The Travel Vertical

Weekly stories curated exclusively for digital tourism marketers

Elon Musk Tweets ‘Oh hi lol.’ And More News Snippets to Know About

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Twitter shares soared more than 26% on Monday with the news that Tesla CEO Elon Musk has bought 9.2% (73.5 million share purchase worth $2.9 billion) of the social media company, making him the company’s largest shareholder. Observers were puzzled about Musk’s strategy; Max Chafkin at Bloomberg Technology reported that he’s “…interviewed Musk many times over the past 15 years and can attest that he means this sincerely, even if he also can be impetuous, vindictive, hotheaded and goofy. Since the news broke, the closest he came to offering an explanation was a tweet later Monday morning that read: ‘Oh hi lol.'”

By Tuesday morning, there were reports that Musk is joining the Twitter board, promising change whilst being blocked from buying majority share. Most of all, we LOVE this tweet and emphatically say “yse.”

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Truly Good

Did you have a campaign that worked in the past? Consider dusting it off and levering its power by using it again.

Although “Malaysia Truly Asia” was launched worldwide in 1999, it is back with a bang as the country reopened borders last weekend. Malaysia has 30 global offices and six marketing representatives abroad.

Pure Winners

Remember, “Virginia is for Lovers” dates to 1969 and “I Love New York” was introduced in 1975. More recently, “Pure Michigan” came along in 2008.

Japan on Sale

Everyone thinks Japan is expensive…and it was. Now that the Japanese yen is very weak, we might expect that the destination will dream up a post-Covid campaign relating to prices. In a recent article in Nikkei Asia, a Tokyo-based financial analyst suggests the “mother of all tourism booms” may be coming when Japan opens its borders. Peter Tasker says the yen “has halved in value against the dollar since 1995, taking it back to levels not seen since the early 1970s.”

CALIFORNIA — The national historic landmark nicknamed “America’s Castle” reopens on May 11 after being closed for more than two years. Atop a hill overlooking the Pacific, Hearst Castle experienced “unsustainable” visitor traffic climbing toward one million per year that peaked pre-Covid when the Neptune Pool refurbishment was completed and the road from Big Sur was restored after a mudslide. Now? Watch this space.

AIRLINES — JetBlue Airways has offered to buy Spirit Airlines for about $3.6 billion and break up a plan for Spirit to merge with rival budget carrier Frontier Airlines.

ALBUQUERQUE — A hard-earned victory by Visit Albuquerque, which successfully formed the first such district in the state of New Mexico.

ARIZONA — Last Friday, Governor Ducey signed a bill continuing Arizona Office of Tourism as the state’s DMO for an additional eight years.

CRUISES — The CDC removed its “Cruise Ship Travel Health Notice” after more than two years of high level warnings. Just three months ago at the height of the Omicron variant, the warning was Level 4: high risk. Meantime, with 22 of its 23 ships back in business, Carnival Cruise Line said the one-week period from March 28 to April 3 was its busiest booking week in the company’s history, showing a double-digit increase from the previous record seven-day booking total. 

CANADA — It’s official: As of last Friday, fully vaccinated passengers no longer need to provide a negative COVID test to enter Canada by land, sea or air.

FLORIDA — Visit Florida is raising rates for marketing partners for the first time in 15 years, with the changes moving forward in April and expected to remain in place for at least a few years. Partnership fees currently bring in about $1.2 million a year; the new structure is projected to raise that to about $1.75 million. Visit Florida is set to receive $50 million as part of the state budget for the fiscal year starting July 1. 

MISSISSIPPI — In 2021, a new state flag was revealed. Last week, lawmakers passed a bill that removes “Go, Mississippi” as the official state song. However, there was no agreement on just one new official state song, so now there’s a committee considering having three songs at once. Sounds good…

WEST COAST — No joke…On April first, Alaska Airlines canceled 120 flights affecting 15,000-plus passengers, mostly in cities on the West Coast. Off-duty pilots picketed in several major cities over an impasse in nearly three years of contract negotiations, and the airline said more cancellations were possible through the weekend.

