The Travel Vertical

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“I Really Need a Vacation” —Americans Are Excited to Get Back to Traveling

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The latest research confirms it: Americans need a vacation. More than six in 10 Americans (63%) report that they “desperately” need a vacation. Data prepared for U.S. Travel Association by Destination Analysts indicates:

  • Close to 6-in-10 American travelers (59%) miss traveling “very much” and 55% are excited about leisure travel in the next six months.
  • Nearly three quarters (72%) of employed Americans indicated they set aside time to plan out vacation days for the coming year.
  • 84% of Americans are excited to plan a vacation in the next six months.
  • More than 9-in-10 (93%) American workers say it is important to use their paid time off to travel.
  • Once a vaccine is more widely available, 53% of American workers prefer to use their paid time off to take a vacation away from home.
Steal This Idea?

On National Plan for Vacation Day Jan. 26, Visit California operated a free, limited-time hotline to help callers brighten their outlook by planning a future road trip. ‘California Dream Dial’ was available to give travelers a happiness boost and connect callers with California experts. Travelers could complete a short questionnaire about their interests and get a 20-minute appointment, or call the toll free hotline.

In past years, the day helped address the problem of Americans failing to utilize all of their earned time off. But as the pandemic continues to wreak havoc, there’s new significance for #PlanforVacation for two key reasons:

  1. Looking ahead to a travel experience provides a psychological boost. 
  2. It’s an ideal time for consumers to plan and book travel and get deals.
Steal This Idea?

 Discover Puerto Rico, JetBlue and San Juan Marriott are inviting travelers to plan for vacation by blocking time off on their 2021 calendar. That’s it.
 Be automatically entered for a chance to win a trip to Puerto Rico by following three easy steps:
 Now through February 10, block a week, call it:
“Fly JetBlue to Puerto Rico,”
add Vacation@DiscoverPuertoRico.com on the invite, click send. 
 Three (3) Grand Prize winners will be awarded a 6-day stay.

“Vacation planners are going to be rewarded this year more than ever before,” said U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Roger Dow. “Not only will planners reap the significant personal benefits of looking forward to their next travel experience, but they will find some of the friendliest booking conditions we have seen in a very long time. After the very real peril and hardship that too many have endured due to the pandemic, National Plan for Vacation Day is the perfect opportunity to look ahead to a future travel experience when the time is right for you to travel once again.”

To keep it going, National #PlanforVacation Day aligns with Let’s Go There, the national initiative launched last year to spark conversation about future getaways.

World’s Most Powerful Passport Will Be a Vaccination Certificate and How Hotels Can Help

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Stephen Perry, CEO of New Orleans & Company, isn’t too optimistic about the resumption of British Airways flights resuming in early March, as planned. Furthermore, restrictions on international flights currently mean that only U.S. citizens and permanent residents may fly inbound to New Orleans and only British passport holders may board for Heathrow.

“Everyone here wants BA back, but we know that is likely to be delayed depending on what happens in the COVID world,” Perry told The Times-Picayune.

The CDC has issued a new ruling that air passengers flying to the U.S. from a foreign country will be required to show proof of a negative Covid-19 test taken no more than three days prior to the flight. The order goes into effect on Jan. 26, 2021.

Can a Vaccination Certification Kickstart International Travel?

“A testing requirement provides yet another layer of safety for international travel, and should be accompanied by other risk-based policies—including lifting international inbound travel restrictions and dropping any post-arrival quarantine requirements.

“With an international testing requirement in place, international visitors and returning residents would be tested at much higher rates than the general public and pose a much lower risk of transmitting the disease. So it would make sense to lift international travel restrictions and quarantine requirements at the same time.

Ahead of a meeting on Jan. 21, 2021, the European Commission’s president has come out in favor of a vaccination certificate that would be recognized in all 27 member states.

As more and more governments, businesses, and universities demand proof of Covid-19 inoculation, health and tech groups have started developing digital “vaccination passports.”

Microsoft, Oracle, and Salesforce have teamed up with healthcare organizations such as the nonprofit Mayo Clinic to create an internationally accepted digital card that can store information on negative tests and proof of vaccination. CommonPass, supported by The World Economic Forum, is one of the SMART Health Cards now in trials. More at Vaccination Credential Initiative.

