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July 14, 2020 by Laurie Jo Miller Farr Leave a Comment

PEOPLE

In Texas, Port Aransas & Mustang Island Tourism Bureau and Chamber of Commerce has named Brett Stawar as its new president and CEO. Stawar will take over for Keith McMullin, who has been acting as interim in the role since April. Stawar previously spent 16 years at the Great Rivers and Routes Tourism Bureau of southwest Illinois. He also served two terms as chairman of the Illinois Council of Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Kaitie Burger has joined Madden Media as a director of destination strategy. She was previously employed as content and communications manager at Visit Lehigh Valley in Allentown, Pennsylvania where she worked for over seven years. Burger was recognized in the class of 2016 as one of Destinations International’s 30 Under 30.

Keri Hanson, international marketing director for Macy’s for the past seven years, has left the tourism industry to join the marketing team at Theisen Supply Inc. Previously, Hanson had been social media and marketing manager for Brand USA, manager of national council relations for the U.S. Travel Association, and PR and marketing manager at Sonoma County Tourism Bureau.

Stephanie Pace Brown, recent past president & CEO of Explore Asheville, has been named EVP of Indianapolis-based SMARinsights, a research and marketing firm specializing in destinations. Her background includes the Alexandria Convention & Visitors Association, Ohio Office of Tourism and Colonial Williamsburg.

Becky Daniels, executive director of Discover Schenectady in upstate New York has left the post she held since the DMO’s founding in 2017. She leaves the travel industry for a community engagement role in banking with Albany’s CAP COM Federal Credit Union.

Jayne Buck is retiring from her post as vice president of tourism at Visit Denver. Buck has been with the destination organization for nearly 21 years.

Guam Visitors Bureau has announced that former governor Carl T.C. Gutierrez will remain as GVB president and CEO, while Dr. Gerry Perez will continue serving as vice president. Both Gutierrez and Perez were initially appointed in May on an interim basis when Pilar Laguaña retired after 41 years as chief executive.

NEWS

CrowdRiff and Simpleview Partner To Deliver UGC Software and Services Globally

TORONTO – July 9, 2020 – Simpleview, the global destination marketing industry’s leading provider of CRM, CMS and digital marketing services, and CrowdRiff, the leading visual marketing platform for travel and tourism brands, today announced that they have signed a partnership agreement to deliver UGC software and services globally.

CrowdRiff and Simpleview currently have 225 shared customers, and together address the travel marketing needs of more than 1,600 travel and tourism industry clients.

“Simpleview’s partnership with CrowdRiff brings together two trusted market leaders that are solely focused on travel and tourism,” said Ryan George, CEO of Simpleview. “We can now collaborate and provide our DMO clients worldwide with a one-stop suite of innovative digital solutions that enables them to tell their unique stories.”

Simpleview was the first in the destination marketing space to create both an industry-specific CRM and CMS. Its platform features more than 30 marketing products and services, designed specifically for destination marketing organizations (DMOs). Likewise, CrowdRiff’s AI-powered content marketing platform, which uses data to discover and deliver visuals that drive visitors to a brand, was purpose-built for the travel and tourism industry.

“We have long respected the Simpleview team and their commitment to providing DMOs with the best products and services relied on by the industry,” said Dan Holowack, CEO of CrowdRiff. “Our two companies have pioneered innovation in the travel industry for years, and we are eager to work together to deliver our best-of-breed offerings to the DMO community.”

The partnership deepens CrowdRiff’s global presence in the travel industry, and provides Simpleview customers with access to the industry’s UGC platform, along with free content and resources published by CrowdRiff.

About CrowdRiff
CrowdRiff is an AI-powered content marketing platform purpose-built for the travel and tourism industry. The platform combines content discovery, digital asset management, and content delivery tools that enable marketers to source and share top performing visuals with their respective audiences, at scale. To date, CrowdRiff has processed over 500 million images, and the company currently works with over 800 leading travel and tourism brands globally, including Destination BC, Visit Indy, and the Netherlands Board of Tourism and Conventions. Visit crowdriff.com

About Simpleview
Simpleview is the worldwide leading provider of CRM, CMS, website design, digital marketing, revenue generation, and mobile technologies for destination marketing organizations (DMOs). The company employs over 325 staff and works with nearly 1,000 travel, tourism and convention marketing customers on six continents, from towns of less than 30,000 to world capitals, 16 of the top 20 U.S. meetings destinations and the countries of Malaysia, Norway and Scotland. Visit simpleviewinc.com