DOWNTOWN, USA — Who’s at their desk? The pandemic has changed the face of downtown in US cities, some predict permanently. There’s plenty of recent research and surveys, such as this one from Robert Half, revolving around office workers’ and employers’ preferences for hybrid, remote, flexible, and WFH preferences.

NEW YORK CITY — The new Halal Travel Guide is out. It contains halal dining recommendations, prayer places, Muslim-friendly hotels, plus tips and advice from Muslim travel experts. 

Now the first U.S. city to publish an official guide for Muslim visitors, this project by NYC & Company is in partnership with Crescent Rating and Halal Trip.

Destination & Vendor Roundup: Bravo, Visit Houston Plus Saving Giant Sequoias and More

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A jumbo-sized roundup of news from DMOs, cities, states, parks and attractions…as well as vendor news

Artwork by David Maldonado (@capdavjon) w/ permission

Following months of work by the team at Houston First Corporation, President & CEO Michael Heckman has announced that Houston will be the host city for the next season of Bravo’s Emmy Award-winning show, Top Chef.

“…will highlight the exceptional diversity of Houston’s world class culinary scene and will provide tens of millions of dollars of positive public relations for H-town as we accelerate our recovery from Covid. Huge shout out and credit to HFC CMO Holly Clapham-Rosenow and her team for their work to land this for Houston,” said Heckman.


Image: Discover Puerto Rico at THRIVE 2019

Discover Puerto Rico reaffirms LGBTQ friendliness with a new campaign, “Live Out.”

Creative content is centered on the idea that Puerto Rico is a place where travelers can celebrate one’s full self; a place to live out travel dreams in a welcoming atmosphere that encourages self-expression.

“Among Discover Puerto Rico’s core values are inclusivity, agility and the importance of being collaborative. These elements are even more prevalent as we look to the support of our LGBTQ+ community, both on Island and off,” said Leah Chandler, CMO, Discover Puerto Rico. “We are fostering a travel industry that is safe and welcoming for both guests and employees. By increasing representation and strengthening our position as an ally, we make Puerto Rico welcoming for all travelers and support a historically excluded community.”

In other news from Discover Puerto Rico: Remote worker campaign results are in from the spring “Deskover” campaign (The Travel Vertical, 4/27/21). The sweepstakes giveaway attracted 14,642 entries resulting in 90M impressions and $1.6M in ad value.


So, which one is the real Jennifer Hudson? To celebrate her 40th birthday, the celebrity’s wax likeness—fingernail art included—by Madame Tussauds was unveiled at SUMMIT One Vanderbilt in New York City before its installation at the Times Square attraction.

“We’re so excited about this new addition to Madame Tussauds New York,” said Tiago Mogadouro, head of marketing at Madame Tussauds New York, in a press release. “By introducing such a powerful essence to our New York family, we hope the addition of Jennifer Hudson offers an exciting new experience for our guests.”

Cedar Rapids Tourism was a sponsor of the Connect THRIVE Summit in Las Vegas on Sept. 18-19 where the DMO hosted the fabulous Carson Kressley as keynote speaker in conversation with the entertaining David Downing.

With special thanks to Julie Stow, Director of Meetings & Conventions, for her enthusiastic support.

Related: Cedar Rapids Tourism + Gaycation Travel

Visit Philly – AKA University City: copyright & credits: David Fields

The Philadelphia metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is recovering faster than its Northeast competitive set, including Boston, New York City and Washington, DC. Labor Day weekend was particularly strong; hotels had 67% occupancy on Friday and 85% on Saturday; the highest rates on record since the pandemic’s onset.

To keep this momentum going, Visit Philadelphia will launch a fall tourism marketing effort to promote hotels, restaurants, shops and attractions through an advertising, social media, web site and public relations push designed to drive overnight hotel stays from Northeast markets through December.

“We’re always happy to report good news about our tourism industry, but we know there’s still a ways to go before our region’s strong mix of business, group and leisure travel returns in full,” says Jeff Guaracino, president & CEO.

