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Bob Billington has lived most of his life in the Blackstone River Valley of Rhode Island, where his family owned a manufacturing business on the banks of the Blackstone River. In the 1980s, facing a recession and the need to save the family business, Billington organized 14 other manufacturers in the Blackstone Valley to cooperate and sell their products directly to the public.
In 1985, Billington founded the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council and in 1986 became its first full-time employee. The council promotes tourism in the valley by highlighting the area's historical, cultural, natural, agricultural, and commercial resources. Over the years, the council has grown to represent nine post-industrial communities in the region, known as the birthplace of the American Industrial Revolution. Efforts have included the construction of river landings on the Blackstone River, the purchase of a canal boat, a double-decker bus, and three 49-passenger riverboats, and the operation of a passenger trolley.
In 2003 Billington and his staff developed the "Tour Rhode Island, There's No Place Like Home" event: a 1,200-person, 24-bus, one-day tour through Rhode Island reserved solely for state residents. The idea for the tour was sparked by a comment from Rhode Island First Lady Sue Carcieri, who during the Governor's inauguration told Billington she wished more Rhode Islanders could see their state as she had during the Governor's campaign. Billington and the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council organized the statewide tourism industry, raised funds, and now Rhode Islanders have a choice of 24 itineraries to learn about and take pride in the place they call home.
Billington also created the Sustainable Tourism Planning and Development Laboratory to help communities learn about sustainable tourism development. The laboratory features sessions titled Geotourism; Whole Place Making; Sustainable Tourism; Green Principles in Tourism; Resilient Tourism, and Civic Tourism.
In June of 2006, the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council won the Ulysses Prize awarded by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). And in September of the same year the council became the first U.S. institution to earn UNWTO.Sbest certification in tourism governance.
Billington has taught in the graduate school at Johnson & Wales University. Today he teaches at Boston University's graduate tourism program and coordinates the Leisure Service Management program at Bristol Community College in Fall River Massachusetts, where he is also a tourism professor. He begins each new course at Bristol with a lecture on geotourism and the importance of promoting tourism in ways that benefit local residents.