JOBS

Chief Executive Officer – Hawaii Tourism Authority in Honolulu

President & CEO at Explore Asheville in North Carolina

Chief Executive Officer at Reno Sparks Convention & Visitors Authority in Nevada

President & CEO at Park City Chamber of Commerce | Convention & Visitors Bureau in Utah

President & CEO at Visit Santa Clara, the newly formed DMO in Silicon Valley, California

Executive director at Galesburg Area Convention & Visitors Bureau in Illinois

Executive director at Saugatuck Douglas Convention & Visitors Bureau in Michigan

Vice president of sales at Destination Ann Arbor, Michigan

Deputy Director at Naples, Marco Island, Everglades Convention & Visitors Bureau in Florida

Vice president – housing, registration & event technology at ConferenceDirect based in Folsom, California

Manager – MICE and Marketing at Singapore Tourism Board in San Francisco office

Director of Convention Development for Visit El Paso

General manager of the Fort Worth Convention Center

Executive director Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center in West Virginia

Assistant general manager at Massachusetts Convention Center Authority in Boston

Conference sales director at Valdosta-Lowndes Co. Conference Center & Tourism Authority in Georgia

Director of marketing & communications at Alamo City Sports Complex in San Antonio, Texas

Chief tourism development officer at Spartanburg Convention & Visitors Bureau in South Carolina

Digital marketing manager at Visit Denver

Digital markting manager at Visit Central Oregon in Sunriver

Digital Marketing Specialist at Visit SLO CAL in San Luis Obispo, California

Interim executive director (part-time) at Visitors Bureau of Highland County in Hillsboro, Ohio

Account manager at Madden Media in Boise, Idaho

Web content editor (part-time) at Utah Office of Tourism in Salt Lake City

Director of ecommerce and marketing at HEI Hotels and Resorts in St. Pete, Florida

Marketing Operations Manager at Reddit in San Francisco

Senior account executive at Augustine Agency in Roseville, California

Account Manager for travel/tourism at DVA Advertising & PR in Bend, Oregon

Growth Marketing Manager at Tik Tok in Greater Los Angeles

Director of marketing, experiences – corporate at Hornblower Group in Greater Los Angeles

Marketing manager, Pérez Art Museum in Miami

Director of marketing & communications at Minnesota Children’s Museum in Saint Paul.

VP-casino marketing at Viejas Casino & Resort in Alpine, California

Tourism data sales associate at UberMedia in Pasadena, California

Feel Good Factor: Great Destination Videos to Overcome Covid Sadness

May 26, 2020 by Laurie Jo Miller Farr Leave a Comment

Team effort! “We had a lot of fun working with the Visit Savannah sales team to create this video! Great work, as always, to Tyler Edic (video production coordinator) for turning this concept into reality,” says Lauren Cleland, Director of Digital Marketing. Senior Vice President, Jeff Hewitt, agrees, “We had some desperately needed fun.”

What are “Tiny Trips“? A strategy of positivity in phases. In partnership with Miles, the Louisiana Office of Tourism developed a three-phase social video campaign to bring a sense of calm and positivity to followers and fans. As restrictions are loosened, the video releases are timed to coincide. Designed to increase positive consumer sentiment around travel, they progressively introduce elements like people and music. Each of the short “Tiny Trips” videos, found here, were produced from existing b-roll and UGC.

Fairmont Hotels & Resorts in the Western Mountain Region—Banff, Lake Louise, Jasper and Whistler—reopen on June 1. And while getting their new standards, inspections and certifications in place, Regional VP David Roberts says the hotels practiced the “Art of Waiting.”

The historic castle-like hotels in Banff and Lake Louise created five storytelling videos, the brainchild of Roberts, to showcase the extraordinary architecture and pristine mountain locations of the properties. The vignettes feature a lonely, debonair Bellhop, Stomp-inspired Groundskeepers, an opera-singing Housekeeper, a fiery Chef, and an impatient Concierge. So, if you love “The Bellhop,” see the series.

The videos were created in collaboration with Canmore-based Carter-Ryan Productions and draw on the talent of Alberta-based theatre professionals who have been unable to perform due to recent restrictions. The videos are released on social media channels and on the hotels’ own YouTube channel HERE.

