Destination On The Left

Alex Bickers, President and Creative Director of Reveal Events Group, is an award-winning event producer and creative consultant. He is driven by creating the best experience for his clients, team, and, ultimately, the audience. In September 2020, he was named the Meeting Planners International (MPI) BC Chapter Event Planner of the Year. In April 2021, he was listed for the second time as one of the top 250 Canadian Event Professionals by BizBash, and the top 30 Canadian Event Producers and Designers. In July 2002, Alex was named Event Professional of the Year by the International Live Events Association (ILEA) Vancouver Chapter. In 2019, Alex was awarded the coveted title of Canadian Event Professional of the Year by The Canadian Event Industry Awards, which are the hallmark of achievement in the Canadian event and meeting industry. On this episode of Destination on the Left, I talk with Alex Bickers about his 25 years in the events industry and why he loves creating joyful experiences for his guests. He shares his outlook on virtual and hybrid, and live events in the future. We also dig into community building, and Alex describes some fabulous celebrations hosted by and for the Vancouver event industry. What You Will Learn in this Episode: The philosophy behind the Reveal Events Group The event that kicked off Alex’s fascination for live-scale productions Why creating joyful experiences is at the core of what Alex and his team do How events organizers are demonstrating their creativity in the meetings industry space How the events industry has changed in the post-COVID-19 world and whether the innovations we’ve seen are here to stay Why we’re seeing such massive demand for a return to in-person events, particularly in the run-up to Christmas 2022 A specific example of how Reveal Events Group has innovated at the World Indigenous Suicide Prevention Conference to support attendees How to connect with Alex and his team Using Technology Creatively The technology that enables us to serve clients’ needs in a very tailored way has come on in leaps and bounds, and the way people work today means that event organizers can work around the needs of several different subsets of event attendees. On the podcast, Alex describes the pent-up demand for live events and the effect on people of having to miss out on in-person interaction. We talk about the huge demand in 2022 for face-to-face conferences and hybrid events, and Alex shares the kinds of creative touches that event producers are making to differentiate themselves from the competition. Global Relationships We discuss the upsides of being forced to develop global relationships due to the pandemic and how the Reveal Events Group has been able to create some exciting projects. Alex shares that his company has been able to establish bonds with organizations in the UK, Asia, and Australia because much of the world has turned to virtual events for so long. Now, there are no borders for businesses — from their studio in Vancouver Reveal that can work their magic across the world. Themed Events Alex also shares his opinions on the importance of collaboration in the travel and tourism industry. He gives a fantastic example of one of the collaborations in which he has been involved — the Vancouver event industry holiday party dating back to his time as President of the International Live Events Association (ILEA). Alex discusses how the team was able to bring together professionals from across the industry to create fabulous themed events, even inviting guests through the wardrobe into the fictional snowy world of Narnia to celebrate the winter holidays. Resources: Website: www.revealeventsgroup.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexbickers/ We value your thoughts and feedback and would love to hear from you. Leave us a review on your favorite streaming platform to let us know what you want to hear more of. Here is a quick tutorial on how to leave us a rating and review on iTunes!: https://breaktheicemedia.com/rating-review/

Leah is the Chief Marketing Officer for the Puerto Rico Destination Marketing Organization, Discover Puerto Rico. As CMO, Leah is responsible for providing strategic marketing leadership for the organization, overseeing the DMO’s paid media, creative, public relations, brand development and management, and digital strategy. Before her move to San Juan, Leah was the Chief Marketing Officer for Explore Branson, where she led the growth of the community’s tourism industry for five straight years, repositioning the destination’s brand and posting back-to-back years of record ROI for the organization’s marketing program. In previous years, Leah led the Missouri Tourism account at H&L Partners, the agency of record for the Missouri Division of Tourism. In this role, Leah developed and guided the strategic direction of the Divisions marketing, managing paid and earned media, creative and interactive development, and campaign implementation. Leah led Missouri Tourism’s brand repositioning effort in 2013, introducing a new brand identity and corresponding campaign featuring Enjoy the Show. Leah is a travel and tourism industry veteran, having directed the Indiana Tourism account for five years prior to joining H&L Partners. Leah earned her Certified Destination Management Executive (CDME) credential in 2014. This designation from Destinations International is the tourism industry’s highest individual educational achievement. On this episode of Destination on the Left, I talk with Leah Chandler, who describes what community lead tourism means to the team at Discover Puerto Rico and how they have built partnerships across the island and internationally. She