Cheryl Hargrove is President of Hargrove International, Inc. With an emphasis on cultural heritage tourism, Cheryl has worked with a diverse collection of clients over the last three decades. Cheryl utilizes her international network and broad industry experience to offer clients added value and access. A native Georgian, Cheryl has consulted on cultural heritage tourism projects in all 50 states and more than 15 countries.
Author of Cultural Heritage Tourism: Five Steps for Success and Sustainability (Rowman & Littlefield, May 2017), Hargrove is frequently asked to speak on trends and best practices in cultural heritage tourism.
The former Associate Director for National Geographic Society’s Center for Sustainable Destinations, Cheryl is perhaps best known as the first Director of Heritage Tourism for the National Trust for Historic Preservation. She developed the key steps and principles for sustainable tourism focusing on history and culture and produced the publication Getting Started: How to Succeed in Heritage Tourism and companion video, Preserving the Past … Building the Future. In partnership with the National Trust, she also helped develop content for www.culturalheritagetourism.org.
A Certified Tour Guide, Hargrove has a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from the University of Georgia and a Masters in Tourism Administration from The George Washington University (GWU). She also holds a Certificate for Tourism & International Cooperation for Development from the UNWTO Themis Foundation and The George Washington University. She currently serves on the board of directors for the Coastal Georgia Historical Society.
Other tourism industry experience includes six years with Explore Georgia, the state tourism office (most recently as the Director of Industry & Partner Relations); director of public relations, and the UK office, for Travel South USA and the 1982 World’s Fair.