Connect Thrive Summit Archives - The Travel Vertical

Togetherness: This TikTok Got 1M Views | U.S. Travel Association & Connect Travel to Coordinate in 2021

December 15, 2020 by Laurie Jo Miller Farr Leave a Comment

Let’s declare 2021 the year of helping each other out…in the industry and in the snow. One million views on TikTok indicates that people love what that looks like:

@jeanbean707
Just helping a buddy out. We love our UPS &. FedEx drivers❤️#ups #fedex #snow #gotyourback #gotyourbackalways
♬ Good Day – Nappy Roots

Save the Date
See Tomorrow
Las Vegas

“By co-locating our Connect Travel events alongside the most important travel event in the United States, we are creating exciting synergies for our partners to efficiently make connections across multiple industry sectors. Las Vegas will be the epicenter of the U.S. travel industry in September 2021, and together these events will be the catalyst for travel recovery in 2021 and beyond.” — Connect Travel President Will Seccombe

“IPW has always placed a heavy emphasis on evolving along with the needs of our delegates, and 2021 will be perhaps the most important year in our history to help jump-start the critical rebuild of the U.S. travel economy. This collaboration is reflective of our strong desire to maximize the value of IPW for our exhibitors in the current unique marketing landscape.” — IPW General Manager Malcom Smith

U.S. Travel Association will coordinate with Connect Travel to co-locate several events around IPW 2021 (September 18-22 in Las Vegas) to maximize value to attendees and to provide travel marketers with cutting-edge tools and intelligence to promote their destinations and products in a post-COVID environment.

For travel and destination marketers, Connect Travel will also locate its 3rd Annual Connect THRIVE Summit, Sept. 18-19, 2021 and the 22nd Annual eTourism Summit, Sept. 20-22, 2021 at a property adjacent to IPW’s main location at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

As travel businesses evolve their promotion strategies to emerge from the global pandemic, the adjusted IPW format for 2021 will enable exhibitors to grow domestic visitation in addition to regaining their share of rebounding inbound travel—all from one booth.

Read more here.

Coming Soon to a Laptop Near You: Connect THRIVE Summit & Three Top Videos

November 3, 2020 by Laurie Jo Miller Farr Leave a Comment

If you’re not coming to Orlando, we’re coming to you. All of the awesome content from the 2nd Annual Connect THRIVE Summit will be livestreamed from Orlando on Nov. 9-10, 2020.

Connect THRIVE Summit focuses on community development and destination marketing through LGBTQ+ travel, sports, and entertainment. Look who’s speaking at this year’s in-person event.

Want to watch from the comfort of home? Registration is a nominal $99 for access to the full conference. View the agenda and register here.

“We’re so excited that our video “The Story of Greater Fort Lauderdale” has been nominated in the The 44th Annual Suncoast Regional Emmy® Awards! Thank you to our Visit Lauderdale team, destination partners and creative partners Diamond View – Creative Video Agency and Starmark for coming together to produce this project.” — Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau.

We’ll be rooting for a win on Dec. 12, 2020. Here’s the entry:

“We’re thrilled to announce our campaign “Make the Queen’s Guard Laugh” with the Port of Portland and Delta Air Lines has won Gold at the Travel Weekly Magellan Awards. Congrats to the team!” — Sparkloft Media

To check out the case study and see the 60-second video, click here:

First Houston Corporation / Visit Houston has won a Silver Anvil Award from the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) for “Space City: The Moon Landing 50th Anniversary.” In the PR world, this is pretty much like taking home an Oscar for ‘best picture.’ Their PR agency, Turner, says, “We didn’t get to walk the red carpet this year, but we did make an acceptance video.”

More 2020 Silver Anvils from PRSA go to Visit Loveland Colorado for “Love Locks Lead to Valentine’s Day Tourism,” and to Iowa Economic Development Authority for “From Corn to Cultured—Reshaping Perceptions of Iowa” and to Experience Columbus for “More is Possible in Columbus.”