shares how her organization is building brand equity through creative collaborations, including establishing a Pantone color called Puerto Rican sunshine, teaming up with a UK fashion designer for New York Fashion Week, and pitching and landing a Spanish language countdown with Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin Eve with Ryan Seacrest that was hosted and broadcast from San Juan. What You Will Learn in this Episode: Leah’s experience of building a brand new DMO in Puerto Rico The things that ensure Puerto Rico stands out from the crowd including encouraging visitors to connect meaningfully with the island and its culture to give them a feeling and emotion that they can’t get at home via their Live Boricua campaign How Leah and the Discover Puerto Rico team apply their points across a variety of verticals How they have moved through the challenges of the last five years, including political unrest, an earthquake, and a global pandemic, as a new DMO and how their crisis playbook helped them Leah’s advice for listeners building an organization from the ground up Some of the collaborations and initiatives that Leah is excited for in the future How a cold call resulted in Discover Puerto Rico landing the first Spanish language countdown with Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin Eve with Ryan Seacrest, which was hosted and broadcast from San Juan. Building a Brand Tourism destinations aren’t always considered a brand, but according to Leah Chandler of Discover Puerto Rico, they certainly are a brand. She describes why it can be hard for a brand to develop equity when it’s constantly changing and how her team is creating a space in potential visitors’ minds for the type of experiences they can have in Puerto Rico. Leah also highlights the importance of finding Puerto Rico’s point of differentiation, which is the culture, and ensuring everything the DMO does ladders up to that positioning throughout all of its messaging, earned media, and paid channels. Research At Discover Puerto Rico, they are super serious about their research and data to ensure that before they put something into the market, they can be confident of what consumers are looking for. This is how the idea for the Live Boricua campaign was born – the term is used to signify someone of Puerto Rican heritage and brings to mind a way of life, a spirit, and a flavor of the island. Leah shares how the concept highlights how visitors can enjoy Puerto Rico like a local and acts as a love letter to the island, its residents, and its visitors. International and National Partnerships We dive into some of the creative collaborations that Discover Puerto Rico has been involved in, including an innovative project that involved distilling the unique color of Puerto Rican sunshine, then working with the Pantone Colour Institute to turn it into a Pantone color they could leverage across several different verticals and work streams. Some of the partnerships that enjoyed this infusion of Puerto Rican sunshine included New York Fashion Week with designer Christian Cowan, an eco-friendly paint brand, and a local popsicle shop. Resources: Website: www.discoverpuertorico.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DiscoverPuertoRico Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/discoverpuertorico/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/discover_PR Email: leah.chandler@discoverpuertorico.com We value your thoughts and feedback and would love to hear from you. Leave us a review on your favorite streaming platform to let us know what you want to hear more of. Here is a quick tutorial on how to leave us a rating and review on iTunes!: https://breaktheicemedia.com/rating-review/

Alvaro is a Creative with diverse talents and accomplishments. He co-founded CRANT, a creative machine learning company that has become one of the most innovative companies in Brand Intelligence Marketing today. They have developed an AI-backed platform that helps brands improve their Brand Love and DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) strategies by using machine learning on public data to make their programs trackable and actionable, allowing brands to be methodical in finding insights and making decisions about how best to serve their communities on a daily basis. His over 35 international awards, including Cannes Lions, Effies, Webbys, Clios, and more, led him to lead Miami Dade Beacon Councils’ “Created in Miami” program to turn Miami into a diverse Crea-Tech capital. Alongside his friend and Indycar race car driver Tatiana Calderón, he also started the Ladies Start Your Engines program, which helps girls worldwide have a fair chance to succeed in a world designed for men. On this episode of Destination on the Left, I talk with Alvaro Meléndez about his new company CRANT, which stands for Creativity and Technology, and why he was inspired to start the business. He shares insights on how brands can help transform people and why being purpose-driven and mission-focused is critical. We discuss brand love, what it really means, and how focusing on one thing leads to more customers. What You Will Learn in this Episode: What got Alvaro to where he is today in the travel and tourism industry Why being exposed to a range of cultures and people fosters creativity when you get all those different inputs Marketing campaigns in Alvaro’s early career that inspired him to think more deeply about branding Alvaro explains the rationale behind focusing on the upper funnel and lower funnel in marketing Using data to be able to measure the efficacy of your branding How listeners can use CRANT to help them stand out in a noisy marketplace What brand