Reminder: The 4th Annual eTSY Awards is the place to showcase excellence in digital destination marketing.
Visit Salt Lake City is launching a destination re-brand, “West of Conventional.” The Travel Vertical Podcast is excited to share more about it when President & CEO Kaitlin Eskelson joins us as a guest. Watch for the episode to go live soon.
Quoted in the Salt Lake Tribune, Eskelson says, “A main goal of the rebranding was to create an elevator pitch to describe the area in 15 seconds or less. Research revealed that articulating the Salt Lake City area and its story was usually a long-winded explanation. We’re a city full of juxtapositions. We have the urban and the mountains, so we have all these things that really shouldn’t go together, but miraculously do. So when we started looking at all the different juxtapositions that we have in the market… Salt Lake really can offer something that is not conventional.”
A new social media and email campaign is based on a partnership between New Mexico Department of Tourism and Airbnb to promote accommodations and experiences. “New Mexico is able to again open its doors for visitors at a time when travel is beginning to pick back up. Creative partnerships in the travel planning and booking space will allow us to reignite demand and inspire prospective travelers to choose New Mexico for their next vacation,” said Tourism Secretary Jen Paul Schroer. “This partnership with Airbnb is a great opportunity to rebuild awareness of New Mexico as a premier destination for leisure travel in a manner that is inclusive of every region of our state.”
Alabama Tourism Department officials say busy businesses are grappling with a shortage of workers while visitors are experiencing longer waits at restaurants, more traffic to the beaches, even longer lines at grocery stores. Kay Maghan, spokesperson for Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Tourism, told AL.com ,”With staffing shortages happening nationwide, especially in the tourism industry, we want to help guests understand what to expect or anticipate in our destination.” Alabama Tourism Department has launched a summer marketing campaign based on the slogan, “Worth the Wait.”
Visit Cumberland Valley Is Cool
Ale trails, taco trails…and ice cream trails. Marketing Manager Ashley Kurtz says, “Here’s the Scoop.” We love the Bandwango collaboration with Pennsylvania’s Visit Cumberland County where summer for ice cream lovers means discovering a tempting string of 16+ locations that go way beyond chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry. “To top it off, every five check-ins will enter you in a monthly $10 gift card drawing!”
Off the Beaten Track
In Nevada, Carson Valley Visitors Authority has placed 21 wayfinding signs throughout the destination. The project initially started with support from Travel Nevada’s infrastructure grant program and included multiple steps to identify needs and additional funding sources. “One of the primary messages we use when speaking to potential visitors is to encourage them to ‘drive to it, not through it,’ and having this vital component complete helps in further paying off that statement,” said Jan Vandermade, executive director, Visit Carson Valley, as quoted in the Record Courier.
Sonoma County Tourism Goes Pro
To help enhance the training of the county-wide hospitality workforce and elevate the visitor experience, Sonoma County Tourism has a new Accredited Hospitality Professional (AHP) program. The program is available to local hospitality and tourism professionals as well as residents.
Curriculum is known as the “Foundational Five,” customized to what makes Sonoma County, California unique.
- The power of tourism
- Customer service and visitor safety
- Wineries and American Viticultural Areas (AVAs)
- Natural environment and sustainability
- Art, history and culture
Classes begin July 8 and registration for monthly classes will be ongoing. The cost of initial accreditation is $45 per person. The annual renewal fee will be $20.
#VisitChicagoland. Nine DMOs within an hour’s drive of downtown Chicago have joined forces to launch a digital summer campaign for northeastern Illinois. “The Only Thing Missing is You” runs through August to target locals plus visitors within a one-hour drive of downtown Chicago. Partnering tourism organizations are: Chicago Southland, Chicago’s North Shore, Choose Chicago, Discover DuPage, Explore Elgin Area, Heritage Corridor, Meet Chicago Northwest, Visit Lake County and Visit McHenry County.
And in Florida, Frontier Airlines held an Orlando promotional contest to highlight some of the local animal species and conservation efforts on their behalf. They searched for a winner to embellish the tail of an aircraft and found one in Ted, the Sea Turtle. He beat out three contenders: Ella, the Florida black bear; Larry, the American alligator; Flurry, the albino hatchling alligator. “Oh woozers, I can’t believe I’m gonna be on an airplane,” said Ted from Sea Life Aquarium upon hearing the news that he’d won and would receive extra squid at dinner.
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