Related: CommonPass Makes a Successful Landing at EWR  

While many professional groups and industry associations are voicing support, there are objections. In addition to privacy and discriminatory issues raised by the WTTA and WHO, questions that cannot yet be answered arise: How long will the vaccine be effective? How long should the passport remain valid? What if there’s a new vaccine for a new strain?

Meantime, we’ve got a winter to get through.

Test, Quarantine, Test: Country-by-Country

Last week, Canada began requiring all inbound travelers to show proof of a negative Covid-19 test in addition to its two-week quarantine requirement. 

All travel corridors to/from the United Kingdom have closed as of Jan. 18 through at least Feb. 15. Anyone entering the UK will have to present a negative Covid-19 test within 72 hours before boarding. On arrival, a strict 10-day self-quarantine is required unless a second negative test is produced after a second test on day five of self-isolation. Flights from South America and Portugal are banned altogether, due to another variant identified in Brazil.

Eerily empty. Piccadilly Circus tube station mid-afternoon.

England is currently under a national lockdown. Stay-at-home orders mean going out only for grocery shopping, exercise, or essential work. Similar measures are in place across much of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

This past weekend, France extended the Paris curfew (6 p.m. to 6 a.m.) throughout the entire country. The prime minister warned people to be prepared for another possible lockdown.

Sabatini Gardens and north facade of the Royal Palace of Madrid (Spain) after a snowfall.

In Spain, where the biggest snowstorm in decades hit Madrid, infection rates are outpacing much of Europe. Restrictions and curfews are being imposed on a regional basis, with travel restricted between regions.

On Jan. 16 in Italy, the prime minister announced coronavirus extension to March 5 and Covid-19 national emergency status until at least April 30.

Forget the Easter holidays. In Germany, the government has warned that people will only be able to go on holiday after Whitsun (May 24).

Austria tightened controls at its border and from Jan. 15, every person, including citizens and residents of Austria, will be required to register online before crossing.

In the Netherlands, a negative Covid-19 test was made compulsory from Dec. 15, including drivers arriving via the Eurotunnel and passengers on Eurostar trains.

Denmark temporarily banned all inbound flights and announced that a vaccination passport is being developed. Sweden imposed entry bans on Denmark and United Kingdom arrivals. Norway has made Covid-19 testing obligatory for all arrivals.

Japan has announced a second Covid-19 emergency state, effective Jan. 8, 2021, putting tourism recovery in jeopardy. Postponed for a year until July 23-August 8, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games are looking iffy for 2021.


Hotels Are Ready to Vaccinate America


Hospitality for Hope Initiative

AHLA launched the Hospitality for Hope initiative in early 2020, identifying more than 20,000 hotels with 2.3 million rooms to provide temporary housing for emergency and healthcare workers.

“With the next phases of vaccination distribution underway, hotels have the unique capability to help provide additional locations to assist with the administration of the vaccine,” said AHLA President & CEO Chip Rogers. In a letter to the incoming president, he suggested 50,000+ hotels across the US have the geographic reach, access, rooms, staff support, cleanliness protocols, refrigeration, parking lots, etc. to serve as vaccine distribution centers in partnership with public health authorities.

For the Dream Stage: “The New York Times 52 Places”

Instead of travel writers, The New York Times asked readers “the spots that have delighted, inspired and comforted them in a dark year.” The resulting 52 entries were curated from 2,000+ worldwide suggestions. “52 Places to Love in 2021” was published last week featuring these U.S. destinations.

  • Big Sky, Montana
  • Lake Michigan
  • Big Sky Country, Montana
  • Lake Michigan
  • East Haddam, Connecticut
  • Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah
  • Santa Rosa, California
  • The Hudson River at Tappan Zee, New York
  • Northern Arkansas
  • Gate of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, Alaska
  • The Rawah Wilderness, Colorado
  • The Methow Valley, Washington

Destination Canada Goes With “NICE” Branding, Kansas Tourism Rebrands, West Virginia Gets a Park & More

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It’s a gentle, soft sell. “This is Canada Nice,” the original song and animation from Destination Canada. The DMO says, “In a time when the world could use a little more of it, we’re here to welcome you with open arms to discover the true meaning of nice.”

