Brand USA Talks Travel

What’s the current bucket list for U.K. travelers in the USA? Is there enough lift? Plus, encouraging the next generation to work in the travel industry.

Did you know that Wisconsin produces more than half of the world's cranberries? We sit down with Craig Trost, Communications Director of Wisconsin Department of Tourism, to discuss the importance of sharing your destination's unexpected offerings, the potential of sports tourism, and thoughts about IPW.

Millions of tourists already utilize Recreation.gov to plan and reserve trips and experiences in our National Parks. In this episode with Janelle Smith, Public Affairs Specialist with the U.S. Forest Service, we explore the huge international opportunity, talk about how to mitigate places that have too much traffic, and hear about user-generated content.

There are specific challenges and opportunities in creating destination content. Ashley Davidson, Founder and Creative Director of Citizen, offers advice on creating compelling branded content and how important it is to focus on the heart of a community from a tourism perspective.

Hear how and what CRUSA promotes to encourage visitation to DC, Maryland, and Virginia.

Lourdes Berho, President of Alchemia, speaks about the wide demographic variation of travelers who visit the U.S.A. from Mexico and how DMOs can appeal to their diverse interests. We also talk about why translation of content into Spanish is so important and other helpful marketing tips.

Sherry Rupert, Chief Executive Officer of the American Indian Alaska Native Tourism Association (AIANTA), joins us for an eye-opening conversation on sharing the stories of Native American Tribes and hearing how DMOs can help amplify messaging to increase tourism.

On the floor at IPW, we meet with Grey Brennan, Deputy Director of the Alabama Tourism Department. Grey has spent over two decades working to bring people to visit his home state, teaching us about the deep history of the U.S. Civil Rights Trail.

It’s important that international tourists receive guidance from tourism professionals on how to best experience the USA’s 400+ National Parks and Protected Sites. Donny Leadbetter, Tourism Program Manager of the National Parks Service, talks about the importance of pre-planning visits, countering over-crowding at certain parks, sustainability, and other tips you can communicate to travelers.

Sheema Vohra, Managing Director of Sartha Global Marketing, presents the latest on how Indian travelers view visiting the United States, and offers advice on how U.S. DMOs can better motivate travel from India.