life.
Financial Controller
Jamie Galati
Jamie keeps the numbers — and plenty behind the scenes — running smoothly at tourismo. He has been part of tourismo and the ventures it evolved from for more than a decade, bringing consistency, insight and a genuine appreciation for a good spreadsheet to the team. Born and raised in Victoria, Jamie earned a BA in Art History from UVic and now lives on a hobby farm in the Cowichan Valley, where he grows food, raises chickens and stewards native plants. He’s passionate about ecology, the transformative power of art and, yes, spreadsheets.
Senior Engineer
Jacob Galati
Jacob is a full-stack developer and Senior Engineer who loves building technology that makes people’s lives easier. He has been part of tourismo and its family of companies since 2008, discovering an aptitude and passion for programming while working in management and making a near-immediate career switch. Originally from the U.S., Jacob made Vancouver Island home 20 years ago and now lives in the Cowichan Valley. When he isn’t building technology, you’ll likely find him playing board games, video games or D&D or, fittingly, programming just for fun. (edited)
Software Engineer
Nicole Mclay
Nicole is a Software Engineer at tourismo, where she primarily works on apps while also helping build and maintain custom websites for tourism partners. She started at tourismo in 2022 following an earlier career in brewing and distilling. That background gives her a practical, hands-on approach to problem-solving and building things that work. Originally from outside the tech world, Nicole enjoys the mix of creativity and logic that software development brings. Outside of work, she’s happiest exploring BC - hiking, biking, kayaking and spotting birds along the way.
Project Manager
Cairo Ferguson
Cairo brings a creative eye to every partnership at tourismo, helping destinations share what makes them special and turning that into reasons to visit. As Account Manager, Cairo takes projects from first idea to launch, keeps things moving and makes sure partners always know where things stand. The creative side is where Cairo really shines: coming up with campaign ideas for everything from newsletters to social to paid ads, and working with designers to make sure each piece feels true to the place behind it. Partners can count on Cairo for well-run projects and fresh ideas, and for making the whole process feel easy.
Engineer
Dustin Groff
Dustin is a Software Engineer at tourismo, building the platform and websites that help tourism organizations connect with their communities and visitors. With more than 15 years of web development experience, he works across the full technology stack and specializes in performance, reliability and creating seamless connections between systems. Before moving into technology, Dustin worked in restaurant management, an experience that still shapes the practical, service-minded approach he brings to his work. Based on Vancouver Island, he spends his weekends exploring the Island’s coastlines and discovering new places along the way.
Product Design
Devlin Hogg
Devlin brings more than two decades of web, design and development experience to his work in Product Design at tourismo. Having started building for the web as a teenager, he has spent his career exploring how brand, strategy, user experience and technology can work together to create products that look great, feel intuitive and genuinely work for the people using them. That curiosity extends beyond the screen. With a camera in hand, Devlin loves exploring the architecture, culture and everyday details that make a place distinctive — preferably somewhere off the beaten path and reached by train or boat.
Chief Partnerships Officer
Ryan Malcolm
Ryan brings destinations, industry associations, Indigenous partners and rural communities together to tackle opportunities bigger than any one organization. As tourismo’s Chief Partnerships Officer, he combines a host’s instinct with expertise in stakeholder alignment, funding strategy and destination development to build partnerships, programs and campaigns with lasting impact. His career began in hospitality, events and beverage sales before moving into tourism in 2020. Based in Esquimalt, Ryan’s favourite way to bring people together is over a local, seasonal meal around his own table.
Good people. Shared purpose. Big possibilities.
We love working with people who care where tourism dollars go, how visitors experience a place, and who gets to shape its future. If you're building a visitor economy that benefits your whole community, we'd love to meet you.