Vermilion Tourism Director Alison Miller announces her retirement date

After becoming the first full-time Executive Director of the Vermilion Parish Tourist Commission nearly 20 years ago, Alison Miller plans to retire later this summer.
Prior to becoming the Executive Director in Vermilion Parish, Miller spent 10 years as an award-winning graphic designer for the Lafayette Convention and Visitors Commission.
In July of 2006, Miller was hired to lead the parish’s tourism efforts.
From 506 visitors in 2007 to over 2,700 visitors in 2025, Miller helped grow tourism in the parish by creating parish brochures and other marketing materials, securing over $2 million in grant funds to market the parish, redesigning the tourism website to attract tourists to the parish, and hosting numerous tour groups and journalists.
Under Miller’s leadership, the Vermilion Parish Tourist Commission has been named “Top Tourism Bureau” in the small budget category in 2009, 2014 and 2019.
In 2018, the Tourist Center was moved to downtown Abbeville to be more accessible and for Miller to take on the additional role of Abbeville Cultural Alliance Director. As the Cultural Alliance Director, Miller promotes the Cultural Center at the local and national levels. She provides tours and information on the exhibits housed inside the building.
Miller’s last day in the office is expected to be at the end of June.
The Tourist Commission Board will open the position next month, begin the interview process at the beginning of March and hopes to have a replacement in place by mid-March to work with Alison Miller on a part-time basis.
Miller said, “This job is so much more than handing out brochures and suggesting places to visit. I would like a few months to work with my replacement so they can learn the day-to-day operations, help people who stop in for information, then figure out their own system for promoting the parish to visitors.”
When asked about retirement plans and what will be missed, Miller responded: “As a life-long Vermilion Parish resident, I truly love telling everyone about our parish. Even though I am stepping down to focus on my creative side and my family, I will always promote the things we enjoy here. I feel we have so much to offer through our culture, food, festivals and people. I will miss working with other parish and state organizations and helping tourists navigate our parish, but I look forward to spending time creating art and offering more at my dance studio. I want to be creative and sell my art. I already have projects waiting!”