Catch Up: People & Jobs | Join Us: Events & Awards

August 11, 2020 by Laurie Jo Miller Farr Leave a Comment

People & Jobs

Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch of Indiana announced the launch of an arts, cultural and Destination Marketing Organization grant totaling $10 million in financial assistance. The funding for this grant program comes from the CARES Act. In a partnership, Indiana Destination Development Corporation (IDDC) and Indiana Arts Commission (IAC) will provide economic support to local organizations whose normal operations have been disrupted due to COVID-19.

Dan Rowe, president and CEO of Visit Panama City Beach has been appointed as the 2020-2021 Chair of the Visit Florida Board.

Travis Napper, director of Arkansas Tourism, has been named to the board of directors for Travel South USA and will serve as the 2020-2021 chair of the Advertising Committee.

Randy Newcomb is the new executive director of the Galesburg Tourism and Visitors Bureau in Illinois, a relatively new operation spun off from the chamber of commerce. Newcomb was the longtime executive director of the Kentucky Lake CVB in Benton, KY. Galesburg was part of the 19th century Underground Railroad.

Virginia Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau has named Finn Partners as its PR agency of record, its first such appointment since 2018. Recently, Virginia Beach City Council provided funding to help the city’s tourism industry recover from COVID-19.

After more than four years at the helm of the Fremont Street Experience in Las Vegas, president and CEO Patrick Hughes is stepping down, effective Oct. 31. The six-block downtown entertainment district is known for its 1,500-foot-long Viva Vision canopy screen. The Fremont Street Experience and its board will conduct a search to find a new CEO over the next several months.

Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau has retained SearchWide Global to conduct an executive search to find their next President & CEO, to include responsibility for the Detroit Sports Commission. The ideal candidate will have a minimum of 10 years executive management experience in a supervisory capacity with hands on experience in budgeting, business planning and analysis, public speaking and strategic planning.

In British Columbia, Canada, Metro Vancouver seeks an Executive Director of Regional Economic Prosperity in the large and diverse Pacific Gateway. Refer to Destinations International job site.

Virginia Tourism Corporation has retained SearchWide Global to conduct a search to find their next Director of Research and Market Intelligence.

Reno Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority has retained SearchWide Global to conduct an executive search to find their next Chief Executive Officer. The ideal candidate for this position will have travel, tourism and hospitality experience with DMO experience preferred.

Naples, Marco Island, Everglades Convention & Visitors Bureau has retained SearchWide Global to conduct an executive search to find their next Deputy Director.

Park City Chamber of Commerce | Convention & Visitors Bureau has retained SearchWide Global to conduct an executive search to find their next President & CEO. The ideal candidate will have knowledge of Park City, Summit County and the State of Utah with a minimum of four years of progressive growth and experience in the tourism industry, including but not limited to convention sales, marketing, special events, public relations, and facility management.

In Maryland, Visit St. Mary seeks an Executive Director for the county economic development and tourism job with a minimum of two years’ DMO leadership experience.

In Colorado, the Greater Grand Junction Sports Commission seeks an Executive Director with a minimum of 5 years’ sports event and tourism industry experience. Applications are due by Aug. 30, 2020.

Alabama Gulf Coast Convention & Visitors Bureau (Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Tourism) is looking for a new CEO, a DMO professional with at least 10 years’ experience.

Visit Baltimore is seeking an in-house publicist reporting to the CMO, collaborating with the social media team. New listing. Apply via resumes@baltimore.org.

In Silicon Valley, California, SearchWide Global has been retained to conduct an executive search to find the next President & CEO for the newly formed Santa Clara DMO.

Explore Asheville Convention & Visitors Bureau has retained SearchWide Global to conduct an executive search to find their next President/CEO.

