Depetrillo

The man who has been the face of tourism promotion in Rhode Island for decades is retiring, the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation announced yesterday.

David C. DePetrillo will be replaced by Mark Brodeur, the state’s director of tourism operations.

Tourism is a $4 billion-a-year business for Rhode Island, generating 5 percent of the state’s economy and 12 percent of state and local tax revenue, according to a statement from the Economic Development Corporation, the state agency whose tasks include promoting tourism. The state Department of Labor and Training estimates that 55,000 people work in the industry.

DePetrillo, 61, grossed nearly $88,000 last year as tourism director. He will step down on Sept. 30 after 35 years with the state. That is the deadline for state employees to retire before a new law reduces their retirement health benefits. But, DePetrillo said yesterday, the change in benefits was not a factor in his decision to retire.

“My timing is, it’s just time for me,” he said. “I’ve been here more than 35 years. I just think it’s time for me to concentrate on the things I want to volunteer for.”

Besides pursuing personal interests, DePetrillo said he will stay active in two areas that have been part of his job in recent years:

He is chairman of the Rhode Island Hospitality Education Foundation, which oversees an effort to train workers for the state’s leisure, hospitality and tourism industry. He also is a member of the board of the Rhode Island Geotourism Collaborative, which promotes the state’s natural and cultural assets for tourism. “We’re not a state that relies on a theme park,” he said.

Tourism and economic development officials issued statements yesterday applauding DePetrillo’s service to the state.

“David is a nationally recognized leader in the tourism industry and has played an integral role in growing our state’s tourism industry and significantly impacting our state’s economy over the past three decades,” said Saul Kaplan, executive director of the EDC. “David has pioneered the use of new technologies and marketing campaigns to grow this industry sector, and is credited with creating one of the first state tourism Web sites in the U.S. His efforts in the area of work force development initiatives have also helped to retain the best hospitality and tourism talent in the state.”

“For more than three decades, David has effectively promoted our state locally, regionally, nationally and internationally,” said Evan Smith, president of the Newport County Convention & Visitors Bureau. “For David, promoting Rhode Island was not a job but rather a lifelong passion that he took very seriously.”

“His leadership has always been steady, calm and always directed toward the best interest of Rhode Island,” said Robert Billington, president of the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council. “He can be credited also for establishing the state’s tourism districts. He knew early on that local people knew best how they want to develop their communities for tourism.”

pparker@projo.com