Last week, Nevada Commission on Tourism approved the allocation of nearly $13.6 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds to visitors bureaus and other related agencies, including $1 million for that office’s efforts toward encouraging in-state and domestic tourism.

The remaining funds will be split four ways with the largest portion of $7 million going to Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority as a direct grant for domestic and international marketing initiatives. Reno-Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority will receive $1.25 million as a direct grant to target domestic visitor marketing and $760,000 will be used for rural grants to help smaller communities and tourism outlets promote their attractions.

“This funding opportunity allows important tourism and outdoor recreation programs to move Nevada forward in recovery,” Brenda Scholari, Director for Nevada Tourism and Cultural Affairs, as quoted in Casino.org.

At Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, firefighters applied a fire-resistant foil wrap blanket around the 102-foot base of the world’s largest tree to protect it against wildfires raging nearby.

Last week, the National Park Service allowed press photographers into the Giant Forest, a spectacular grove that contains five of the largest trees in the world by volume, including the 275-foot tall General Sherman estimated to be 2,300 to 2,700 years old.

Sadly, California wildfires in 2020 killed 7,500 to 10,600 of these large trees, roughly 10% to 14% of all the the world’s sequoias, according to the National Park Service.

This year’s KNP Complex fire, ignited by lightning on Sept. 9, 2021, threaten these famous trees, which are all wrapped in foil blankets. The Windy Fire advanced more than nine miles overnight on Friday; both parks are currently closed. Follow the containment @sequoiaforest.

Photo by Marti Sotto on Unsplash

Los Angeles County is introducing proof of COVID-19 vaccination for customers and employees at indoor bars, wineries, breweries, nightclubs and lounges from Oct. 7, with full vaccination by Nov. 4. Restaurants, where masks are required indoors, are encouraged to set their own vaccination safety protocols for patrons and employees.

Throughout California, indoor events like concerts and sports games with more than 1,000 attendees require proof of vaccination or a recent negative virus test result. LA County’s new order extends the safeguards to outdoor events as well.

The mandate extends to theme parks including Universal Studios Hollywood and Six Flags Magic Mountain (Disneyland is outside LA County).

In other news from LAX, long-awaited improvements in ground transportation at the airport are in the works.

NYC & Company has launched a new meetings-focused digital campaign,”It’s Time to Make it NYC” with the tagline, “Plan a Meeting for Any Moment.”

It comes on the heels of a $1.5 billion expansion of the Javits Center and will maintain a presence on Google, LinkedIn and Facebook, with targeted media across major meetings platforms and publications. The branding will also be seen at industry events and trade shows for the remainder of this year and into 2022. 

Did you know? There’s a 10,000-square-foot farm and orchard on the roof of the convention center where they plan to grow 40,000 lbs. of produce each year.

Downtown Steamboat Springs – image: Colorado.com

Steamboat Chamber of Commerce would like 75% of its $750,000 budget to be dedicated to destination management and 25% for marketing. Chamber officials said the overarching idea behind destination management is to mitigate negative impacts from growth and tourism, as well as providing visitor education, such as a “Visit Responsibly” campaign aimed at educating visitors on health & safety, wildlife, fires, trash and showing kindness to local employees.

Galveston Island Trolley, est. 1891, will return this October. Three of the four trolleys have been restored and have received the testing needed for state and federal certification.

The trolley car system has been out of commission since Hurricane Ike descended in 2008. The storm severely damaged the trolley cars and 6.8 miles of tracks. After more than 13 years offline and six months of testing, three of the four trolleys are ready to roll.

image: Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks

Beach wheelchairs are available for use at any of eight state beaches in Santa Cruz County, California. Free to use, 10 day-use beach wheelchairs can be reserved in advance.

Photo by Robert Anasch on Unsplash

Pizza + Potties: In addition to setting minimum pay, protecting tips, and putting limits on delivery distance requirements, the New York City Council passed bills to improve working conditions for some 80,000 gig delivery workers. 