Backstory: By the creators of the Broadway musical, “Come From Away,” a varied roster of influential Canadians have lent their voices. Notable Joining the song are a celebrated Quebecois drag queen, an Indigenous singer-songwriter, Canada’s first female astronaut and first neurologist in space, plus influential Canadian authors, athletes and artists.

Meantime, Canada plans to require inbound airline passengers have a negative result on a Covid PCR test no more than 72 hours in advance of arrival. In addition, they’re subject to a mandatory 14-day quarantine. Through mid-December, airline passengers entering Canada was 90% lower compared to 2019.

The “new normal” takes a twist in Anaheim, California, where Disneyland is expected to become operational as a vaccination site later this week.

Disneyland, closed for 10 months, will open this week as one of California’s massive Covid-19 vaccination centers. The theme park location is the first of five Super POD (Point-of-Distribution) sites in Orange County with the capacity to vaccinate thousands of people every day. A Disneyland executive says the theme park is glad to support the vaccination efforts.

Kansas Tourism is ringing in the new year by celebrating new branding.

In fact, this has been in the making for more than 150 years. The state motto, “Ad Astra per Aspera” means “To the Stars Through Difficulty,” and that’s the inspiration for this new tagline. Read more here.

New York City has a new train terminal that’s described as a lofty and light-filled cathedral of steel, glass and marble.

Named for the late state senator, Moynihan Train Hall is a $1.6 billion transformation of a sorting hall inside a Beaux-Arts landmark general post office beside Penn Station and Madison Square Garden covering the block between Eighth and Ninth avenues and 31st and 33rd streets. It serves the Long Island Railroad, NJ Transit and Amtrak. This week, Gov. Cuomo introduced a $60M proposal to connect the station to the High Line.

America has a new national park, number 63, and it is West Virginia‘s first.

New River Gorge is well known and loved to residents and outdoor enthusiasts. Hiking, fishing, rafting, rock climbing and camping attracted nearly one million visitors in 2019. Despite its name, the river gorge is thought to be one of North America’s oldest, if not the world’s.

Related: West Virginia Division of Tourism and National Geographic Travel Partner on Facebook Live

Make social distancing easier? Tripadvisor has launched Crowdfree.me to help consumers identify places that are more crowded than they may wish to go.

It uses aggregated, historical traffic data from anonymized cell phone location pings from users that have opted in. Data displays on a map showing the day and time, updated daily and displaying historical data for how crowded it is typically on an hourly basis. It has a heat map overlay with a slider display as well.

The latest Covid-19 and American Travel Sentiment Research survey fielded Jan. 6, 2021 by Longwoods International reveals these key findings:

  • 51% of American Travelers report that their first trip in 2021 will be to visit friends and relatives. (The vast majority will be by car.)
  • Only 9% of American travelers indicate they do not currently have travel plans for 2021.
  • 63% of American travelers have plans to travel in the next six months, up from  57% (+6%) in mid-December.
  • Only 35% of American travelers have completely cancelled upcoming travel plans due to the pandemic, down from 41% (-6%) in mid-December.
  • 41% of Americans now support opening up their community to visitors, up from 32% (+9%) in early December.

Is offering in-room Covid-19 testing going to take hold as the newest hotel amenity?

In early December, Miami Beach’s W South Beach announced a partnership with New York-based medical concierge group Sollis Health to offer on-site popup Covid-19 PCR testing exclusively to guests and staff.

Guests are able to schedule a test using a QR code available in their guest room, get tested on the hotel’s ground floor and receive their results within 24 hours. In a meeting room at the Palm Beach Marriott Singer Island Beach Resort & Spa, Helix operates a testing program for hotel guests that can provide results in 48 hours or less.

Visitors share their wishes this month at Grand Canal Shoppes at the Venetian Las Vegas.

The Wishing Tree art installation is activated by scanning a QR code that opens an Instagram filter into which people use voice-activated technology to speak their wish. That wish then joins the others displayed in the canopy of the Wishing Tree. Concept and technology is from BestAgency, a Las Vegas creative agency, and Lumen & Forge, a Las Vegas immersive technology company with expertise in AR and projection mapping.

In Case You Missed It: PPP, Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Update, News, People, Jobs

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DMOs scored a round two victory with the Payroll Protection Program of the Small Business Administration. The embattled massive Covid-19 relief legislation enacted in late December allows eligibility for PPP to DMOs in the 501(c)(6) category.