New on the app, “Americanos,” on Brand USA‘s on-demand entertainment channel, GoUSA TV. The 26-min. documentary starts in Queens, New York and ends in Austin, Texas. The show explores how Latinx culture brings American cities to life through the stories of those who embrace their roots and shape the future.

Webinar #7: How Destinations are Using Social Media Now and Into the Next Normal

May 19, 2020 by Laurie Jo Miller Farr Leave a Comment

How Destinations are Using Social Media Now
and Into the Next Normal

Wednesday, May 20, 2020 | 1:00 p.m. EDT
Join the conversation.
DMOs and brand experts will discuss this week’s topic.

Adam Stoker, President/CEO, Relic Agency
Anastasia Straley, Destination Social Media Manager
Katie Utken, Digital Marketing Manager, Hamilton County Tourism Inc.
Liz Mabe, Director of Digital Marketing, Discover Puerto Rico
Moderated by Josh Collins, Director Destination
Activations + Marketing, Streetsense

ICYMI, here are the key takeaways for the last week’s webinar.

Scroll down for a webinar with Brand USA and Miles Partnership.

And all past webinars are on our YouTube channel.

Covid-Related News Curated for DMOs and Attractions, Including Disney and Baseball

May 12, 2020 by Laurie Jo Miller Farr Leave a Comment

Recently introduced legislation (H.R. 6697) would expand eligibility for the Paycheck Protection Program to chambers of commerce, DMOs and other 501(c)(6) organizations. “Local Chamber, Tourism, and 501(c)(6) Protection Act of 2020,” which would allow for those organizations with under 300 employees. U.S. Travel Association requests DMOs to please contact their representative and ask them to cosponsor the bill. Here’s an activation link.

Connect is committed to implementing conscious and intentional processes to not only combat this virus, but promote healthy best practices that meeting planners can adopt at events, which will also become a consistent priority for all of Connect events during high- and low-risk time periods alike. These protocols will be in place for Connect Travel, planned for Aug. 17-19 in New Orleans. Read more here.

Major League Baseball owners have finalized a plan that may allow the 2020 season, scheduled to start on March 26, to start instead on the Fourth of July weekend. MLB owners and league management have agreed to an 82-game regular season, down from the traditional 162 games, with spring training beginning in early to mid-June. Games would resume without fans, if state legislation and health officials allow. In March, each of the 30 major league teams committed $1 million to assist thousands of ballpark employees affected by the interruption of baseball season.

Disney Springs, the outdoor shopping, dining, and entertainment complex at Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, is beginning a phased reopening on May 20. A limited number of shops and restaurants will reopen at first. There will be limits on parking, operating hours, and how many people will be allowed to come in at once. In a blog post, Disney Springs indicated there will be increased cleaning and face masks will be required for cast members and visitors. Shanghai Disneyland reopening on May 11 could be the road map for future park openings. Read more here.

Walt Disney World in Orlando is accepting hotel reservations on its website for dates starting July 1. Disney World is also allowing customers to buy theme park tickets online from July 1.

It’s a big job. And things are going to look and feel very different.

Marriott International, founded 92 years ago,is the world’s largest hotel group with more than 1.1 million rooms in 5,700+ properties in 30 brands in over 110 countries. See the update on cleanliness commitment standards endorsed by Bill Marriott.

Frontier Airlines is the first U.S. airline to announce plans to implement temperature checks for all passengers and airport team members. Starting June 1, customers will be screened with touchless thermometers prior to boarding. Anyone with a temperature registering 100.4º F. or above will not be denied boarding. If time allows, there will be a second reading.

TSA will now require employees wear facial protection while at screening checkpoints, a measure to be implemented over the next few days. Passengers are not required, merely encouraged, to wear facial protection, although a growing number of airports (SFO, LAX, San Diego, Denver) and airlines are mandating the use of masks by passengers. TSA said that at security checkpoints, passengers may be asked to lower their facial covering for identity verification or if metal in masks set off alarms on the screening equipment.

Live Nation is selling tickets for an Arkansas show from country-rock act Travis McCready that’s being deemed “the industry’s first socially distanced concert,” Bloomberg writes. McCready’s show is seen as a test case for whether concerts are possible in the time of a pandemic. Seats will be restricted, “so fans remain at least six feet apart,” and capacity will be capped at 20%. Masks will be compulsory as will temperature checks at entry points. Fog sprayers will be employed for venue sanitation, and food and beverages “will be prepackaged or have lids.” — LinkedIn.

