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People On the Move

August 16, 2022 by Laurie Jo Miller Farr Leave a Comment

Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau has named Sheila Alexander-Reid as the new executive director of PHL Diversity, a key business development division. She joins from a role as Senior VP Business Development at BiasSync and had previously been Director of the Mayor’s Office of LBGTQ Affairs in Washington D.C.

Scott Craighead has been named Vice President of Sales, Services and Sports at Visit Albuquerque following his 14-year tenure with the International Association of Exhibitions and Events.

Dave Duncan has been named Chief Sales Officer at Explore St. Louis. He joins from a position as Director of Sales & Marketing at the Sheraton Grand Nashville Downtown.

As Visit High Point, NC enters year four in its 10-year tourism strategic plan, Nancy Bowman will assume the position of Vice President of Branding. She has been with the DMO for 20 years.

Brian Wagner has left his post as Assistant Commissioner Marketing for Tennessee Department of Tourist Development to lead his new firm, Wagner Marketing. He has been with Tennessee Tourism since October 2015.

Visit Spokane president and CEO Meg Winchester has submitted her retirement effective Jan. 1, 2023. She joined the DMO in 2019 and is closing out a 30-year industry career from San Diego Convention Center to Director of Galveston Island Visitors & Convention Bureau. A search is now underway for the next leader at Visit Spokane.

Holly Perella has been named Business Development Director at SportsPITTSBURGH, a division of VisitPITTSBURGH. She joins from a role as Corporate Sales Manager for Wheeling Nailers Hockey, an ECHL affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins, and also served as State Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Advisor for MidAm Hockey.

Sara Harvey has joined Destination Niagara USA as Director of Communications. She previously served as Assistant Director for Public Relations at Niagara County Community College.

Jessica Penman has been named as President & CEO of the Truckee Chamber of Commerce, near Lake Tahoe, in California. She replaces retiring President & CEO Lynn Saunders. She joins from the Yountville Chamber of Commerce in Napa Valley.

In Virginia, Arlington Convention and Visitors Service welcomed a new Destination Sales Manager, Roxana Rivera. She joins from Newseum where she spent 13 years, most recently as Sales Director.

In Arizona, Haley Demircan has joined the City of Chandler Economic Development team as Marketing Coordinator where she’ll manage and develop content for our Visit Chandler.

Kashem Miah has joined CrowdRiff as Vice President of Marketing. His background includes roles at Shutterstock, Fiverr, and others in branding, digital marketing, community development strategies, and content marketing.

Hayden Pigott has taken on a new role as TikTok Platform Manager at Miles Partnership. She was the Content Coordinator at Miles since 2018.

Kevin Wiatrowski (left) has joined Paradise Advertising and Marketing as Associate Vice President Enterprise Communications. He was chief content creator at Visit Tampa Bay from 2014-2020.

In addition, the agency has promoted Glenn Bowman to Senior Vice President, Creative Director + Brand Innovation and Cris Duschek to Chief Communications Officer (below).

Malcolm Griffiths departs Visit Britain after six years in the Brazil office to join Turner Public Relations as Vice President in New York City. Formerly Vice President of Destination Counsellors International for 13 years, he had also previously been with Tourism Australia.

Rachel Dinbokowitz has departed Monterey County Convention & Visitors Bureau following three years as Public Relations Manager. She is now Senior Public Relations Director at Mindy Bianca Public Relations (MBPR).

People News and a Podcast About DMO Funding With John Lambeth, Civitas

August 10, 2022 by Laurie Jo Miller Farr Leave a Comment

People Profile

Milton Howery III, newly promoted to Vice President of Marketing at Memphis Tourism writes, “While in college at The University of Memphis 16 years ago, I randomly walked into the Memphis Visitors Center on Elvis Presley Blvd., looking for a part-time job to support myself through college.

I had no clue that one decision would kick off a 16-year career in tourism. I love the work that we do at Memphis Tourism, and I’m excited about being able to continue that in a different capacity.”