love is, how to grow it, and how to measure it The project that Alvaro and his team are working on to help make the world more diverse, equitable, and inclusive Improving Data Collection Alvaro started CRANT to combine all the branding frameworks he had learned over the years, including new technologies such as AI and all the data in the digital space. His tool helps marketers track and measure what they are doing on a brand level. Marketers often avoid doing brand studies because they are so expensive and are, therefore, unable to demonstrate progress in digital campaigns. Defining Your Brand The theory behind defining a brand can be complex. Alvaro describes why they went right back to basics and began thinking about why every brand has the same end goal, which is to be relevant and to mean something to people so that they are willing to exchange time and money for a service, experience or product. Brands must have a promise or purpose that is very well defined and offers a solution to its customers. Be Mission Focused Standing out in a crowded marketplace is tough, so CRANT is super purpose-driven, which has helped them stay very authentic, very humble, and very mission-focused. Often the problem is that brands have difficulty tracking their output or finding ways to be more relevant, more engaging, and different. Alvaro describes why they focus on what they call a very narrow doorway with their marketing and do just one thing really, really well. He explains why niching down has attracted even more right-fit clients, particularly in the travel and tourism business. Resources: Website: www.crant.ai LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/crant/ We value your thoughts and feedback and would love to hear from you. Leave us a review on your favorite streaming platform to let us know what you want to hear more of. Here is a quick tutorial on how to leave us a rating and review on iTunes!: https://breaktheicemedia.com/rating-review/

Willma Harvey has more than 25 years experience in the tourism industry. She is Director of Sales and Business Development for River Parishes Tourist Commission in Louisiana. Proud to be born and raised on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, Willma is passionate about her region and promoting destinations. She has her Master’s Degree in English and is currently collaborating with movie and film industry professionals in her position as Director of Sales and Business Development. On this episode of Destination on the Left, I talk with Willma Harvey, Director of Sales and Business Development for River Parishes Tourist Commission in Louisiana. She shares the story of over 25 years in the tourism industry and walks us through her region’s decision to change their brand from Plantation Country to River Parishes. Wilma also shows us why it is essential to know what is indigenous to your region and how leaning into it will help your destination stand out from competitors. We also discuss a creative collaboration that Wilma created recently, and she gives us a great recipe for setting successful collaborations. What You Will Learn in this Episode: Willma’s journey in the travel and tourism industry, including her role as the first eco-tourism sales manager in the United States Willma’s experiences in creating innovative experiences that attract new visitors to her region Some of the cutting-edge sustainable and wildlife events that Wilma has organized Why it’s important to know what your competitors offer visitors How they capitalize on the elements indigenous to the River Parishes Tourist Commission region Why they decided to rebrand their destination in 2020 in the wake of the movement against social injustice in the US The project on developing policies and procedures for film and movies that Willma is excited about right now and how the interest in the River Parishes region as a filming destination developed over the years The coopetition tour encompassing several neighboring parishes that Willma was excited to be part of recently Understanding Your Competitors’ Offer Willma shares why she makes it a priority to know what her competitors have to offer visitors. She shares her in-depth knowledge of the Deep South coastal regions and the various tourism products in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama. She outlines how that knowledge allows her to offer tour operators, or meeting planners, a great product because she knows how to collaborate with local partners (and competitors) for the visitors’ benefit. Moving Through Challenges We discuss a recent challenge that Willma’s team in Louisiana had to work through in making the difficult decision to change their brand from Plantation Country to River Parishes. Willma explains why it was such a big challenge but also why they viewed it as an inevitable change they would have to make. She shares why they decided to move quickly rather than go through a long brand analysis process and whether they got any pushback from local people on the rebrand. Your Destination in a Movie The Deep South has always been popular as a movie destination. Willma describes some of the film and TV collaborations she has been involved with in the River Parishes region. She explains the importance of building relationships with key players to ensure that your region stays top of mind when they’re searching for the right location for their next project. Of course, if you’re hoping to attract Netflix or movie companies, you need to have the organizational infrastructure to make a collaboration run smoothly. Willma outlines her role in developing policies and procedures for films and movie companies coming to her area and explains why River Parishes decided they needed to have a strategic plan in place for dealing with those inquiries. Resources: Soul of South Louisiana – PDF Brochure Andouille Trail Take The Trail | 1811 Slave Revolt Plantations Archive – Louisiana’s River Parishes Bonfire Country – Louisiana’s River Parishes Civil Rights Trail District We value your thoughts and feedback and would love to hear from you. Leave us a review on your favorite streaming platform to let us know what you want to hear more of. Here is a quick tutorial on how to leave us a rating and review on iTunes!: https://breaktheicemedia.com/rating-review/

