Lee Sentell

Director, Alabama Bureau of Tourism and Travel

P.O. Box 4927
Montgomery, AL 36103

For media inquiries, contact:

Brooklyn Lundy
Public Relations Manager
[email protected]
(334) 242-4537

Lee Sentell, reappointed by Governor Kay Ivey in 2023 as Director of Alabama Tourism has overseen tourism revenue growth in the state from $6 billion in 2003 to $23.5 billion in 2023.  Appointed by three Governor’s, this is Lee’s sixth term in the Alabama Governor’s Cabinet.

Under Lee’s leadership, the department has implemented award winning-campaigns spotlighting diverse themes such as small towns, the arts, barbecue, natural wonders, birding, and the Alabama Bicentennial Celebration, winning the national industry’s coveted Mercury Award six times in 12 years. Working with tourism directors around the South, Lee spearheaded the creation of the U.S. Civil Rights Trail as well as the nomination process for UNESCO World Heritage Sites. In 2019, The U.S. Civil Rights Trail Campaign received the International Travel and Tourism Award for best regional promotion at the World Travel Market in London, becoming the first U.S. state tourism agency to be honored. In addition, Lee has written a companion book, “The Official United States Civil Rights Trail” as a guide to sites recognized on the trail.

Before, being named the Alabama Tourism Director in 2003, Lee was the first director of marketing at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, AL and recruited the first 100,000 students to attend Space Camp.

Sentell has served as a board member at the Alabama Historical Commission, Alabama Humanities Foundation, Alabama State Council on the Arts, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Rosa Parks Museum, Encyclopedia of Alabama and Travel South USA.