Over the last five years, Milton has championed Memphis across the globe in his role as Public Relations Director for Memphis Tourism. Now he’s bringing over a decade of tourism experience as well as his creativity and passion for promoting Memphis as a premiere destination in his new leadership role.

Wit Tuttell, Director of Visit North Carolina, has been named national State Tourism Director of the Year for 2022.

In a press release, U.S. Travel Association writes, “After pivoting to promote more contactless travel experiences at the height of the pandemic, Tuttell shifted the organization back to more active travel promotion in spring 2021 with a new multichannel brand campaign, Get Back to a Better Place. Third-party research determined a staggering 32:1 return in state and local taxes generated per dollar of media investment. Visit NC reports the campaign strengthened the state’s market share, helping it remain one of the top 5 most-visited states in 2021.”

John Lambeth, Founder & CEO of Civitas, is our guest on The Travel Vertical Podcast to talk about $$$.

For nearly 30 years, he’s been leading the TID effort, a tourism investment district funding model that continues to gain popularity with destinations.

Click for (almost) everything you always wanted to know about TIDs — Episode #34, which goes live on Wed., Aug. 10 at 7 a.m.

Brittney Gray has been appointed as the new Executive Director at Marietta Visitors Bureau. She joins from Georgia Department of Economic Development where she was most recently Director of Tourism Department Marketing, having been with Explore Georgia since 2005.

Heather Bagshaw joins the team at Destination Niagara USA as the new Vice President of Marketing. She had been Director of Tourism at Greene County in Catskill, New York.

DeShawn Hewgley has been promoted to Director of Visitor Experience at Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp. She joined the DMO in 2017.

In Florida, Space Coast Office of Tourism welcomes John Giantonio (left) as the new Deputy Director. Most recently, he was Interim Director and Director of Sports and Events at Visit Casper, Wyoming.

Space Coast Office of Tourism has also welcomed a new Sports Coordinator, Terry Parks (right). He joins from Brevard County Parks and Recreation.

Sylvia Longmire is the new travel/tourism ambassador for Seminole County Tourism in Florida. She will be working with the DMO to promote accessibility.

Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau recently promoted Lindsey Raimondi to Public Relations Manager. Previously an intern, she re-joined the DMO in 2019 following roles with the Atlanta Braves and Georgia Aquarium.

Chicago Southland Convention & Visitors Bureau announced the promotions of Kim Kislowski (left) to Vice President of Marketing and Mary Patchin (right) to Vice President of Sales.

Kislowski joined the DMO in 1990 and Patchin joined in 1999.

Travel Portland welcomes Paola Santiago Del Castillo as the new Content Manager. Her background includes roles in social media and communications with Travel Ohio and Friends of Puerto Rico.

Trevor Chauvin is the newest member of staff at NYC & Company. He joins as Integrated Project Manager and is no longer #OPENTOWORK.

Visit Indy welcomes Liza Girton as the new Service Coordinator at Visit Indy. She joins with a background in hospitality marketing and event planning.

Kelly Blecke (left) has joined San Francisco Travel as Director, Citywide Accounts. She previously spent two years as Senior Director National Accounts at Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Karen Dunn (right) joined San Francisco Travel as Senior Manager Convention Sales-Northeast Region. Most recently, she was Northeast Director of Business Development-Corporate Market for Venetian Resort in Las Vegas.

In San Francisco, Kenneth Bukowski has been appointed as Director of the Convention Facilities Department at the Moscone Center. He has served as Deputy Director at the City Administrator’s Office since 2012.

Jason Ward is now Assistant Director of Sales at the Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau. “Once again proudly representing the Greater Boston area as a world class meeting destination,” Ward returns to the role he held in 2009-2011.

Ketchum has promoted Bettina Garibaldi to Executive Vice President. She is a 14-year veteran at the public relations agency and will continue as Managing Director of the firm’s Travel, Hospitality & Leisure sector.