Jay Kinghorn leads Zartico’s data and analytics team, helping destination marketing organizations (DMOs) use data-centered insights to market and manage their destinations more effectively. Zartico’s mission is to provide the clearest perspective of the visitor economy. As the world’s first Destination Operating System®, Zartico combines science, technology and domain expertise to create SMART destinations and positively impact communities. Through its proprietary integrated data model, Zartico answers the “why”. With decades of destination and travel experience, Zartico is uniquely positioned to lead the transformation from global destination marketing to global destination leadership. Jay was previously the Associate Marketing Director at the Utah Office of Tourism, where he led the agency’s content, social, marketing analytics, and digital marketing initiatives. In 2017, Jay received the Peter Yesawich Award for marketing excellence from the Travel and Tourism Research Association and MMGY Global. Jay is a Colorado native living in Salt Lake City, Utah, with his wife and two children. He enjoys trail running, watching his son’s soccer games, and skate skiing. On this episode of Destination on the Left, I talk with Jay Kinghorn about the challenges that DMOs face when trying to interpret data. He shares how the right tools can help destinations make better decisions that will lead to better outcomes for their communities. Jay also describes the five foundations for the contemporary DMOs that he hopes will solidify into industry-wide standards in the not-too-distant future. What You Will Learn in this Episode: How Jay transitioned from photography into travel and tourism Three reasons Jay and his partners were motivated to start Zartico What a Destination Operating System is and how it helps you understand the rhythms and the flows of your destination What the three core data sets can tell a DMO about their visitors How to use data to introduce visitors to new opportunities within a community The five foundations that will help to solve a DMOs marketing challenges, including demand generation, visitor distribution, economic opportunity, accountability, and stability Destination Operation Systems Jay shares why he didn’t want Zartico to be just a passive reporting platform but something that helps you understand your destination’s rhythms and flows. He describes why the critical components within their destination operating system rest on three core data sets – anonymized geolocation data, anonymized credit card data, and predictive event-related data, all of which help you understand visitor data. Storytelling We discuss how destination operating systems can really make an impact and help drive visitors from big attractions into smaller local businesses. DMOs have leveraged digital tools to become expert multimedia storytellers to communicate the story around the people, places, experiences, and historical and cultural touchstones that make your destination unique. A DMO can play a vital role in layering in how to have a local experience and experience the unique cultures that form part of the region. DMOs need to think creatively about how to tell their stories, and that’s where Zartico’s operating system connects the dots between actions and outcomes. The Future Framework According to Jay, the five foundations that will help to solve a DMOs marketing challenges are demand generation, visitor distribution, economic opportunity, accountability, and stability. He shares why he hopes that DMOs will start to adopt this as a framework and help flesh it out so that, as an industry, we can grow around the five foundations by understanding how the data can help you strategically drive demand in your location. Resources: Website: https://www.zartico.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/zartico/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ZarticoWonder Twitter: https://twitter.com/ZarticoWonder Instagram: @Zarticowonder Five Foundations Landing Page: https://www.zartico.com/five-foundations We value your thoughts and feedback and would love to hear from you. Leave us a review on your favorite streaming platform to let us know what you want to hear more of. Here is a quick tutorial on how to leave us a rating and review on iTunes!: https://breaktheicemedia.com/rating-review/