Music Cities Together is a joint initiative out of Austin and Washington DC to save music venues and clubs from shutting down. Variety reports, “Portland, Seattle (King County), New Orleans, Cleveland, Los Angeles, Austin, Albuquerque and Chicago are the first eight cities on board…” REVS (Reopen Every Venue Safely) is a pilot program that aims to “develop and disseminate action plans and budgets in the face of Covid-related challenges. Read more here.

Amtrak has already instituted a social-distancing measure on board by cutting back coach and business-class ticket sales to 50% capacity. They also established a mandatory policy regarding face masks for all customers and employees starting May 11.

Greyhound institutes its mandatory system-wide face mask policy for travelers on May 13. Both carriers enforce their policy in waiting rooms, ticketing areas, boarding platforms, etc.

A small army of cleaners scoured the entire New York City subway system— encompassing 472 stations—in the first such closure in 115 years. The Metropolitan Transit Authority, a 24/7 operation, now closes from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. daily for sanitation for the foreseeable future.

The New York City subway system has seen a 90% decline in its 1.7+ billion annual trips since the Covid-19 pandemic shut down the city and at least 109 MTA employees have died from the coronavirus.

VisitDallas and the Dallas Tourism Public Improvement District (DTPID) are leading the nation today as the first destination to receive Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC) STAR™ accreditation. It designates Dallas hotels, the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center Dallas and selected city-owned arts and cultural institutions as sanitary and safe. The initiative is administered by a division of ISSA, the worldwide cleaning industry association, and is seen as the gold standard for facilities to implement cleaning, disinfection and infectious disease prevention protocols.

“When our residents, visitors and meeting and convention attendees are able to return and enjoy our great city, we want them to have peace of mind that Dallas is doing everything we can to create the safest and healthiest environment possible,” said Craig Davis, president and CEO of VisitDallas.

Destinations International announced that the 2020 Annual Convention scheduled for July 14-15, 2020 in Chicago, will be a virtual event. There will be two full days of interactive educational sessions with polling, chat capabilities and Q&A during sessions. Details and registration here.

No middle seats on aircraft could mean a spike in airfares up to 54%, according to data released by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Such a regulation to enforce social distancing would likely push average load factors below 62%, a point at which zero profitability is assumed, reports Travel Pulse.

Advance reservations and a timed admission to museums and attractions may be the way forward, suggests Jason Cochran, editor-in-chief at Frommers.com. Pre-purchased entry can help to “thin out crowds and eliminate unexpected attendance surges, timed tickets have helped soften the inconvenience of queues. For the same reason, timed tickets will now help satisfy social distancing precautions,” he writes. Read more here.

Vice President, Research & Analytics, Carroll Rheem, Brand USA is hosting a research update webinar to provide information on international market conditions: the status of the pandemic, economic outlook, consumer sentiment. — Friday, May 15, 2020 at 1 p.m. EDT. Register here.

If you’d like to join the next Brand USA Board of Directors Meeting, it’s on May 20, 2020, register here.

Steal This Idea — Part IV: Sing-Alongs, Contests, Coloring Books, Puzzles & GIFs

April 28, 2020 by Laurie Jo Miller Farr 2 Comments

Tony Bennett statue, erected for his 90th birthday in 2016, wears a face mask in SF Giants’ colors

Google Search numbers soared for the “Lyrics to ‘I Left My Heart in San Francisco.'”

At noon on Saturday, April 25, the entire Bay Area turned out on windowsills, front steps, and in back yards to raise their voices in a mega-sing-along of Tony Bennett‘s classic, the city’s signature song, in a tribute to workers on the front line of the coronavirus battle.

Virginia Tourism shows us a lovely stream of local landscapes and landmarks, captivating when set against a piano ballad. “We’ll be waiting for you” is the message. Naturally, the tagline “Virginia Is for Lovers,” closes out the spot. The famous tourism slogan has been active since 1969. The objective? An optimistic approach, preserving top of mind awareness, an invitation for later—it’s described as a “reverse postcard.” See and hear the 30-second spot by The Martin Agency here.

So many spring weddings meant to be held in gorgeous venues surrounded by family and friends have been cancelled. In Anaheim, Orange County, Calif., an empty Honda Center parking lot can handle up to 60 betrothals per day. Couples exchange kisses through protective masks and a county staff member stays safe behind the window of a booth with one witness present.