Specifically, the legislation allows them to use restaurant bathrooms. This legislation is the first of its kind in any major U.S. city. Source: Tech Crunch

Hotels on the Hook: A new NYC local law was passed on Sept. 23 requiring hotels to pay severance to employees. Unless the property brings back 25% of employees and reopens, the closed hotels—including those that laid off 75% of employees—will have to pay up to $15,000 in severance pay to each worker affected.

Vendor & Partner News

See Source is now Datafy, announced last week at eTourism Summit 2021.

Enabling customers to gain valuable insights into what drives their local economy, Datafy helps DMOs (as well as cities, towns, counties, chambers) to allocate financial resources to maximize economic activity by analyzing spending and other behavioral patterns. Datafy uses big data analytics tools to enable data-driven decision making. Thanks to Datafy for the presentation at #eTS21, “Prove Your Value to Stakeholders.”

CrowdRiff, based in Toronto, appears on the annual list of Canada’s Top Growing Companies published by The Globe and Mail. The company of 76 employees operates a visual content marketing platform for the tourism industry.

CrowdRiff was introduced as a “Bright, Shiny, New Object” at eTourism Summit 2015, and now comes in at an impressive #143 on this list (out of 448 trendsetters), showing 3-year growth at 310%.

Arival 360 is headed to sunny San Diego for an in-person (and optional online) conference at the Town & Country Resort. New place, new dates. Arival advances the business of creating awesome in-destination experiences through events, insights, and community for tour, activity and attraction providers.

Four agency partners have been selected through a competitive RFP process to help Michigan become the top four-season business and travel destination in North America. The objective is to continue that momentum and elevate key marketing campaigns supporting economic growth across the state – including Pure Michigan, Pure Opportunity and Pure Partnership.

  • MMGY for Travel Marketing and Advertising
  • FINN Partners for Business and Tourism Public Relations and Social Media
  • Meredith Travel Marketing for State of Michigan Travel Guide Production Services
  • Lambert/9thWonder for Business Marketing and Advertising

Daytona Beach Area Convention & Visitors Bureau has selected MMGY NextFactor to prepare its long-term strategic plan. The selection of an external consultant for developing a future destination vision is the culmination of discussions by local authorities and the DMO. The topic emerged following an avalanche of complaints and bad publicity following the disruptive Daytona Truck Meet in June. MMGY NextFactor has completed strategic and destination master plans for various Florida markets including Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach, Naples, and New Smyrna Beach.

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10 Unexpected Headlines & Hodgepodge

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Don’t ask us why. We’re just sharing here.

Dallas — Because American Airlines hasn’t got much to do (?), they’ve announced that 30 minutes of free access to TikTok is now available without a Wi-Fi purchase. So, dance videos for all. The press release talks about “travel inspiration,” but when you’re waiting to shove off from the gate or mid-flight to a destination, is that the right inspo at the right time?

New Orleans — Introducing The Caesars Superdome. Mercedes-Benz has reached the end of a 10-year naming rights deal at the stadium, and we now have a new 20-year deal at the iconic entertainment center.

Under its new branding, the home field of the New Orleans Saints will host the 2022 NCAA Men’s Final Four and Super Bowl LIX in 2025.

Los Angeles — In 2018, a 20-year-old Founder & CEO Bunim Laskin appeared on TV’s Shark Tank to ask investors for $300,000. They each said no. The idea? Swimply, an app described as the “Airbnb for pools,” is the first online marketplace for swimming pool sharing. So, if we both live in (uncharacteristically hot) Portland, Ore., and you’ve got a backyard pool but I don’t, I could rent yours by the hour. Jim Battan, a Portland-based IT consultant, told the Sunday Telegraph that he’s had 900 bookings since last September, making him over $100,000. (The website doesn’t have FAQs, so we can’t answer the obvious question about guests who need to use the bathroom.)

Modesto, Calif. — Meet MoTown CannaPass. Visit Modesto has partnered with Cultivar Strategies, a cannabis travel consultant agency, and Cookies, a local marijuana retail dispensary to be a resource for both the canna-curious and canna-experienced customer.

