Is Planning a Vacation More Fun than Taking It? (with Conner Galway)

Dutch researchers found in 2010 that planning a trip makes people happier than actually taking it. Conner Galway is a marketing expert focused on tourism. And he thinks this means people tasked with marketing destinations have to pay a lot more attention to digital and the way it improves peoples overall experience of travel. 

When it comes to tourism, Conner Galway has spent a lot of time studying what matters, what works, and how digital experiences tie into real-life visits. Which is why helping teams improve the digital side of travel planning is one of his passions.

Favorite parts of this episode include…

• How Conner and his team creatively promoted a seemingly sleepy fishing town.
• Why the digital experience of planning a trip is a bigger part of our travel experiences than most of us realize
• Why email might be more strategic than TikTok for your business
• How Nashville, TN, became a huge success in attracting tourists (and might have been too good at it).

Conner Galway is President of Junction Consulting – a digital consultancy based in Vancouver, BC. He founded Junction in 2012 when he saw a need for organizations to expand their thinking about what’s possible for digital value within an organization.

As Junction’s strategist, he spends his days researching, training, and solving problems with clients. He shares his latest thinking in an award winning weekly email called The Brief that’s read by leaders at many of North America’s most respected brands.

Some of his recent work has seen him help create a digital learning platform for Destination BC, training for lululemon and, most recently, he was named Leader of the Year by Marketing News Canada for his support of the tourism industry through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Aside from his work as a consultant, Conner has become one of Canada’s premiere digital educators, teaching and developing curriculum at many of Canada’s most prestigious Universities, and most recently he has launched the all-new eLearningU - North America’s largest collection of online learning for the tourism industry.

Links:

Website: wearejunction.com

Twitter: @heyjunction

Twitter: @Conner_G

Instagram: @heyjunction

Linkedin: linkedin.com/company/heyjunction

Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/connergalway

The Brief weekly newsletter: brief.wearejunction.com