Events

***IT’S GO TIME…It’s all at Wynn at once***

At the intersection of digital media and tourism promotion, the eTourism Summit mission is to “See Tomorrow” in an intimate interactive setting featuring highly relevant, dynamic content. This fall, #eTS2020 will showcase all-new “See Tomorrow” programming focused on digital marketing in the post-pandemic environment.

A hybrid event model offers innovative and flexible choices for marketers and suppliers.

For marketers, a virtual participation package is available via “21 Days of eTS.” This registration option includes curated hour-long sessions throughout the month of October as well as pre-selected private vendor appointments. Virtual registration may be extended individually or company-wide.

An exciting concept for virtual attendance is being newly introduced. Using a unique code, the “Community Pass” allows marketers to share unlimited attendance with their qualified members and partners in a destination.

Will Seccombe, president of Connect Travel: “The eTourism Summit has been the premier industry event for digital savvy tourism marketers for the past 21 years. It’s known for presenting ground-breaking thought leadership that keeps everyone one step ahead of the pace of change. Due to the sudden and rapidly evolving events of 2020, we’ve seen the critical role that technology plays. In the two decades since the founding of eTourism Summit, digital marketing and communications in tourism have gone from emerging to highly relevant to absolutely irreplaceable.”

“Connect Safe Space 2020,” provides leadership in post-Covid environments, ensuring design and implementation of best practices, cutting edge solutions and common sense protocols to enable in-person business events.

You gotta be in it to win it.* The 3rd Annual eTourism Summit Excellence Awards (the “eTSY” Awards) recognizes and celebrates the best of 2019-2020 campaigns and programs with awards in a dozen original categories. Will you help us recognize the best of digital tourism marketing by submitting your entry by Aug. 31, 2020?

*includes virtual attendance

AWARD CATEGORIES:

Best Website – small budget
Best Website – large budget
Best Content Marketing Program – small budget
Best Content Marketing Program – large budget
Best Influencer Marketing Campaign – small budget
Best Influencer Marketing Campaign – large budget
Best Use of Video (live, short-form, long-form) – small budget
Best Use of Video (live, short-form, long-form) – large budget
Best Campaign that Went Viral
Best Email Marketing Campaign
Best Use of Augmented, Mixed or Virtual Reality
Innovation Award – best use of new ideas or technology

Small budget = annual marketing budget is under $5M
Large budget = annual marketing budget is $5M and over

See the preliminary agenda, speaker lineup, testimonials, and the WHY — Register for THRIVE.

Come to Las Vegas: Meet with a variety of domestic and international companies for pre-scheduled, one-on-one connections.

Network: Build key relationships between destinations, resorts, hotels, attractions, domestic and international tour operators and travel agents, sports rights holders, media, marketers and brands.

Learn from Experts: Enjoy in-depth sessions about relevant topics led by industry experts.

Unwind and Mingle: Build relationships while the networking continues at our entertaining and interactive receptions.

Sweet Songs From St. Pete, Sad News From San Jose & People on the Move

May 5, 2020 by Laurie Jo Miller Farr Leave a Comment

If you know David Downing, you’ll love this. And if you don’t know David Downing, you’ll love this.

Happening on Friday evenings in St. Pete, Fla., this is the true story of David’s second floor story concerts: “Balcony Live” is streamed live on YouTube.

Online and in-real-life audiences, social distancing on the lawn of the condo building across the street, really get their money’s worth of easy listening. For 90 minutes David croons, accompanying himself—without even the help of sheet music—on a Casio keyboard.

There are love songs, classics, wonderful tunes and Broadway show tunes like “Cabaret,” “Georgia on My Mind,” and ballads like Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.” David’s got 100 hits at his fingertips, all the mellow notes and lyrics, from his favorite playbook, “The Great American Songbook.”

David Downing presents Balcony Live* on Friday evenings at twilight (Florida time) from 7:30 p.m. – 9 p.m. Downing, who’s been performing on his apartment balcony since March 20, says, “I don’t know how much longer we’ll be doing this.” Aarghh! *The enviable domain name cost him $8.

