Destination On The Left

Nicole Mahoney started Break The Ice Media in 2009 in response to the evolving needs of small- to medium-sized businesses, in particular, the rise of social media. Break The Ice Media is a boutique marketing and communications firm with a focus on travel, tourism, food, wine, and hospitality. As CEO, Nicole is responsible for working with clients to understand their marketing needs, develop strategic marketing plans and execute those plans. She is also responsible for building a team that can deliver. Break The Ice Media specializes in collaborations that leverage resources of multiple partners for the creation of successful marketing programs within the travel and hospitality industry. Break The Ice Media views these programs as “coop-etition” where partners cooperate with their competition to create a program that is larger than one they can execute alone. Building these programs requires a leader who is level-headed, an effective listener, with an ability to move a group towards consensus in order to move forward. Nicole received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Rochester Institute of Technology and a Master of Arts in Communications from The College at Brockport, SUNY. Nicole loves the Finger Lakes region of New York State where she was born and raised. She is raising 4 daughters with her husband, John. What you’ll learn about in this episode: What Nicole learned at the Marketing Outlook Forum The emerging international travel trends Why Mexico will surpass Canada as the #1 source for arrivals by the end of 2016 Why China will surpass the UK as the #1 source for overseas arrivals by 2020 Why India will be the second largest market for consuming class households by 2025 How the US domestic leisure market will continue to grow in 2017 by the same rate as 2016 The research that shows that people are starting to see travel as a better use of money than material things Adventure vs. relaxation: what travelers want their vacations to feel like Why people are wanting more and more to be travelers, not tourists The rise of peer-to-peer lodging and what travelers that use these alternatives are like The World Food Travel Association’s study The 2016 Food Travel Monitor How food and beverage influences leisure travelers to seek out a destination Why a positive food or beverage experience will motivate travelers to return The rise of peer-to-peer dining and psycho-culinary profile research Project Time Off: the initiative to get Americans to use their vacation days The unlimited vacation policy at Break The Ice Media The economic impact of Americans using their vacation time Resources: Nicole's blog

Jennifer Ackerson is President and Founder of ALON Marketing Group, a respected tourism sales and marketing consulting company. She specializes in effective strategic development for growing travel and tourism supplier businesses with a focus on B2B and travel-trade client relationship building. Jennifer is a 20-year veteran of the Travel & Tourism industry with experience in the hotel, destinations, attractions and tours, transportation, restaurant, and travel buyer sectors. Jennifer has an excellent understanding of the tourism and visitor dynamic. Her distinctions include an unparalleled assimilation into the domestic and international buyer/seller relationship, which results in a high level of successful strategic business development activity. Her past work experience includes working for Marriott Hotels, Long Island Convention and Visitors Bureau, Riese Restaurants, New York Apple Tours, Skyline Multimedia Entertainment, CitySights NY, and most recently, 15+ years of independent tourism consultation. What you’ll learn about in this episode: Why it’s so important to build up the buyer-seller relationship What ALON does to help its clients stand out from the crowd What Travel Trade is Why staying focused is so crucial in the tourism industry ALON’s collaboration programs What’s coming up for ALON Why you can’t be afraid of your team knowing more than you do How to figure out if a partnership is good at the beginning of the relationship Why you need to make sure everyone in a partnership is on board with the project vision What Jennifer and ALON looks for in their clients and partners Ways to contact Jennifer: Website: www.alonmarketing.com

Glenn Clark is the president and creative director of Clark CSM Marketing & Communications. He has worked as a Designer and Creative Director alongside world-class talent at agencies such as Partners + Napier in Rochester and Eric Mower & Associates in Syracuse prior to founding an award-winning agency. His vision for Clark CSM has always been to create amazing work with an attentiveness to a wide-array of clients while specializing in tourism and destination marketing. His clients will agree, Glenn is a blast to work with and usually the most enthusiastic person in the room. Even better, he'll never turn down an invite to grab a beer. What you’ll learn about in this episode: Why he started Clark CSM How Clark CSM got its foothold in the travel and tourism industry What Glenn did for a skiing location in a year with no snow How telling the right story allowed Glenn to help a coffee shop stand out Why you need to work on the business, not in the business What Glenn is doing with the craft beverage industry How to create a powerful, memorable brand through authentic marketing Why it’s important to connect in person -- not just on social media The creative branding blogs that Glenn has launched Ways to contact Glenn: Website: www.clarkcsm.com Resources: Two Cows: www.clarkcsm.com/two-cows Crafting A Brand: http://eepurl.com/ci_eV5 Three Things Every Thursday: http://eepurl.com/bAHYrL

For Leah Mueller, traveling is more than a job -- it’s her passion. After earning a degree in Travel and Tourism Management from Niagara University, she went on to study abroad before starting her career. Leah has broad and varied expertise in the hotel, attraction, restaurant, and private company sector. She has been with Visit Buffalo Niagara for over 15 years and was a key partner in expanding their international appeal. What you’ll learn about in this episode: Why passion helps you connect with customers How Buffalo has grown in the last 5 years What challenges and opportunities come from Buffalo’s location near Niagara Falls and I-90 How Leah has combated those challenges New York State in 9 Days: a project Visit Buffalo Niagara is collaborating on with Dutchess County Tourism in the Hudson Valley and Visit Syracuse How working with competitors creates win-wins What Leah looks for in partners What makes partnerships not work Ways to contact Leah: Website: www.visitbuffaloniagara.com

Leah Mueller is the Director of Tourism Sales for Visit Buffalo Niagara. For Leah, traveling is more than a job -- it’s her passion. After earning a degree in Travel and Tourism Management from Niagara University, she went on to study abroad before starting her career. Leah has broad and varied expertise in the hotel, attraction, restaurant, and private company sector. She has been with Visit Buffalo Niagara for over 15 years and was a key partner in expanding their international appeal. What you’ll learn about in this episode: The challenges in selling a region that doesn’t have an iconic attribute How Brew Central came to be How Kelly and her partners measure the success of their campaigns How 10 counties come together to participate in consumer trade shows How Kelly’s engaged with the craft beverage industry The Cheers Network that Kelly created Working with competition to make something that works for the consumer The power of a can-do attitude and not letting anything get in your way Building relationships to tear down roadblocks How Kelly connects her region to other regions to attract an international audience What’s coming up in the future Ways to contact Kelly: Website: www.oneidacountytourism.com Website: www.brewcentralny.com

Daniel Fenton, a 25-year veteran in Hospitality and Tourism, discusses enhancing visitor experiences, technology in tourism, attracting millennial travelers, and delivering heritage tourism. He shares insights on destination master planning, collaboration in tourism projects, and navigating political and regulatory challenges.