Nina Rossello has joined Allen & Gerritsen as Senior Vice President of Strategy. She comes to the ad agency from Visit Philadelphia where she was Vice President of Brand Strategy.

Melissa Conley is Content Manager at Miles Partnership. She joins from Arkansas Tourism where she was Digital Content Coordinator since 2017.

Meghan Gearino has started this week with Madden Media as PR Strategist. She joins following six years at Visit Richmond, most recently as Travel Media Manager for the DMO.

Latest News About People & Places — Plus RFPs

August 2, 2022 by Laurie Jo Miller Farr Leave a Comment

P E O P L E

Visit Casper has appointed Darren Rudloff as interim CEO. He had served as CEO of Visit Cheyenne for 20-plus years. Last year, Visit Casper contracted with his firm, Rudloff Solutions, on the development of a tourism master plan for Natrona County.

Louisville Tourism has promoted Stacey Yates to Chief Marketing Officer, a newly created position. She joined the organization in 2005 as Vice President of Marketing & Communications.

Candice Gibson has accepted a new position as Director, Brand & Marketing at Destination Vancouver. She joined the organization in 2002.

Michael D. Munn is now Community Engagement Liaison at Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau. He joins from the Boston Convention Marketing Center where for 16+ years he served as Chief of Staff/Director of Business Development.

Visit San Antonio welcomes Janise Solitaire as the new Communications Manager. Founder of Create Culture Media LLC, she developed the city’s digital community resource, Black Focus Magazine.

Visit Mesa announces the promotion of Kimberly Scarborough to the role of Manager-Visitor Marketing. She joined the DMO in 2021.

Also at Visit Mesa, Zoey Shircel takes on the role of Associate Manager-Media Relations, having served on the communications team for two years.

San Diego Tourism Authority has announced the appointment of Kali Knaack, an experienced events manager, as Director of Events.

Meet Chicago Northwest has selected Amy Walgren as Partnership and Service Manager and Mark Bickler as a Sales Account Executive. Walgren’s background includes marketing roles at Walt Disney Resorts and Legoland Discovery Center. Bickler was previously with McCormick Place, Choose Chicago, and Freeman.

In California, Marciana Yeater, is the newest addition to Monterey County Convention & Visitors Bureau, joining the team as Marketing Coordinator. She is a recent college graduate.

Helen Marano is joining Longwoods International as Senior Vice President. Founder of the consultancy Marano Perspectives, she has previously served as Executive Vice President of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) as well as over a decade as Director of the National Travel and Tourism Office of the United States.

Maria Pane has joined Miles Partnership as Media Coordinator. She joins from Butler County Convention & Visitors Bureau in Pennsylvania, where she was Digital Marketing Coordinator.

Katherine Peterson is the new Senior Social Media Manager at Paradise Advertising & Marketing. She had recently been with Discover Long Island.

Clare Robinson has been promoted to Projects Manager at Longwoods International. She joined the company as a Research Analyst following grad school in 2020.

Jennifer McKone is departing as the Social Media and Digital Marketing Manager at Experience Scottsdale following two years’ service. She is continuing her content work at Cloth & Flame, a Phoenix-based events company.

Kiana Lee is now with Herrmann Global as Director of Operations. She joins the firm’s leadership team following a national program director role with The Foundation for Financial Education.

R F P s

Washington State Department of Commerce is soliciting proposals from nonprofit organizations to develop an online “Tourism Academy.” The academy will provide DMOs, rural communities, tribal nations and tourism/hospitality-related small businesses in Washington State with the technical assistance, training, education and mentorship needed to recover and rebuild tourism-dependent economies. Deadline: Aug. 5, 2022.

The City of Kirkland, WA has issued an RFP to solicit proposals from qualified consultants to design, create, execute, manage, and report on a digital marketing and promotion strategy for Explore Kirkland. Details at visitkirklandwa.com, job no. 43-22-CMO. Deadline 2 p.m. PT on Aug. 15, 2022.