U.S. Travel Association will provide regular updates on their Travel Industry Relief Resources webpage. Get a summary in the link below from an earlier issue of The Travel Vertical.

Related: Finally. (It’s 5,593 Pages Long.)

Webinars for DMOs:

Destinations International and Civitas will have a webinar on PPP for DMOs on Jan. 13, 2021 at 10 a.m. PT. Key points: What is PPP Funding? Who is eligible? How does the application for PPP funding work? And, how to work with a local community bank for funding? Register here.

“Understanding and Accessing COVID-19 Relief for the Travel Industry” is a U.S. Travel Association webinar taking place on Jan. 7, 2021 at 12 p.m. ET. The government relations team will walk through the relief package and answer any questions about what is provided in the legislation, how to access relief and when funds will be made available. Register here.

It’s complicated. Travel Pulse has published a state-by-state Covid-19 travel restrictions as of January 2021…subject to change, of course. Check it out here.

U.S. Travel Association is offering “Let’s Go There” toolkits for National Plan for Vacation Day, on Jan. 26, 2021. The objective is to encourage Americans to start planning how to use time off in the year ahead while traveling safely. Get the toolkits on U.S. Travel Association’s website.

Sacramento International Airport

Destination Analysts‘ survey of American travelers during the first week of January shows the majority do not plan any travel during the first quarter of 2021. Of the 37.5% who do plan travel in the coming three months, 84.5% of these trips will be overnight trips, with over one-third staying with friends or relatives. Get the findings here.

TSA numbers indicate that 1.3 million-plus passengers traveled through the nation’s airports on Sunday, Jan. 3, 2021 — more than on any single day since March 15, 2020.

What’s Tier 5? It’s not good. With widespread areas, including London, already in Tier 4 since before Christmas, England, Scotland, and Wales have now gone into a full national lockdown expected to remain in place at least through the middle of February. People must leave home only for essential reasons. All schools, colleges move to remote learning and year-end exams are cancelled. Outdoor sports venues must close. International departures are now limited to those who have “a legally permitted reason,” such as work. 

Chancellor Angela Merkel has just announced that German nationwide Covid-19 lockdown is being extended at least until the end of January.

In Minnesota, a proposal to merge Visit Duluth with the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center has been shelved for now. This year, the 85-year-old DMO will continue with a reduced budget of $1.5 million in tourism tax funding from the city — $500,000 less than pre-Covid. Duluth’s mayor announced her intention to submit a request for proposals from organizations interested in marketing the city from January 2022. Visit Duluth’s executive director, Anna Tanski, expressed confidence in her organization’s track record.

In Virginia Beach, local news reports that city council members voted 8-3 to ask the general assembly to allow them to create a new hybrid public-private organization to handle the city’s tourism marketing efforts. Council members added a resolution to the upcoming agenda allowing for the creation of Virginia Beach Tourism Authority.

Brand USA is holding its largest-ever Global Marketplace for Canadian travel agents, “Focus On Canada,” on Jan 13-14, 2021. Intended to promote diverse U.S. destinations to our #1 source international market (21 million visitors in 2019), Brand USA president & CEO Chris Thompson said, “When it is safe to do so, travel will resume and we are excited for the day when we can welcome back our Canadian friends. Our industry remains resilient, and through events like, Focus On Canada we’re working together to build the future of tourism.”

With training camps in Florida and Arizona due to open in mid-February, the MLB has announced its intention to stick to the spring training schedule. Will there be a full season? Some say the key is the crowds and whether MLB owners want to play games in empty ballparks again as they did in 2020. 

The 63rd Grammy Awards are cancelled. Soaring coronavirus cases in Los Angeles have led organizers of this year’s event to postpone the music awards ceremony which was due to take place in Southern California on Jan. 31, 2021. The surging virus numbers have led the union representing 160,000 entertainment industry workers to call for a “temporary hold” in Los Angeles to shut down all film and television production until cases decline.

According to STR, the Florida cities of Tampa and St. Petersburg had a 51% hotel occupancy, highest among major U.S. destinations in 2020 through November. Phoenix was in second place at 50.3%, followed by San Diego (50.0%), Los Angeles (49.9%), and Norfolk/Virginia Beach (49.8%).