Visit Modesto CEO Todd Aaronson said they realized opportunities about a year ago upon joining a cannabis tourism committee within California Travel Association. More details at Bandwango.

New York City — All 41 Broadway theaters will require proof of vaccination for audience members through at least the end of October. Masks will also be required inside the theater, except while eating or drinking in designated places. In addition, all employees must be fully vaccinated, each production will have a Covid-19 safety manager on site, and backstage tours will be prohibited.

A vaccine mandate is already in place for the Bruce Springsteen concert show that opened in June and for “Pass Over,” the play that plans to open on Aug. 4. The new rule applies to 27 upcoming productions and big musicals: “Hadestown” and “Waitress” from Sept. 2 followed by “Chicago,” “Hamilton,” “The Lion King,” “Wicked” and the play “Lackawanna Blues” from Sept. 14.

The most mask-appropriate musical ever, “The Phantom of the Opera,” will return to the Majestic Theatre from Oct. 22, 2021, continuing its run as the longest-running Broadway musical of all time.

BREAKING NEWS — New York City has become the first major U.S. city to mandate vaccination proof for indoor dining, gyms, concerts, performances. “Key to NYC Pass” will be implemented in mid-August, the mayor’s office announced on Tuesday.

Disney — Effective last Friday, Walt Disney World in Florida and Disneyland Resort in Anaheim have reinstated new Covid protocols requiring all guests ages 2+ to mask up indoors, regardless of vaccination status.

Mask Mandates — Gov. John Bel Edwards has reinstated the mask mandate for everyone in indoor settings, making Louisiana the first state to do so. Hawaii has kept its statewide indoor mask requirement throughout.

An “all-indoor settings” mask mandate—regardless of vaccination status—has been reinstated throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. The mandate is already in effect in Los Angeles since mid-July. Meantime, Las Vegas, St. Louis, Kansas City, Savannah, Atlanta, and Washington, D.C. have made similar decisions.

San Francisco — Facebook, Twitter, Google, Apple, Uber and Lyft have altered their return-to-office plans, postponing until at least mid-October. (Lyft until Feb. 2022). Google is the first in this group to mandate employee vaccines for those returning.

In other Google news, the search giant quietly rolled out a mobile-only trial run of its new things to do display for attraction business listings, killing off Reserve With Google from next month. Think Beta, because initial reports are that it’s rough around the edges.

Other observers say that Google’s new Tickets feature may be an important development for the tours and activities sector, once which they’ll likely monetize with paid ads.

Honolulu — Hawaii is going to limit the number of tourists allowed on Oahu, the most popular island.

A management plan created by the Hawaii Tourism Authority intends to manage the number of Oahu accommodations, seek land use and zoning changes and review airport policies, rolling out implementation over the next three years, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser has reported.

New York City — At Hudson Yards, the 150-foot-high honeycomb-like structure called The Vessel is facing calls for its closure or dismantling following this year’s fourth suicide from its heights.

Billed as “the largest and most expensive private real estate project in US history,” the West Side project that opened in 2019 is sited on a disused freight yard near the Javits Convention Center on the Hudson River .

Start Spreading the News: ‘I Love NY’ is Back. Plus, Why NYC & Company is Promoting a New Movie

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As everybody knows…or maybe they don’t?…that back in 1977, the “I Love NY” campaign was created to promote New York State. The whole state. It was the year after “The Big Apple” promotion was created for New York City.

Now, with a nod to Frank Sinatra and his vagabond shoes, the Empire State is investing $40 million in an I ❤ NY comeback, beginning with NYC.

Press release | June 2, 2021: New Post-Pandemic Tourism Campaign to Feature Attractions Across New York State, Encouraging Visitors to “Come Be A Part of It.” The first phase features New York, New York inviting visits to re-experience the ‘City That Never Sleeps.’

https://youtu.be/7IBqI7G-VQg

And there’s more.

NYC & Company has joined Warner Bros. Pictures to announce a new partnership to promote the June 10 release of motion picture “In The Heights.”