The Board of County Commissioners, Walton County, Florida, through the Walton County Tourist Development Council is seeking proposals from experienced and qualified public relations firms to develop and execute a national PR strategy to support the marketing of Walton County in Northwest Florida to consumer and travel trade in key U.S. markets. Contact: Purchasing Manager waljames@co.walton.fl.us / Deadline 3:30 p.m. ET on Aug. 18, 2022.

Southeast Tourism Society (STS) is seeking proposals from partner destinations to host two annual educational and networking events. Potential host destinations should pay particular attention to requested support from the host city and host state. The deadlines for submissions are indicated below:

STS Domestic Showcase – Open dates for Winter 2024 and Winter 2025 – Submission deadline of August 15, 2022. Details for RFP
STS Connections – Open dates for Fall 2023, Fall 2024, and Fall 2025 – Submission deadline of August 15, 2022. Details for RFP

P L A C E S

*Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal during FIFA World Cup 2022 Qualifiers match between Portugal and Azerbaijan*

Denver, Cincinnati, Nashville, Wash DC/Baltimore, Pasadena, Edmonton and Orlando didn’t make the cut. FIFA has named 16 North American cities in as hosts for the 2026 World Cup, June 8 through July 3, 2026.

EAST: Toronto (BMO Field); Boston (Gillette Stadium, Foxborough); Philadelphia (Lincoln Financial Field); Miami (Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens); and New York/New Jersey (MetLife Stadium.)

CENTRAL: Kansas City (Arrowhead Stadum); Dallas (AT&T Stadium); Atlanta (Mercedes Benz Stadium); Houston (NRG Stadium); Monterrey, Mexico (Estadio BBVA); Mexico City (Estadio Azteca).

WEST: Vancouver (BC Place); Seattle (Lumen Field); San Francisco (Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara); Los Angeles (SoFi Stadium, Inglewood); and Guadalajara, Mexico (Estadio Akron).

As part of the campaign “Your Massachusetts,” the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism (Executive Director Keiko Matsudo Orrall pictured left) has released several sample itineraries for regional travelers.partnered with ThinkArgus to release the Massachusetts Sports Trail, a curated thematic itinerary highlighting sports in the Bay State. Greater Boston, of course, has championship sports teams and Western Massachusetts celebrates the birthplace of two popular American sports—basketball and volleyball. Plus lots more nuggets of sports-related info: “Rich in sports history, it should be no surprise that sneaker companies Converse, New Balance, Puma, Reebok, and Saucony have headquarters in Massachusetts.” A mix of digital, radio, TV, and out-of-home ads are running through September 2022 in New York City, Albany NY, Burlington VT, Hartford CT, Portland ME, and Providence RI plus 160 regional Amtrak trains, 500 NYC taxis in and inside Grand Central Terminal.

Nevada will be the first state to have cannabis-infused food in lounges. The state has established regulations for the licensing and operation of cannabis consumption lounges, which are expected to begin opening by the end of the year or early next year. Although recreational cannabis use in Nevada has been legal since 2017, the state has only allowed for consumption at private residences.

Experience Columbus has a new Accessibility Guide. The DMO consulted with Dr. Rosemarie Rossetti, a prominent disability inclusion expert, sho is a manual wheelchair user and an Experience Columbus ambassador. The guide provides details for mobility, vision, hearing, and cognition for a growing list of 20+ restaurants, hotels, and transportation options, reviewed and vetted by experts.

Seventy-seven neighborhoods…Choose Chicago has created a new locally focused campaign to encourage Chicagoans to explore around town. “Welcome to our Neighborhoods” was developed with the City of Chicago and agency partner FCB Chicago. The campaign is displayed primarily in-app and on mobile plus billboards and banners in-market through September.

The World’s 50 Best Restaurants have been crowned and only three in the USA made the list in 2022, two in New York City and one in the San Francisco Bay Area. See numbers 51-100 for another three in New York City, two in San Francisco, and one in Chicago.