Residents of Los Angeles will be able to add proof of a Covid-19 vaccination to their smartphone’s Apple Wallet. LA County is partnering with software company Healthvana to begin offering the vaccination records to the Wallet app on iPhones or the competing Google platform.

Red Lion Hotels, a Denver-based company that focuses on the franchising, management and ownership of upscale, midscale and economy hotels, has agreed to a $90 million all-cash acquisition by Sonesta International. This is big news in the hotel world; the combined portfolio will have 1,200 properties.

Through mid-2020, the South has 10 of the top 15 fastest-growing large U.S. cities with a population of 50,000 or more. Frisco, Texas tops the list of the fastest-growing large cities with a growth rate of 71.1%, increasing its population by more than half since April 2010. Thirty miles north of downtown Austin, Leander, Texas has catapulted up the charts, growing 24 times faster than the U.S. average of 0.5%.

California’s famously beautiful Big Sur on the scenic Pacific Coast Highway is fed up with selfie tourism and poor behavior. Monterey County officials unanimously adopted a 120-page plan from the Community Association of Big Sur that outlines new restrictions and measures for controlling access by up to several millions of tourists. Read more about the destination management plans.

Now you can walk or bike from New York City to the Canadian border (it’s 750 miles) and from Albany to Buffalo, NY. Three years and $200 million later, the Empire State Trail is complete and officials estimate 8.6 million people will use at least parts of it every year.

Among the first to experience repeat Coronavirus fallout, the Honolulu Festival scheduled for March 12-14, is canceled for the second consecutive year. The event celebrating cultures across the Pacific Rim typically draws thousands of visitors to the Hawaii Convention Center, Ala Moana Center, International Market Place, Waikiki Beach Walk and other locations. Meantime on the Big Island, Kilauea is having none of it; an eruption on Dec. 20 saw Paradise Helicopters’ business triple overnight.

David Jackson, CMP, HMCC, has joined KKD Tourism Advisors, a tourism consulting firm specializing in destination development, sports tourism and convention sales and marketing. He is Managing Partner based in Greater Philadelphia. Jackson was previously VP-sales at Pocono Mountains CVB and director of sales at Bucks County CVB.

Leslie Hooper has been named Chief People Officer at Entrada Insights. Currently based in Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, she recently had a global people management role at Adara.

At Facebook, the advertising integrity chief has abruptly resigned. Rob Leathern had been in the role for four years after joining via the acquisition of a leading Facebook Ads API partner company. Referring to Facebook, Rob Leathern’s LinkedIn page says, “The team works to protect the people and businesses who use Facebook’s commercial products by enforcing its policies and preventing abuse. We built enhanced advertiser authenticity and transparency (e.g. Ad Library) for all ads across Facebook/Instagram including for ads about social issues, elections & politics.”

MMGY NextFactor has released an updated OrganizationNEXT Report. Takeaways include:

  • A new section on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion with commentary from industry leaders
  • An overview of how destination organizations are reimagining their roles and key performance indicators
  • Updated global rankings of strategic priorities relating to community building, customer engagement and organization sustainability

MMGY NextFactor says, “There are signs that the global visitor industry is moving in a positive direction as we head into 2021. We believe that OrganizationNEXT provides a high-level overview to inform how destination organizations can stay in front of these transformational times effectively…Almost all of the destination leaders we’ve engaged this year are focused on how their organization’s mandate and impact needs to evolve in 2021, both internally and within their communities.”

Greg Oates, SVP Innovation at MMGY NextFactor, says, “Launching a new report that explores equity, diversity and inclusion strategy in the visitor industry, post-George Floyd. Thank you Melissa Cherry, Elliott Ferguson, Julie Coker, Bennish Brown and Timothy P. Bush for your insight into how we can increase equitable opportunities in our organizations and the communities where we live and work.”

Download the report here.