Scott is a longtime travel industry data guru, having served in senior executive roles at United, Adara, and Orbitz. He was instrumental in the founding of Orbitz and is CRO at Journera, which has been recognized as one of the World’s “10 Most Innovative Travel Companies“ by Fast Company and a “Technology Pioneer” by the World Economic Forum. Participating companies include United, American, Hyatt, Hilton, Marriott, IHG, and many others. On this episode of Destination on the Left, I talk with Scott Garner, Chief Revenue Officer for Jounera, about the brand’s unique data collaboration model that sees hotels, destinations, and airlines working together. He describes how the shared data helps marketers to create a 360-degree view of the travelers’ journey, identify potential customers and anticipate their needs seamlessly. What You Will Learn in this Episode: How Journera facilitates seamless travel experiences and how they got the six big founding partners on board Why competing travel brands come together and share data to learn how the consumer is moving through the planning and purchase stage of travel and arrival How to focus on the areas of common interest and common benefit when creating a partnership How to foster communication and collaboration in the travel industry while still allowing brands to retain their uniqueness What Journera does with the data to benefit and provide those solutions for their clients The importance of data in digital marketing in the travel industry What historical data tells you a lot about a person’s future behavior and how that helps marketers in the travel and tourism industry Collaborating with Shared Data Journera was founded to take advantage of the insights that the travel and tourism industry can take from sharing data to make the visitor journey as seamless as possible. Scott talks about why it’s so important to bring together travel companies, even companies that are competitors, for the common good, which is to make the travel experience better. Travel involves piecing together many components, and you need companies, from airlines to car rental agencies, to enhance the traveler experience, and sharing data is the way to do that. Retaining Uniqueness There are times when Journera partners compete fiercely against one another, but there are also times when they’re stronger and need to collaborate and work together to create more efficient marketing solutions. Scott describes how he and his team create a win-win scenario while also being mindful that there are some parts of that relationship that have to be fenced off. The critical thing is to focus on the areas where cooperating benefits everybody involved, especially the consumer. Using Data to Move Forward At the core of what Journera does is assess data and then distill the findings to make them more usable in a marketing context. Scott describes how the team integrates individual partners’ data into their broader digital ecosystem, enabling marketers to target their potential visitors with greater precision. He outlines how data drives intelligence, which in turn helps DMOs make sound investment decisions to put themselves in the best position to move forward with confidence. Resources: Website: https://journera.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/journera/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-garner-8504942/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/journera We value your thoughts and feedback and would love to hear from you. Leave us a review on your favorite streaming platform to let us know what you want to hear more of. Here is a quick tutorial on how to leave us a rating and review on iTunes!: https://breaktheicemedia.com/rating-review/

Michelle Ng brings people closer together by creating rewarding experiences through her two businesses – Vancouver Foodie Tours and Granville Island Gifting. Forbes has named Vancouver Foodie Tours one of the top 9 food tours in the world. They offer food walking tours, introducing guests to the culinary gems, vibrant cultures, and history that make Vancouver unique. Michelle’s second business, Granville Island Delivery Co, was founded at the start of the pandemic as a way for the community to support local artisans and to send Granville Island gift boxes to friends and colleagues. Michelle has been recognized by The Entrepreneur magazine and Vancouver Sun for her contributions to uplifting the community during the pandemic. What excites Michelle the most? She loves to generate happiness and appreciation by creating rewarding experiences that uplift the community. Michelle’s story is of resilience and optimism. On this episode of Destination on the Left, I talk with Michelle Ng about how she built her Foodie Tour business over 12 years and how her pandemic pivot led to the formation of a second company. She shares what she sees as a successful food tour in other destinations and why technology is core to both of her business’s success. We also dive into a collaboration Michelle kickstarted involving other small tour operators and how that collaboration has subsequently resulted in an injection of funding. What You Will Learn in this Episode: Michelle’s journey and how she got to where she is today with her two businesses How food has a magical power to bring people closer together and break down barriers What happened to Michelle’s business when the COVID-19 pandemic hit North America How the Granville Island Delivery Co. came into being to serve the local community How Michelle evolved the design and marketing of her tours to better suit visitors who don’t know anything about Vancouver Michelle gives an insight into her most popular tours and why visitors love them How technology has enabled Michelle to be able to run a successful business The part collaboration has played in spreading the word about Michelle’s businesses and attracting visitors Michelle shares her advice for listeners hoping to grow and scale their business Refining Your Business Michelle Ng, founder of Vancouver Foodie Tours and Granville Island Gifting, shares why she is constantly in the process of tweaking and refining the experience she offers her customers. She describes why it is so important to her to be constantly listening to her customers, what they’re asking for and what they’re interested in. Pursuing excellence and creating rewarding experiences is very important to Michelle, and she highlights why it’s at the core of