Inflation paints a picture at America’s largest art museum, fourth-most visited in the world. The Metropolitan Museum of Art on Fifth Avenue, NYC, has increased its admission price from $25 to $30. Concessions are seniors $22 and students $17, and “pay as you wish” for New York State residents and students living in or attending school in New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut. Admission is free for members, patrons, and children under age 12.

Got gas? The new, free 60-page 2022 California Road Trips Guide is out. Eight “Dream Drive” itineraries showcase sustainability and responsible travel throughout the Golden State. Each catchy-themed drive (Wine to Waves, SoCal Splurge, and Geek Guide, for example) is paired with a customized Spotify playlist.

MMGY NJF is now working with Visit SLO CAL in San Luis Obispo, a destination on California’s Central Coast halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles. The PR agency also works with Visit California.

TURNER PR, a Fahlgren Mortine company, has picked up Tennessee Department of Tourist Development from July 1. The agency has also added Australia and Indiana to its roster of destination clients.

Maryland Department of Commerce Office of Tourism & Film has renewed Marriner Marketing Communications, an insights-driven branding and activation agency, as its Agency of Record following proposals from prospective vendors. Liz Fitzsimmons, Managing Director of the Office of Tourism & Film said, “Continuing our partnership with Marriner is unquestionably in the best interest of Maryland’s tourism industry.” Coming off a five-year relationship, the agency’s new five-year contract runs through June 2027. According to a press release, the state’s “Open” campaign in 2019 generated 123,000 incremental visitors from 53,500 incremental trips and $45.4 million in direct spending from incremental visitors resulting in $6.2 million in tax revenue. Overall, the campaign’s ROI was 31:1.

The proposed Frontier merger with Spirit is off. Instead, JetBlue is acquiring Spirit for $3.8 billion. If approved, the merger creates the fifth-largest airline in the U.S., a low-cost challenger brand.

New Zealand has opened its borders for the first time since March 2020. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern described the final stage of reopening as an “enormous moment.”

24 People You Know Are On the Move

July 26, 2022 by Laurie Jo Miller Farr 2 Comments

*** Free. Weekly. Timely. Send us your people news. ***

Al Hutchinson, President & CEO of Visit Baltimore, is now serving as Chair of Destinations International.

Renee McKenney is appointed as the new SVP/President of Tulsa Regional Tourism. She joins from Sunseeker Resorts by Allegiant Air. Past roles include Travel Solutions International, Visit Dallas, and The Walt Disney Company.

Paula Port has been named Vice President Global Marketing at Destination Toronto. She been with the DMO since 1999, most recently as Director, Brand Content.

OneSpartanburg, Inc. announced the appointment of Billy Dunlap as Chief Tourism Development. Dunlap formerly served as President & CEO of Visit York County, SC, and Director of Sports Tourism for Visit Greenville SC.

Lloyd Devan Corbello has been named as Executive Director of the West Feliciana Parish Tourist Commission in Saint Francisville, LA. Most recently, he ran the Arts and Humanities Council of Southwest Louisiana.

Clark Lovelace is the new Executive Director of Transylvania County Tourism Development Authority Board in North Carolina. He’s been with the Brevard/Transylvania Chamber of Commerce for the past eight years.

Megan Carew has been promoted to Marketing Manager at Visit Beaufort, Port Royal, and Sea Islands. She joined the DMO in February 2020.

Andrew Felts has been promoted to Communications & Public Relations Manager at Visit Mobile. He joined the DMO in January 2021.

Caitlyn Shearer is the new Tourism Manager at Visit Seattle. She departs Seattle Southside Regional Tourism Authority following four years as Business Development Manager.

Lisa Messina will be the next Chief Sales Officer of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. She joins from Caesars Entertainment where she was Senior Vice President of Sales.

