Bob Jameson is leaving his post as president and CEO of Visit Fort Worth after 13 years. But, oh yeah, at the same time he is accepting his flowers for a job well done: He was just named to the board of directors for Arts Fort Worth.<\/p>\n
In other words, don\u2019t say goodbye and never expect to see his friendly, thoughtful presence grace the boardrooms and public events round robin in Fort Worth again. Jameson is not about to ride off into the sunset from a community he has been a part of since 1985 when Fort Worth was a city of about 400,000 and tourism was only a small part of the economy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe really is one of our city\u2019s greatest visionaries,\u201d Mayor Mattie Parker said at the Visit Fort Worth annual meeting on March 6.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jameson, she said, understands that tourism is \u201cnot a silo.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is connected to transportation, arts, hospitality, small business and the quality of life,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Originally from Long Beach, California, Jameson\u2019s career has spanned 36 years in the hotel industry, much of that leading Marriott\u2019s Worthington Renaissance hotel in downtown Fort Worth, followed by 13 years leading Visit Fort Worth, then called the Convention and Visitors Bureau.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Under his leadership, the organization developed the Fort Worth Sports Commission, Hear Fort Worth music office, the Fort Worth Film Commission and the Fort Worth Tourism Public Improvement District to attract and support long-term growth of key industries throughout the city.<\/p>\n
He expanded support for convention sales and services and the Fort Worth Herd.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It\u2019s quite a curriculum vitae. But as Jameson sees it, when he arrived in Fort Worth in 1985, some of the seeds of the city\u2019s current tourism success were just being sown.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the Stockyards, you had Billy Bob\u2019s and the White Elephant and a bunch of police reports,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The three largest hotels downtown were struggling to fill their rooms. And the convention center, then run by Tarrant County, was more focused on concerts and ticketed events like RV shows than business conventions.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBut the seeds of something were there, we just didn\u2019t quite know what it was yet,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Change was gradual, but it could happen quickly, Jameson said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For instance, when the first AMC Theater opened downtown in 1991, suddenly restaurants there were not having to survive on Monday through Friday lunch.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThere started to be a nighttime economy, then when Sundance West opened up, you had residents downtown for the first time in who knows how many years?\u201d he said. \u201cThat created some critical mass that developed a different kind of energy downtown.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Other areas benefited from that downtown energy, from the Stockyards to the Near Southside to the Fort Worth Zoo.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom my perspective, it started with an investment in downtown and making downtown healthy and the place to be,\u201d he said. \u201cFrom there people began exploring other areas of the city.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sometimes, tourism outreach efforts were even more effective than expected.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When Jameson became head of Visit Fort Worth, the city\u2019s presence in the film industry was virtually nil.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had nowhere to go but up,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jameson credits people like local filmmaker Red Sanders and others who helped city officials understand what needed to be done<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were the largest city in Texas without a film commission,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople were coming here to film, but they had to figure everything out on their own.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now Visit Fort Worth\u2019s film commission has a two-person staff, but more importantly, businesses and city officials understand what filmmakers need, Jameson said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
With filmmakers like Taylor Sheridan calling Fort Worth home and building two studios in the city\u2019s AllianceTexas area, Jameson is as amazed as anyone about the success of the push to bring more filmmaking to the area.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIn our most aspirational moments, when we were sort of envisioning what success would look like, it didn\u2019t look anything like what we\u2019re experiencing today,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a credit to Sanders and our first film commissioner Jessica Christopherson for getting that off the ground.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
At the 2026 annual meeting, Visit Fort Worth cited the city\u2019s $3.6 billion tourism impact, up from $1.6 billion in 2014; the city\u2019s 11.7 million visitors nearly double 2014\u2019s 6.5 million; and 30,000 hospitality jobs, up from 14,000 in 2014.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"(Maria](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0306-BobJameson-MC-03-1024x683.jpg\")
Visit Fort Worth President and CEO Bob Jameson holds a bobblehead of himself at the Fort Worth Convention Center on March 6, 2026. Jameson is retiring after being with Visit Fort Worth for 13 years. (Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report\/CatchLight Local\/Report for America)<\/p>\n
Visit Fort Worth President and CEO Bob Jameson holds a bobblehead of himself at the Fort Worth Convention Center on March 6, 2026. Jameson is retiring after being with Visit Fort Worth for 13 years. (Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report\/CatchLight Local\/Report for America)<\/p>\n
The meeting had pins featuring Jameson\u2019s face and a rare item, a Jameson bobblehead.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe started this meeting 13 years ago to connect tourism to our community,\u201d Jameson said. \u201cOur industry benefits local business and creates jobs, so it\u2019s important we take this opportunity to share our progress and celebrate the results we\u2019ve achieved together.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jameson is a big believer in staying connected to the community as a whole.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really important that while our job is to speak externally, to encourage people to come here and know more about the city itself, we also have a responsibility to speak locally about the travel industry and the role it plays in the quality of life of a community,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That is the reason that every two years, they do a resident sentiment survey to make sure the community is comfortable with the tourism here.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got a million people living here now, the tourism has to be additive to the community and they need to feel like it is,\u201d Jameson said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jameson, now 71, said he will officially leave his post when his successor is named, but plans on staying busy in the community.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At the same time, he has been toasted around town for his many accomplishments. He was honored with the Susan Halsey Executive Leadership Award by the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce. He and his wife, Anne Jameson, received the 2026 Multicultural Alliance Award from the Multicultural Alliance.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bob and Anne\u2019s life together mirrors their time in Fort Worth as they were married in 1985. They are the parents of Bradley (1989-2007), Simone, Mack and Andi.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As he takes in all these accolades from around the city, Jameson is pretty self-effacing about his abilities as a leader. Still, he acknowledges he listens well and tries to hear all sides.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Parker is more direct about Jameson\u2019s philosophy of leadership.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s all about us working together,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd I’m going to add a little extra there, working together with kindness. This is not just something that Bob says. It’s something that he has lived. He has built partnerships. He has elevated Fort Worth\u2019s profile. And he has done it by bringing people to the table and reminding us all what we can do together to succeed.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bob Francis is business editor at the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at bob.francis@fortworthreport.org<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n