The talent comes from creator Lin-Manuel Miranda (“Hamilton“) and the film’s director, Jon M. Chu, highlight the neighborhood of Washington Heights to spotlight the city’s immersive Latino culture.

There’s a new content package from the DMO with a dozen exclusive interviews featuring the film’s cast and creative team; a new travel guide showcasing Manhattan’s Washington Heights where the film was set and shot; behind-the-scenes photography of the film; and other promotional content and video, all available on www.NYCgo.com. Content will be promoted with 10 million impressions on New York City’s outdoor LinkNYC digital screens, one million impressions of the promotional video on Taxi TV, five million impressions on digital bus shelters, the database, and through social media on both @NYCgo and In The Heights channels.

Fred Dixon, president & CEO of NYC & Company commented, “The new ‘In The Heights’ film gives us a unique opportunity to authentically showcase the rich and diverse Latino communities and heritage found right here in New York City. With Washington Heights as the dynamic backdrop of the film, it’s only natural that we promote this vibrant neighborhood. We applaud Warner Brothers Pictures on this new film release and look forward to promoting this beautiful ‘love letter’ to New York City, while inviting travelers to experience all of our city’s unique Latino cultures.” 

Snackable News Bites From All Over.

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More than three-quarters of Americans (77%) are planning to take a trip this summer. Many will be traveling for the first time since the start of the pandemic, according to a new Harris Poll released last Thursday for the Let’s Go There coalition of 75 travel companies and organizations.

TSA screened 1.85 million passengers on Sunday at U.S. airports, the highest number since March 2020. That compares to 70% of the same day passenger traffic in 2019.

Meantime, do think domestic. Scott Kirby, CEO of United Airlines, said this week that it’s “too late” for a summer surge in transatlantic passenger traffic.

Alphabetically speaking…

  • courtesy Bellweather Agency
  • Courtesy Bellweather Agency
  • https://www.flickr.com/photos/wallyg/156079118
  • Laurie Jo Miller Farr
  • https://www.flickr.com/photos/aloha75/28044016669/
  • Pixabay linnaea_mallette
  • Pixabay p2722754

News From Alabama

Alabama Tourism Department’s new three-part podcast about the Civil Rights Trail allows the listener to take a deeper dive into events that shaped a nation.

  • First episode is an in-depth look at the Freedom Riders
  • Second episode dives deeper into Birmingham’s role in the Civil Rights Movement
  • Third episode examines the Voting Rights Act and the Selma to Montgomery March

News From Alaska

There could be cruising this summer: The U.S. Senate unanimously passed legislation that temporarily relieves cruise ships sailing in Alaska of the Passenger Vessel Services Act (PVSA) restrictions while Canada has a cruise ban in place. The Alaska Tourism Restoration Act applies to large cruise ships taking passengers between Washington State and Alaska. The bill now moves to the House.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy announced the Alaska Tourism Marketing Campaign: $4 million dollars of television, $500,000 of radio, and $500,000 of digital advertisements for a total of 1,700 spots over 6.5 weeks.

News From Baltimore

The Visit Baltimore brand shows us that a logo can scale from 48 x 48 pixels to a huge sculpture! “Thanks to our The Bellweather Agency team, Jack Stone Signs, and Guinness Brewery collaborated on this new installation. Baltimore’s Inner Harbor is getting one this week.  

News From Boston

Gov. Charlie Baker moved the re-opening date forward by two whole months, to Memorial Day Weekend. Massachusetts is among the leading states in vaccination rates. That means full capacity at Fenway Park for MLB as of May 29.

News From Cincinnati

Cincinnati USA launched a new campaign, “Get Your Cincy On.”  It’s targeted at major cities within a two-hour drive: Louisville, Columbus, and Indianapolis. A second campaign with wider reach will launch later this summer.

News From Georgia

“Ready. Set. Georgia.” Is the state’s new multi-million dollar travel marketing campaign to launch recovery efforts for tourism. 