Susanna Flores has been promoted to Director, Convention Sales at San Francisco Travel Association, which she joined in 2012 looking after business in the Northeast and Midwest states.

Discover Denton Texas has promoted Ruben Perez to Senior Director, Sales & Services. Ruben previously served as Director of Sales & Services and has been with the organization since February 2020.

Amie Newsome has joined Visit NC Smokies as the Social Media & Content Manager. Previously, she served as Marketing Coordinator for Lake Junaluska Conference & Retreat Center.

In Colorado, Kailey Rhoten has been appointed by the City of Ouray as the first Tourism and Destination Marketing Director. She joins from the tourism department for the City of Montrose, CO.

Narada Myers is now Marketing Coordinator at Experience Columbus. With a decade of experience in restaurant/hospitality, he is a graduate of the DMO’s Diversity Apprenticeship Program — read more here.

In North Carolina, Visit High Point has announced two new staff appointments. Haley Overturf (left) becomes Branding Content Coordinator and Dana East (right) takes on the role as Events Development Manager.

Ted Lee, Chief Financial Officer and Vice President Destination Stewardship, has announced his departure from Destination Vancouver following nearly 30 years of service.

Robert Hansen, Executive Director of Visit Walla Walla in Washington State is planning to retire this fall. An executive search is being conducted.

Whit Bones is starting a new position at MMGY Global as Marketing and Communications Director. He joins from the Kansas City Art Institute.

Alexandra “Lexi” V. Pasi has joined Zartico as Senior Director of Data Science. She holds a PhD in Mathematics, and has broad industry and academic experience in machine learning, statistics, data science, and quantitative and qualitative modeling and forecasting.

Also at Zartico, P. Taylor Coleman will be starting as a Data Scientist on September 1. For the past two years, he has been a Post Master’s Research Associate at Pacific Northwest National.

Richard Bryant has been promoted to Senior Sales Director at Zartico. He joined from Adara in 2021 and was previously with Tourism New Zealand.

Australia -> U.S. tourism: No one has filled the role of since January 2021. Now, Caroline Kennedy has flown out to Canberra to take up her new role as U.S. Ambassador to Australia. She served as U.S. Ambassador to Japan from 2013 – 2017. Meantime, current U.S. visa appointment waits in Sydney are 390 days.

Roundup: Unexpected News, a Jumbo Typo, and More Tourism News

July 20, 2022 by Laurie Jo Miller Farr Leave a Comment

Unexpected News

Hack attack: In the wee hours in the morning of July 7, Disneyland‘s Twitter and Instagram accounts posted a mixture of racial slurs, calls for violence, and foul language. The posts went up prior to 5 a.m. and were quickly removed, but not before they went out to Disneyland’s 1.5 million followers on Twitter and 8.4 million followers on Instagram. Source: USAE News

“Take a look at the new design for Boom Supersonic’s Overture, which will be manufactured and assembled right here in North Carolina.” The world’s fastest airliner is optimized for speed, safety, and sustainability. The design was revealed this week in the U.K. at Farnborough International, the world’s largest airshow, where the Concorde debuted 51 years ago. Sources: Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina and Boom

SAG-AFTRA, the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, has announced a new influencer agreement that allows anyone paid to advertise products via their individual social media platforms to be covered by the union. The new agreement categorizes “influencer-generated branded content” as a form of advertising; SAG-AFTRA members doing that type of video and/or audio work will qualify for health and pension benefits. Producers of still images are not covered. Previously, the union had covered advertising done by YouTubers. This new influencer agreement takes it further to cover advertising work across all social media platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. Source: Backstage.com

Starting Nov. 1, 2022, employers advertising jobs in New York City must include a “good faith salary range,” showing minimum and maximum salary for every job, promotion, and transfer opportunity advertised. The new law applies to employers having four or more employees (including owners) in any location, in NYC or elsewhere. Fact sheet here.