***David Downing with Anderson Cooper at 2019 Connect THRIVE Summit***

Downing, who is president of brand at United Landmark Associates, a Tampa-based ad agency, is the former chief executive of Visit St. Pete Clearwater and serves on the Advisory Board of Connect THRIVE Summit.

Jerad Bachar has been appointed as president and CEO at VisitPittsburgh, a role he had been filling on an interim basis. In December, The Travel Vertical reported on a chief executive move by Craig Davis from VisitPittsburgh to VisitDallas.

Bachar has more than 30 years of experience in tourism and economic development and previously served as a national sales director and executive vice president for VisitPittsburgh, overseeing a host of initiatives for the organization. Bachar’s previous experience includes executive positions in Bahrain and Dubai as well as in hotel leadership positions for Marriott and Hilton.

Sad news from Team San Jose where President & CEO Karolyn Kirchgesler has announced her resignation after seven years, a heartbreaking decision due to poor health. In a video shared with staff, she said she has been fighting cancer of the small intestine since last October and her prognosis is poor, even with more treatment.

“Knowing the side effects of chemotherapy, I made the decision to forego traditional treatment and spend my remaining months enjoying what time I have left and have continued going about business as usual,” Kirchgesler said. “As my condition continues to worsen, I made the very difficult decision to step back from my position as CEO at Team San Jose to be closer to family in South Dakota.”

Kirchgesler came to San Jose from Visit Saint Paul/RiverCentre Convention & Visitors Authority in Minnesota where she served as CEO following executive positions at CVBs in New Haven, Connecticut, and Aberdeen and Sioux Falls, South Dakota. In San Jose, the CEO role includes management of the film commission as well as convention and entertainment venues including McEnery Convention Center, California Theatre, Center for the Performing Arts, Montgomery Theater, San Jose Civic and South Hall, which will be filled by COO John LaFortune.

Julie Coker, president and CEO of the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau, was intending to depart in March for a new role as chief executive at San Diego Tourism Authority. Due to the COVID-19 crisis, she postponed the move and announced she’ll forego her salary in both roles during the interim period.

Coker, who grew up about 20 miles south of Philadelphia in Wilmington, Delaware, is a fixture in the hospitality community of a city that is known for civic pride and teamwork.

“Being able to stay here and be a part of that was definitely a part of that decision—just the spirit and vibe of Philadelphians and their love for the city through some of these tough times we’re going through,” Coker said. “It’s for a better tomorrow, so to speak.”

“If there’s a way I could play a small part, I wanted to do that, and fortunately San Diego was very open to me delaying my start time there,” said Coker, who is now set to start in San Diego on June 2.

In Minnesota, Susie Petersen has retired as executive director of the Albert Lea Convention & Visitors Bureau after 13 years in the role.

She has handed over to her successor, Holly Karsjens, during a month-long transition.

Karen Jedson writes, “May 1 marks my first official day of retirement from the City of Warwick (RI).” Jedson was director of the city’s Department of Tourism Culture and Development for 16 years and served on the board of the Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Connect Travel 2020 Events: Meet the Whole Family

January 7, 2020 by Laurie Jo Miller Farr Leave a Comment

Right People. Right Time. Right Format.

The name, of course, says it all.

Connect Travel produces 12 industry events specifically designed to address tourism marketing needs in a unique format that creates an efficient and effective environment to expedite the sales process and grow your business.

In addition to eTourism Summit on Oct. 21-23—we’re so excited for its 21st anniversary this year in Seattle—we’d like to introduce you to the whole family.

Next up is Connect Marketing Leadership Summit on Feb. 19-21 in Kissimmee, Florida where Barack Obama (another people connector) is our featured speaker. Learn more here — registration is open.

If you have any questions about which events are right for you, please get in touch with the Connect Travel team. We’re happy to discuss all the options for making the right connections with the right people at the right time and in the right format.