News From Hawaii

More than 30 business associations and chambers of commerce have asked the governor to kill a measure cutting the Hawaii Tourism Authority’s budget. The bill, which can remain on Gov. David Ige’s desk until June 21, would reduce the authority’s funding to $60 million from about $80 million for the next fiscal year. The bill also would cut a guaranteed stream of hotel tax money to the counties but let the counties impose a 3% county hotel room tax.

News From Houston

News From Illinois

A new $6 million campaign to promote the return of travel across the state – Time for Me to Drive features the hit song, “Time for Me to Fly,” by Illinois native rock band, REO Speedwagon. Illinois Office of Tourism is working with CVB partners to gain feedback on how the state can support renewed business for their communities.

At Great Rivers & Routes Tourism Bureau, the messaging is “Greatness Around Every Turn” in Southwest Illinois to run through Labor Day on Connected TV and digital channels.

News From Kansas

Kansas Tourism is “stoked to unveil our new….website!” TravelKS.com  is an extension of the rebranding campaign, “To The Stars,” that the team started showcasing a year ago.  

News From Kansas City, MO

At the conclusion of an RFP process, Visit KC announced that they extended their contract with hometown agency MMGY Global through 2026. In addition to existing services, the DMO’s New Midwest brand will be expanded, plus new, priorities focused on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging. The agency of record partnership began in 2016.

News From Las Vegas

MGM Resorts will start charging for self-parking again in June. The chain had paused the fee last summer in a bid to encourage people back to Las Vegas. Free parking was a hallmark of Las Vegas until 2016, when MGM announced plans to start charging fees. Caesars Entertainment Corp., which dominates The Strip with MGM, joined in the parking fee policy.

Nevada Gaming Control Board approved 100% capacity on casino floors at Cosmopolitan, Wynn, and Encore properties where employee vaccination rates are above 80%, plus the OK to remove plexiglass dividers from all table games and slot machines.

News From NYC

Pride 2021: Rockefeller Center is running a contest, Love Above All. They’re giving away five romantic wedding celebrations as a prize. The lucky couples get a private ceremony At 620 Loft & Garden, a Rainbow Room Champagne Toast, a special performance by the star Of “Rupaul’s Drag Race,” and a wedding photo shoot at Top Of The Rock Observation Deck. Entries open through June 1.

Also, while waiting for Broadway shows to re-open, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a $25 million arts and culture revitalization program, City Artist Corps. The effort will employ 1,500+ artists by putting them back to work throughout New York City with live performances, pop-up concerts, public art installations, and more.

News From Newfoundland

“Your Backyard Beckons” is the new in-province tourism marketing campaign focused on encouraging residents to explore areas of Newfoundland and Labrador. Television, digital mediums, social media, and radio spend have a budget of 548,000 for a 16-week run. Agency of Record is Target Marketing and Communications Inc.

News From Ohio

Vaccine lottery incentive of $1 million is a controversial scheme put in play by Gov. Mike DeWine, announcing five prizes over five weeks for Ohioans over age 18. For the under 18s, entry into a draw for a full four-year scholarship to any of Ohio’s state colleges and universities, including tuition, room, and board.

News From Sarasota

Elected officials voted to set aside 5% of bed tax revenue to create a reserve for sports tourism initiatives. For every $20 million collected, $1 million would be dedicated to that fund, coming on the heels of an April approval for a $117 million overhaul of the area’s sports facilities.

News From Sedona

Overtourism, already? Elected officials in Sedona, Arizona have requested destination marketing be put on pause for one year citing resident sentiment. One year ago, concerns over job losses and tourism income prompted the tourism community to seek more destination marketing funds. The council approved $544,440 in contingency funds which were not required due to a robust recovery.

News From Wyoming

Wyoming Office of Tourism announced it will launch its second summer of the WY Responsibly campaign on June 1, encouraging all to be mindful travelers throughout the state. 

And News From Other Galaxies

Are we alone or not? Next month, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and other agencies are scheduled to deliver unclassified report on UFOs to Congress.

P.S. Typically in an annual session at eTourism Summit, we introduce travel-related startups as Bright Shiny New Objects. If the aliens are listening, this is not what we meant.

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Laurie Jo Miller Farr, Editor
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