TikTok has started laying off employees as part of a global restructuring. Several U.S.-based employees had their roles eliminated, including the brand’s Monetization Product Leader. Sharing the news, David Ortiz indicated that 2.5 years ago, he had been TikTok’s first hire outside of China. Source: Ad Age

Yikes, BA.5! The County of Los Angeles is expected to reinstate an indoor mask mandate to take effect July 29, unless there’s a sudden turnaround in Covid tracking metrics. It would apply to indoor shops, offices, events, schools and more. The order would be rescinded once case levels begin to drop again.

Also, indoor mask mandates are already reinstated at several important national parks: Denali, Glacier, Grand Canyon, Grand Teton, Yellowstone, and Yosemite.

The Federal Reserve Board has recommended exploring government-managed digital currency. Called CBDC, for central bank digital currencies, these are legally recognized currencies that allow customers access to digital tokens without a commercial bank account. This would be “faster and cheaper,” says the Federal Reserve for consumers to move funds without a middleman. Dozens of other countries are examining or already developing CBDC setups.

Costa Rica has been recognized as one of the happiest countries on Earth by the Gallup World Index and the Happy Planet Index. Now, they take digital nomad to the next level. President Rodrigo Chaves Robles has finalized the regulations for the Digital Nomads Law (Law No.10,008). This was the final step required to implement the new law, which allows foreign remote workers and their families to reside in Costa Rica for a term of one year, extendable to two years in total. Benefits include no income tax or import tax on job-related equipment. Applicants must have a minimum income of $3,000 USD per month or $4,000 if traveling with a family.

In France, several heavily visited natural sites are sounding the alarm; some villages and sites in rural France are putting caps on the number of tourists. France 24 reports, “The signs of overtourism are everywhere: overflowing rubbish bins, hollowed-out hiking trails from so much foot traffic, more-frequent landslides, up to 400 kg of pebbles a day carried away from the beaches.”

The lost luggage mountain grew so big that Delta Air Lines sent an empty plane to London Heathrow Airport to fetch 1,000 misplaced bags. Delta said it took the ‘creative solution’ and pledges, “We will then forward the bags on to our customers.”

Red alert. London was hotter than the Caribbean and the Sahara Desert this week. Temperatures climbed to 40º Celsius — that’s 104º Fahrenheit — and people were urged to stay off the Underground. Central London = deserted. Note: Air conditioning is simply *not a thing* in most homes and offices throughout the U.K. and (editorial comment) The Queen’s Guard should not have to stand at attention wearing 19-inch tall bearskin hats, heavy-as-weights marching boots, and buttoned up woolen costumes!

Speaking of England, there’s now a ticket landing page for the new permanent Princess Diana – Tribute Exhibition due to open in August 2022, which will actually be located in Las Vegas. (!?!) The 10,000-square-foot royal exhibit will assume long-term residency inside The Shops at Crystals on the Las Vegas Strip.

Start your engines…Chicago is making sports history with NASCAR! 🏎️🙌

The thrilling sport is coming to downtown Chicago on July 1-2, 2023 when a NASCAR Cup Series street race debuts against the backdrop of Lake Michigan and Grant Park. OK!

Jumbo Typo

*It’s from 2018, but it’s making the rounds again*

More Tourism News

*President & CEO of Visit Milwaukee Peggy Williams-Smith*

Milwaukee has been selected by the site committee to host the 2024 Republican National Convention. The decision still needs to be voted on by the party at its August summer meeting; Nashville was the other finalist. There are three potential blocks of dates for the event in July or August of 2024, with that decision expected by the end of this year. It’s projected the RNC will bring roughly 45,000 attendees from around the USA and up to $200 million in economic impact.

Got plans for July 14 – July 30, 2028? The Los Angeles organizing committee has announced the dates for the Olympics Summer Games. The LA28 Paralympic Games will kick off August 15 and close August 27. This is the third time for the city as Olympics host, including 1932 and 1984, and the first time for the Paralympics.