what she does as a business owner. Creating a Network We discussed how Michelle got involved with her local destination marketing organization and details the two most effective steps she has taken to develop her business. She walks us through what she has learned from some of the world’s most successful examples of food tours. Michelle also shares how the DMOs in Vancouver, in British Columbia, and in Canada have supported her work and provided access to the international markets by showing her how to pitch and win the business of tour operators worldwide. How Collaboration Led to Collective Success Both of Michelle’s businesses are built on a foundation of collaboration, and she shares how that has contributed to her success. Michelle describes why she really believes in uplifting the community in everything she and her team do and why, whenever they are looking at partnerships or any other business decisions, they’re striving to create win-win relationships. They view their foodie tour experiences through the lens of setting up an experience, interaction, or initiative in a way that serves everybody that’s involved. Michelle also shares why she reached out to some of the small group tour companies in the city, who she felt were giving the highest quality experiences in the city, to suggest they form the Experience Vancouver Group so they could learn from each other and share their expertise. Resources: Website: https://foodietours.ca/our-story/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VancouverFoodieTours/ We value your thoughts and feedback and would love to hear from you. Leave us a review on your favorite streaming platform to let us know what you want to hear more of. Here is a quick tutorial on how to leave us a rating and review on iTunes!: https://breaktheicemedia.com/rating-review/

Kelly Blazosky is President of Oneida County Tourism & Founder/Partner of Adirondack Barrel Cooperage. She is an experienced President with a demonstrated history of working in the non-profit organization management industry specializing in Destination Marketing. Kelly is skilled in Nonprofit Organizations, Advertising, Marketing Strategy, Public Speaking, and Tourism. On this episode of Destination on the Left, I welcome Kelly Blazosky back to the show. Kelly was my second guest way back in 2016 when the podcast launched, so I’m excited to learn more about her journey in destination marketing since then. Kelly also shares her three-prong approach to marketing Oneida County and explains why moving from generalized messaging to specific detailed messaging has helped her county stand out from the crowd. What You Will Learn in this Episode: The learning curve for Kelly in moving from destination marketing in Ohio to New York State How Oneida County is standing out from the crowd as a destination How to lean into partnerships to attract visitors to a broader region The framework that gives Kelly’s team a clear-cut way to execute their marketing campaigns Past challenges and the creative solutions that Oneida County Tourism found to move through them Why Kelly and her team find so much value in working with an external marketing agency Some of the exciting things that are coming up in Oneida County, including the new cheese trail How DMOs can help, support, and be part of the community they’re in Oneida County’s Marketing Framework Kelly explains how her community has found that when it comes to consumer engagement across the various marketing platforms, it’s most effective to focus their efforts on three things; events, experiences, and exhibitions. She and her team have found that it pays to be very specific in their messaging and regularly highlight particular art exhibitions or events happening in the area. We also discussed how she overcame resistance to that approach and was able to show that by stepping outside of the box, they were able to attract potential visitors’ attention. Creative Collaborations Kelly and I discussed some of Oneida County’s current collaborations, including their partnership with the Munson-Williams-Proctor Art Institute (MWPAI), a wonderful free museum housing paintings from artists from Van Gogh to Pollock. She describes how the MWPAI moved to a changing exhibition model and began planning them further out, which enabled Oneida County Tourism to prepare promotions and highlight the events, such as curated talks and lunch and tea events. This is just one of the ways that they can work within their framework and attract people to engage with the specific events that interest them. It also means that when they’re talking with their other partners locally, they can direct them to the month-by-month programming for a particular exhibition which gives them more to talk about and helps them evolve. Building Partnerships Finding the right partner to collaborate with can often be a sticking point for DMOs, so Kelly shares her best practices and advice for listeners planning to create their own collaboration. She shares the importance of first defining which market you’re developing the product for, travel, trade, international, or domestic, then finding who are ready for those kinds of visitors. We talk about why a key part of collaboration is finding common threads that have some relation to the story you want to tell and demonstrating why creating a well-rounded experience helps draw visitors by giving the DMO a better product to promote. Resources: Website: https://www.oneidacountytourism.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/oneida-county-tourism/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelly-blazosky-66a08120/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/oneidacountyny/?ref=ts Twitter: https://twitter.com/oneidacountyny Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/getawayregion We value your thoughts and feedback and would love to hear from you. Leave us a review on your favorite streaming platform to let us know what you want to hear more of. Here is a quick tutorial on how to leave us a rating and review on iTunes!: https://breaktheicemedia.com/rating-review/

