For nearly three decades, Pat Moscaritolo has served as Boston’s face to the world. But now the city’s tourism agency is preparing for a future without its prominent chief executive.

The Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau has been interviewing candidates for a new number two: a chief operating officer who would be heir apparent to Moscaritolo when he retires, which he insists isn’t anytime soon.

The bureau is also embarking on a broader strategic shift, to establish a new private-sector revenue source that would reduce its reliance on the ever-changing funding streams from the State House.

Larry Cancro, the bureau’s chairman, plans to update the board on the COO search at its meeting on Wednesday. Members will also discuss new ways to financially support the bureau’s roughly 40-person staff and nearly $13 million annual budget.

“I’d like to see a more stable funding situation,’’ said Cancro, a top executive with the Boston Red Sox. “Beyond that, I’d like to give us a more honest look in the mirror and see what we can do better . . . We can be a little better about succession planning.’’

Toward that end, Moscaritolo and the board created the COO job, with a goal of picking someone to fill it by early summer. The choice, in the end, will be Moscaritolo’s, although it’s widely assumed the board will elevate the new hire to be chief executive when Moscaritolo, 73, retires. He came to the job in 1991 from a top role at the Massachusetts Port Authority.

Among the COO’s first tasks: identifying new revenue sources.

Moscaritolo said the agency last year suffered a sudden loss of about $1 million in state funding for marketing when the Baker administration tried to fill a budget gap. It eventually received $1.4 million from the state, down from an expected $2.4 million. As a result, he said, the agency cut back on marketing efforts in Europe and India.

Midyear budget cuts aren’t particularly unusual for the state’s regional tourism councils. But that doesn’t make them less problematic.

“No matter how much the Legislature or the governor understands the importance of the industry, they have so many other calls on that money,’’ Moscaritolo said.

One option involves a bill before the House Committee on Ways and Means that would allow regional tourism councils to impose an additional assessment of up to 3 percent on hotel stays, on top of existing taxes. An alternative approach would allow for voluntary assessments on a broader range of tourism-related businesses, including restaurants and museums.

Paul Sacco, chief executive of the Massachusetts Lodging Association and a board member of the Boston tourism council, said he would prefer that more of existing tourism state taxes be spent on marketing instead of supporting the state’s general fund. He fears that recent cuts to the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism and the regional tourism councils could affect visitor numbers.

“You need to promote the state consistently or you’re out of the ballgame,’’ Sacco said.

The Seaport Hotel’s general manager, Jim Carmody, has been leading the strategic planning for the visitors bureau, in part because he will take over as the board’s chairman next January. Among other things, he wants the bureau to work more closely with other visitor-focused organizations, such as the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority and the Massachusetts Restaurant Association, to make more efficient use of tourism marketing dollars.

Carmody said he’s not sure when Moscaritolo will leave, but it’s important to prepare for that eventuality. “Succession planning is just good business,’’ he said.

The group didn’t hire a headhunting firm and is instead largely relying on its many contacts within the industry to yield strong candidates. So far, board members say they have been impressed.

“I think everybody applauds the concept of getting a COO in there,’’ said Dusty Rhodes, an event planner who runs Conventures Inc. and is a longtime member of the tourism council’s board. “When Pat leaves, we’ll have somebody in place with skills, political expertise, and savvy who knows the turf.’’

Jon Chesto can be reached at jon.chesto@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @jonchesto.