NEW JOB LISTINGS

Director of Marketing — Washington Tourism Alliance (open to state residents through Jan. 27)

Senior Officer, Strategy Planning & Management, Division Office of the President — Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Seattle (applications close Jan. 19)

Senior Content Marketing Manager — Epsilon, Chicago

Senior Project Manager / Business Analyst— Herschend Family Entertainment, Peachtree Corners, GA

Chief Brand Officer and Director of Marketing Communications — University of California-Office of the President, Oakland, CA

Vice President — See Source, Ogden, UT

Public Information & Marketing Program Manager — City of Austin, TX

Director, Regional Integrated Marketing — American Cancer Society, Dallas, TX

Integrated Digital Manager AND Visitor Experience & Programs Manager— Great Rivers & Routes Tourism Bureau, Alton, IL

LAST WEEK’S JOB LISTINGS

VP, Research & Market Analytics — Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp.

CEO — Grenada Tourism Authority

CEO — Moscow Chamber of Commerce, Idaho

CEO — Gilmer County Chamber of Commerce, Ellijay, GA

Executive Director — Tucumcari/Quay Co. Chamber of Commerce, NM

Manager Marketing & Communications — Discover Albany, GA

Advertising & Promotions Sales Manager — Galveston Island, TX

VP, Marketing & Digital Strategy — Omni Hotels & Resorts, Dallas

Account Executive — MMGY Global, Shawnee KS

Events Producer — Skift (Remote)

Local Phoenix Expert — WishTrip

Digital Marketing Manager — Columbia Hospitality, Seattle

Customer Success Manager, West — Milestone Inc. (Remote)

Tourism Data Sales Associate — Idealab, Pasadena, CA

Head of FB App Brand & Strategic Marketing Insights — Facebook, San Francisco

Internal Communications Manager & Events Producer — Google, San Francisco

CHRISTMAS WEEK – JOB LISTINGS

Executive Director — Visit Estes Park, CO

Chief Marketing Officer — Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, SC

Chief Marketing Officer — Visit SLO CAL, San Luis Obispo, CA

Sales & Services Manager — Destinations International, Remote

Chief Executive Officer — Michigan Economic Development Corporation, Lansing

President & CEO — Visit Orlando

President & CEO — Destination Madison

President — Oklahoma City Convention & Visitors Bureau

President & CEO — VisitGreenvilleSC

Vice President of Marketing — Visit Florida, Tallahassee

Executive Vice President & Chief Sales Officer — San Francisco Travel Association

SVP, Multicultural & Community Development, Broward County — Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention and Visitors Bureau

Director of Finance — West Virginia Tourism Office, Charleston

Chief Sales & Marketing Officer — Bermuda Tourist Authority, NYC

Director of Sales — Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau, AR

Vice President, Sales AND Director of Public Affairs and Advocacy — Visit Corpus Christi

Deputy Director of Marketing — Okaloosa Board of County Commissioners, Fort Walton Beach, FL

Director of Research & Market Intelligence AND Tourism Partnership Manager — Virginia Tourism Corp., Richmond

Business Analyst — Visit Grand Junction, CO

Senior Marketing & Communications Manager — City of South Padre Island, TX

PR & Communications Manager, Tourism Division — Collier County, Naples, FL

Public Relations Manager — Destination Cleveland

Finance & HR Manager AND PR & Communications Manager — Visit SLO CAL, San Luis Obispo, CA

Marketing Manager — Tulsa Regional Tourism

Director, Sports Sales — Visit Mesa, AZ

Director of Tourism — Muskogee Tourism Authority, OK

Convention & Tourism Rep — Virginia Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau

CVB Marketing Coordinator — Mesquite Convention & Visitor Bureau, TX

CVB Communications Coordinator AND CVB Director of Media Relations — City of Grapevine TX

Cooperative Marketing Program Coordinator — State of Missouri, Division of Tourism, Jefferson City

Conference Sales Director — Valdosta-Lowndes Co. Conference Center & Tourism Authority, GA 

Communications & Marketing Manager — Watkins Glen Area Chamber of Commerce, NY

PR/Content Marketing Manager — Visit Clarksville, TN

Manager, Paid Media — Discover The Palm Beaches, FL

Digital Marketing Manager — Visit Central Oregon, Sunriver, OR

Operations Manager — Explore Georgia, Atlanta

Communications Coordinator — San Diego Tourism Authority

Marketing Communications Specialist — City of Austin

Social Media Manager — Pinehurst, Southern Pines Aberdeen Area CVB, NC

Marketing Manager — Lake George Regional CVB, NY

Executive Director — Lopez Island Chamber of Commerce, WA

Business Services Manager — City of Richmond, VA, Department of Economic Development 