Karen Kuhl is the Executive Director at Cayuga County Convention and Visitors Bureau. She is a tourism and management professional with hospitality and F&B experience and has 15 years of experience as a tourism destination manager. As the former Director of Tourism and Hospitality Operations for Selva Negro Ecolodge and as Owner of Tastefully Nicaragua, she focused on sustainable tourism in Matagalpa, Nicaragua. Her responsibilities included: marketing, sustainability certification process, human resources, long-term planning, and itinerary management. Karen’s experience in the public and private sectors makes her an excellent advocate for the Cayuga County CVB’s role in marketing and product development in the tourism industry. On this episode of Destination on the Left, I talk with Karen Kuhl, Executive Director for the Cayuga County CVB. Karen shares the programs her destination is currently working on and how their offerings are evolving as they dive deeper into how the internationally known abolitionist Harriet Tubman lived and worked in the region. Karen’s team is also making a significant impact in DEI in the rural community and championing and supporting economic development as much as possible. What You Will Learn in this Episode: Where in the world Karen has worked, and what brought her back to the US An overview of Cayuga County, where it sits, and what it offers The importance of Harriet Tubman to Cayuga County and Auburn and how the CVB is using the significance of this historical figure to stand out from the crowd Why it’s critical to build a solid foundation of DEI Their Harriet Tubman initiatives and how they are evolving How Cayuga County is promoting and elevating Black-owned businesses in their community The challenges and obstacles Karen has worked through and creative solutions that have helped her team navigate them An Important Legacy Karen describes how her destination, the Cayuga County CVB, draws visitors in through their connection to the internationally famous American Abolitionist, Harriet Tubman, and how they use that link to elevate and support economic development in the region. We discuss how Karen and her team live Harriet Tubman’s legacy in Auburn by ensuring that the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusivity were built into the DNA of their organization. An Evolving Story The visitor experience in Auburn is a thriving story that continues evolving as the CVB finds out more and more about the businesses that were in town while Harriet Tubman would have engaged with them. Karen has also made a concerted effort to identify the broader individual Harriet Tubman was and uncover the human connection that so beautifully reveals all the facets of her character from the conductor of the Underground Railroad to a military leader, spy, nurse, and forger. We discuss why it’s important as a destination marketer to appreciate all facets of why visitors might want to connect with a historical character and how CVBs can form partnerships that help them dig through the data to paint a fuller picture. Authenticity and Purpose Karen shares how her organization works with local businesses and community leaders to share their message, including putting together a grant to support the promotion of events around the Harriet Tubman bicentennial year in 2022. We also dive into why the tourists of today and tomorrow are traveling with a focus. And the importance of building a solid and authentic foundation as a destination and living it through your decisions. Resources: Website: www.tourcayuga.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karen-kuhl-4b139070/ We value your thoughts and feedback and would love to hear from you. Leave us a review on your favorite streaming platform to let us know what you want to hear more of. Here is a quick tutorial on how to leave us a rating and review on iTunes!: https://breaktheicemedia.com/rating-review/

For the second episode in a special two-part series of Destination on the Left episodes, I talked to ten inspiring leaders in the world of destination marketing all about successful partnerships that their destinations are taking forward into the post-pandemic world. My interviewees also share the most significant challenges they are facing today and how they are moving through them creatively to serve their residents, visitors, and partners alike. I’m excited to share these mini-interviews, and I hope you find them as fascinating and insightful as I did. In this episode, you’ll hear from these extraordinary leaders: Louise Bishop – President of South County Tourism Council in Rhode Island Olivia Novak – Marketing Manager with Discover Lancaster, Pennsylvania Paul Nursey – CEO of Destination Greater Victoria, BC Racene Frieda – CEO of Glacier County Regional Tourism Commission in Montana Rachel Ludwig – CEO of Tourism Canmore Kananaskis in the Canadian Rockies Rachel Riley – Associate Vice President of Communications for the Valley Forge Tourism and Convention Board Rebecca McKenzie – President and CEO of the Culinary Tourism Alliance Sarah Hughes – Vice President of Marketing and Communications at Visit Norfolk Scott McCray, President, and CEO of Fairbanks Alaska Stuart Butler – Chief Marketing Officer with Visit Myrtle Beach Stories of Inspiring Partnerships at the Destinations International 2022 Annual Convention I love coming to the Destinations International Annual Convention because it provides a unique opportunity to come together as marketing specialists, network, share ideas and discuss our wins and our challenges. I asked each of my guests this week to share the word that they would use to describe the convention, and each of these wonderful leaders shared a word or idea that really encompassed the experience of attending the event, from ‘opportunity’ to ‘camaraderie.’ I was also excited to learn about the creative partnerships all of the destinations represented in this show have built to move forward. Louise Bishop of South County Tourism Council Lousie joins me to share why she feels it is so important for her destination to partner with environmental and coastal resource management organizations, in addition to the cities and towns that make up the South Country region. She also discusses techniques she uses to get all of the stakeholders in a project on the same page and going in the same direction. Olivia Novak of Discover Lancaster Olivia is one of the Destinations Internations 2022 30 under 30 honorees, and she joins me to discuss the key partnership her organization started with the Lancaster Farmland Trust, food producers, and local restaurants to promote an amazing restaurant week in Lancaster that became a win-win for everyone and enabled all of the partners to realize their goals. Paul Nursey of Destination Greater Victoria, BC Paul and I talk about Destination Greater Victoria’s goal to lead the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic in a sustainable way. He shares the details of the Impact Sustainability Conference that his destination launched and how and why it has become a leading international conference. Racene Frieda of Glacier County Regional Tourism Commission Racene tells us all about the challenges her destination faced during the COVID-19 pandemic when a whole new type of visitor discovered the state of Montana as a desirable destination and how the solution to managing these unexpected tourists resulted in new public-private partnerships that have lasted beyond the pandemic. Rachel Ludwig of Tourism Canmore Kananaskis Rachel shares how her DMO in the Canadian Rockies started up as a new destination and why forming a new destination marketing organization intent on building a solid foundation of trust in the community and partnerships takes time, effort, and skill. She also shares why her words to describe the Destinations International Convention are ‘opportunity’ and ‘connection.’ Rachel Riley of Valley Forge Tourism and Convention Board Rachel highlights the importance of partnerships in destination marketing and shares how a collaboration between the County Commerce Department, Chambers of Commerce, and the Tourism Office created the ‘Make It Main Street’ campaign and hashtag as a way to help the community out of the pandemic and boost local businesses. Rebecca McKenzie of the Culinary Tourism Alliance Rebecca shares how the Culinary Tourism Alliance, a not-for-profit Destination Development Organisation based in Toronto, Ontario, works with member destinations to help them grow partnerships. She also very rightly points out that those authentic partnerships are the key to creating those unforgettable experiences that the consumer is looking for. Sarah Hughes of Visit Norfolk Sarah tells us all about the City with Bite video series that Visit Norfolk launched and why it’s doing so well that they’ve just finished filming their second season. She discusses why her destination was inspired to focus on a chef-owned restaurant in each show highlighting everything from why they opened a restaurant in Norfolk to their specialties in the kitchen. Scott McCray of Fairbanks, Alaska I was excited to hear all about how the Tourism Office and Chamber of Commerce in Fairbanks rallied up their business partners and members of the local community to participate in positive picketing by holding pep rallies outside of local hospitals during shift changes to show support and thanks for health care workers during COVID-19. Scott shares their behavior’s effect on hospital staff and why the business community was inspired to take action. Stuart Butler of Visit Myrtle Beach Stuart shares how his team rallied the brilliant people in the agencies that his organization at Visit Myrtle Beach works with, who are used to working in siloed organizations to perform cross-functionally. He goes on to explain how connecting people and organizations has led to better problem solving, more efficiency, and more effective campaigns. Challenges and Silver Linings In all of these mini-interviews, I asked similar questions about some of the challenges that destination marketing organizations face. Many of my guests cited workforce as being an issue they needed to put time and thought into currently, and although that didn’t surprise me, frankly, I was wowed by the breadth of creativity that the travel and tourism community is putting into solving the problem – and some of the unexpected positive side effects of that creativity. We also discuss the importance of partnerships to DMOs, and they shared their predictions for the future of the travel marketing industry. I hope you enjoy the second part of the two-part Destinations International 2022 Annual Convention series. I’m excited to share it with you. We value your thoughts and feedback and would love to hear from you. Leave us a review on your favorite streaming platform to let us know what you want to hear more of. Here is a quick tutorial on how to leave us a rating and review on iTunes!: https://breaktheicemedia.com/rating-review/