NYC & Company highlights ways to support one-off retailers, launching “Shop in NYC,” a digital initiative. The un-Amazon tool curates items from cultural institutions including the Apollo Theater, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, MoMA, New York Hall of Science and the Whitney Museum of American Art. There’s Italian food from Eataly, retro clothes from the TWA Hotel Shop and craft beers from The Bronx Beer Hall, The Bronx Brewery, Brooklyn Brewery, Fifth Hammer Brewing, Rockaway Brewing Company, Flagship Brewery and Kills Boro Brewing Co. Order sustainable home goods and kitchen supplies from Package Free, a Brooklyn-based company.

Glacier Country Regional Tourism Commission, DMO for eight northwestern Montana counties, recently released a video titled “Love now. Explore Later.” The two-minute ad asks tourists not to come to Montana for now, President and CEO Racene Friede said. “It is not natural for us to say, ‘Don’t come.’ It is not in our DNA. Our whole mandate is to market a region as a travel destination,” Friede said.

GoUSA TV features travel stories from across the USA via the app #GOUSATV. -> No subscription, no fees, no logins. There are full episodes, documentaries and films about real people from Brand USA. Click to get a 30-sec. trailer here.

San Francisco Travel has a brilliant interactive digital jigsaw puzzle download featuring city scenes to play on your phone. “Hand out with the PIER 39 sea lions, gaze upon the Painted Ladies at Alamo Square, sit in Dolores Park, take a cable car ride, or check out views of the Golden Gate Bridge. Time yourself, show the edges first (that’s cheating), or adjust the number of puzzle pieces from 6 to 518. Here’s the link.

St. Pete/Clearwater is posting GIFs to let you test your eye-finger coordination talent on Twitter. How many tries before you can precisely capture the moving sailboat as it sails through the frame right into its shadow? Their next shadow game, a pelican.

And remember, when beaches are re-opened, spread your (beach towel) wings. Six feet of social distancing is re-defined by Visit St. Pete/Clearwater.

Visit Yosemite Madura County has put it all together digitally with parents in mind because fulltime home schooling is a brave new world. While you’re home, Yosemite comes to you: the Activity Kit, Storybook and Coloring Pages feature animals. Teach little ones about birds, mammals, plants and bees that take care of this beautiful region. “Enjoy puzzles, making masks and paper doll crafts while learning about Yosemite, and so much more,” says the DMO. Get the kit.

Release your cartography skills on behalf of a destination.

Learn how to make your own illustrated map in eight easy steps, courtesy of a freelance illustrator who shared his methods via The New York Times, get instructions here.

Because people have more time at home these days, have you considered a UGC call for original drawings, watercolors, paintings, sketches as a handmade alternative to Instagram? See more here.

When it’s Magic Hour” in Los Angeles, you’re there…virtually. Thanks to a live stream of the sunset from Hotel Erwin in Venice Beach, Mother Nature’s show is shared evenings at 6:30 p.m. PT. Want your sunset with a curated Spotify playlist from LA, interactive experience with a magician, chef, or photographer? For sure, with a cocktail recipe from an LA mixologist. You got it. Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board produces the Magic Hour series that was kicked off by a professional location scout doing a Google Earth tour of locations made famous by films including La La Land and Blade Runner.

The most unusual idea is easily awarded to…Faroe Islands, a volcanic North Atlantic archipelago between the coasts of Norway and Denmark. “Now that we don’t have any tourists, we have a lot of extra time on our hands,” said Guðrið Højgaard, CEO of Visit Faroe Islands. They dreamt up “a website where people can dictate moves for a real-life Faroese guide using an online controller that resembles a video game console,” as CNN describes it. “Every day at 5 p.m. local time, a local Faroese resident comes online, and everyone who has logged on to the website can ‘control’ them for one minute by pressing the run or jump buttons or by navigating up, down, left or right. The local wears a plastic safety helmet mounted with a GoPro and then sets off.” This intricate scheme to showcase the remote location of fewer than 50,000 people involves local guides getting around on boat, seaplane, horseback, and on foot. Here’s the video.

Delta Air Lines displays a sense of humor for giving this Twitter user a shout-out for his just-for-fun homemade video. “We love a good exit row, even when it’s on the ground. A+ for effort @andrewdean.” Watch the 55-sec. video here.

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