According to the latest Longwoods International tracking study of American travelers, 44% say they are reducing the number of trips and shifting to destinations closer to home because of record-high prices at the pump. This figure is up from 36% in May. Only 12% surveyed said that rising gas prices are not impacting their travel plans. “Fuel costs continue to be a drag on the travel industry recovery,” said Amir Eylon, President and CEO of Longwoods International.

Last week, nearly 500 tourism-related organizations and associations signed a letter to Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and National Park Service Director Chuck Sams III to urge action on an improved reservations system for the NPS. The letter described short booking windows as a major deterrent, threatening to stall the recovery of international inbound tourism. International visitors represented 35% of all U.S. national park visitation in 2019.

(Photo — At Presidio Tunnel Tops in San Francisco where 14 acres has been added to an urban national park, a former military base, by sinking a portion of highway near the Golden Gate Bridge. The project lead was James Corner Field Operations of the High Line in NYC. Twenty years in the making, $98 million was raised in private funds.)

Tourism Ireland staff beside a Green Button ad in NYC.
(Credit: Tourism Ireland, James Higgins)

“Swap skylines for coastlines,” says Tourism Ireland. Aiming for 54 million impressions, the ‘Press the Green Button’ campaign has been rolled out in the USA on major television networks in key gateway cities: New York, Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington DC, San Francisco and Los Angeles plus streaming services: Hulu, WarnerMedia, YouTube TV, Sling TV and Discovery+. Outdoor in New York, Boston and Chicago includes wrapped trains and subways.

“Bay Crafted” is a relaunch of Visit Tampa Bay‘s successful campaign and trail focused on craft breweries and craft cocktails. Turns out there’s 130 years of beer culture in Tampa. Check it out on the landing page.

Graze Soul Bowl (Credit: John Yuccas, courtesy of Meet Minneapolis)

Meet Minneapolis joins the city in celebrating the second annual Black Business Week July 25 – 31 prior to National Black Business Month in August. Several entrepreneurs opened businesses recently in Minneapolis, adding to a thriving community of Black-owned restaurants, shops, and arts organizations that will easily fill a visitor’s itinerary. These new businesses are all striving to bring equity and empowerment to the community they serve through social enterprise efforts and sustainability.

The “Road to PTO” quiz and a recent poll from Samsonite, conducted online by The Harris Poll among 800 US adults, found that while 65% of full-time employees agree that they urgently need a vacation, 72% have used less than half of their vacation days for the year. Also, 20% of full-time employees say they do not have any paid vacation days scheduled for the next three months.

Rhode Island has enacted new Tourism Improvement District legislation. “Seeking to provide a stable solution for the industry, Kristen Adamo and the team at Go Providence teamed up with Representative Lauren Carson of Newport to pass the Tourism Improvement District enabling legislation for all municipalities in Rhode Island,” reports Civitas. “As the first state to enact statewide enabling TID legislation in 2022, Rhode Island follows the 2021 TID Laws passed in Massachusetts, Virginia, and Louisiana.”

L to R: Chef Matthew Kammerer, The Harbour House Inn; Royce Chwin, President & CEO, Destination Vancouver; Kennedy Stewart, Mayor of Vancouver; Gwendal Poullennec, International Director, MICHELIN Guides; The Michelin Man (CNW Group/Destination Vancouver)

Destination Vancouver and Michelin announced the MICHELIN® Guide Vancouver, the latest expansion of the MICHELIN Guide. Vancouver joins Toronto as the only MICHELIN Guide destinations in Canada. In the USA are New York City, San Francisco, Washington DC, Chicago, California, and Tampa/Miami/Orlando.

“The MICHELIN Guide is constantly observing the evolution of culinary destinations around the world. Michelin works with Destination Marketing Organizations, or tourism boards, to promote the travel industry in the respective locations; however, the MICHELIN Guide selections process remains completely independent. While selections remain fully independently determined by Michelin inspectors, Michelin is working with Destination Vancouver on marketing and promotion activities only.”

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