Dan Lincoln Institute for Hospitality Leadership

Empowering Future Leaders: Cultivating skilled, diverse talent for Cincinnati’s thriving hospitality and tourism sector.

IHL Mission: To drive inclusive excellence in hospitality by creating pathways for skilled and diverse talent.

Vision: Shaping a hospitality industry where cultural impact, socio-economic growth, and educational excellence are at the core.

The hospitality sector is one of the Cincinnati region’s largest economic centers. With an annual impact of over $6 billion and 80,000 jobs, this industry is positioned from continued growth.

Developed by Visit Cincy in 2016, the Dan Lincoln Institute for Hospitality Leadership (IHL) is a regional talent and workforce development initiative that advances diverse students and professionals into roles within the hospitality and tourism segment. Through a holistic curriculum, IHL provides participants a variety of opportunities including course work, professional development, executive exposure, a certification program and hands-on learning experiences.

Students gain real-career experience learning from some of the most influential and respected industry leaders. IHL pairs students with professionals for practical, hands-on experiences:

Job Shadowing
Internships
Mentor Programs
Guest Speakers
Experiential Learning Trips

At the conclusion of the program, participants become Certified Tourism Ambassadors (tm).

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The Dan Lincoln Institute is a program of the Visit Cincy Foundation for Hospitality Excellence.

For more information about this program, contact Ryan Harrison, Foundation Program Manager.

Instructor poses with Institute for Hospiatility Leadership graduate. Visit Cincy Foundation for Hospitality Excellence

Building the Future Together

At the Dan Lincoln Institute for Hospitality Leadership, we believe that the foundation for a thriving hospitality industry starts with strong community partnerships. Our collaborative efforts with Cincinnati’s schools and social service providers offer students and individuals of all backgrounds the opportunity to explore the vast possibilities within the hospitality sector, fostering personal growth and community empowerment. To date, the program has been offered in the following institutions:

High Schools:
Withrow University High School
Western Hills University High School
Oyler High School
AchievePoint Career Academy

Social Services:
LADD Inc. (Living Arrangements for the Developmentally Disabled )
Talbert House

Tourism Facts

46,000 Hamilton County, Ohio Jobs supported by travel and tourism.
22% of American workers got their first job in the travel industry.
People in travel careers average $82,000 salary.

About Dan Lincoln

Dan Lincoln worked in tourism his entire career, including as the President & CEO of the Cincinnati Convention & Visitors Bureau (now Visit Cincy), in his hometown.

He was a champion for the tourism industry; especially the small businesses and individuals who work every day as the front line customer service providers to the community’s visitors. He shaped and pioneered programs that fostered civic collaboration, community development, equity, supplier diversity and visitor experience long before any of that type of programming was commonplace in our industry.

In 2016, he founded the Cincinnati USA Institute for Hospitality Leadership which was established to increase and support skilled and diverse talent in the industry’s workforce. Upon his retirement in 2018, it was renamed in his honor.

Dan fought a long battle with MSA, an aggressive form of Parkinson’s disease. He passed away in Cincinnati in 2023 at age 64.

Few travel and tourism professionals can tout a 30+ year track record of innovation, impact and influence like Dan Lincoln. His pride in destination marketing work, Cincinnati history and his optimism about its future created a legacy that will last for generations.

In 2024, Dan Lincoln was posthumously inducted into the Destinations International Hall of Fame, which honors those who have significantly advanced the destination marketing and management industry.