Marketing Manager AND Marketing Coordinator — Connect Travel, Greater Atlanta

Email Marketing & Automation Coordinator — MMGY Global, Overland Park, KS

Travel & Hospitality PR Account Director AND Account Executive, PR — MMGY NJF, NYC

Account Strategist — Madden Media, Tucson, AZ

Data Scientist AND Probability Statistician AND Data Engineer AND Data Advisor — Entrada Insights, Salt Lake City

Advertiser Marketing Specialist AND Creative Services Coordinator AND Product Manager — Simpleview, Tucson

Integrated Marketing Manager AND Programmatic Sales Director — Leaf Group , NYC / LA

Copywriter — Destination Counsellors International, NYC

Chief Experience Manager — Brightline Trains, Miami

Sr. Manager, Marketing / CBM Product Strategy — Universal Orlando Resort

Digital Marketing Director — Hershey Entertainment & Resorts Co., PA

Director of Tourism — Six Flags, Valencia, CA

Marketing Project Manager — The Mob Museum, Las Vegas

Director Sales & Marketing — Legends, Atlanta

Director of Sales & Marketing — Novotel Miami Brickell

VP of Marketing — OpenTable, San Francisco

Senior Strategist — The New York Times, NYC

Travel Editor — SFGate (San Francisco Chronicle)

Director of Marketing & Communications AND Email and Social Marketing Manager — Stanford University, Stanford, CA

Director, International Marketing — Warner Music Group, NYC

Digital Marketing Lead, Partnerships — Facebook, Menlo Park, CA

[new] Chief of Staff, Go-To-Market Strategic Operations — Google, San Francisco

Senior Marketing Manager (12 months) — The Presidio Trust, San Francisco

There’s an App for That, Visit Philly Rocks and Pantone Could Do Better

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Huh? Pantone’s 2021 Color of the Year is kinda like the dull gray sweats we’ve been wearing throughout 2020 work-from-home and quarantine.

OK, so they picked two colors. Alongside “Ultimate Gray 17-5104” there’s “Illuminating 13-0647” for counter balance. But, it’s a rather sickly yellow hand-picked by color and branding experts. Truthfully, does this inspire anyone?

For over 20 years, Pantone’s Color of the Year has influenced product development and purchasing decisions in multiple industries, including fashion, home furnishings, and industrial design, as well as product packaging and graphic design…Pantone’s color experts at Pantone Color Institute comb the world looking for new color influences.

Pantone says, “A marriage of color conveying a message of strength and hopefulness that is both enduring and uplifting.”

Meh. Comments welcome.

Visit Philadelphia has launched a marketing effort to support the economic recovery and growth of Black- and Brown-owned businesses.

“Black- and Brown-owned businesses are vital to the fabric of Philadelphia, and we want to make it easy for everyone to find them and shop at them during the holidays and into 2021 — whether that’s online or in person,” said Jeff Guaracino, president & CEO.

“People want to be part of our region’s economic recovery, and one way they can do that is by buying gifts from these vital businesses found in more than 35 neighborhoods and towns throughout our region.”

The initiative kicks off the holiday season with the Love + Grit Sweepstakes, gifting one winner with distinctive items and experiences from Black-owned businesses that will gain increased exposure.

Steal this idea for your community? Read about the highlights of the integrated campaign encompassing advertising, website, SEO, videos, influencer marketing, PR, and marketing toolkit. More details here.

Exposure alert! When Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam and his wife tested positive for Covid-19 in September, because they had an alert working on their phones, notifications went out to members of staff.

Did you know? About 150 million Americans can get free, state-sponsored pop-up alerts from local health authorities when they’ve personally spent time near someone who later tested positive for the coronavirus. The alerts use (anonymous) bluetooth software built into iPhones by Apple (screen shots below) and Android phones by detecting when devices are in close contact with each other.

The Washington Post reports as of Dec. 10, the following support coronavirus exposure alerts are active. For instructions, click on the link which takes you to a website or in settings (no app needed) from local health authorities:

Canada is all set with Covid Alert. In the works:

Vaccination cards will be issued to everyone getting Covid-19 vaccine, health officials say. CNN reports, “The Department of Defense released the first images of a Covid-19 vaccination record card.” Read more here.

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