Destination On The Left

Will Seccombe is President of Connect Travel, a strategic marketing business that connects destination marketers with the products, services, people, and ideas that help them thrive in a rapidly evolving and highly competitive global marketplace. Prior to joining the tourism marketing company in May 2017, Will served four years as President and Chief Executive Officer for VISIT FLORIDA, the state's destination marketing organization. He joined VISIT FLORIDA in March 2008 as Chief Marketing Officer, and International and out-of-state visitors to the Sunshine State increased from 80 million in 2009 to over 112 million in 2016, with an associated annual increase in visitor spending of over $30 billion. Will's career began as regional sales manager with Vail Associates in 1989. He then moved on to Loveland Ski Areas in 1992 as director of marketing, vice president of marketing for the Denver Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau in 1995, and vice president and chief operating officer with PRACO, LTD in 1999. In 2004, Seccombe founded Revolution Communications, LLC, a digital travel marketing firm. Will was named one of the Top 25 Most Extraordinary Minds in Sales & Marketing by HSMAI, Top 50 Global Marketers in Travel by Skift, and the 2014 Hospitality Legend of the Year by the South Florida HSMAI. On this episode of Destination on the Left, I talk with Will Seccombe, who joins me to share his perspective on creativity and collaboration in the travel industry. We discuss the upcoming eTourism Summit and the benefits that participants will get from the industry collaboration. Will also shares why he thinks that creativity is a critical skill for marketers and why building positive and productive relationships will push the industry forward over the coming months. What You Will Learn: Why Will made the leap from mountain destinations to beach destinations and his career trajectory so far Will's insights into current innovation in the travel industry as a response to the events of the last 18 months How destination marketers can recognize and tell the story of their key differentiator Why traditional targeting is no longer working and what destination marketers can do instead How the eTourism Summit evolved and what participants will get from the collaboration Will's insights on how collaboration is going to help carry the travel industry forward Innovations in Storytelling Creativity has never been a more important skill set than it is today. The travel industry as a whole in 2019 saw record visitor numbers, so there was no real incentive to innovate. The events of 2020 and the challenges the sector faced forced innovation and creativity and drove destinations to reevaluate their messaging. Will shares his thoughts on the new ways destination marketers are using social media to tell their stories and why he feels the playing field has been reset going forward. Capture the Authenticity The concept of branding is to tell our stories, and the best way to get to the heart of a destination is to leverage feedback from visitors and community experiences to tell that story. We discuss why hearing about lived experiences captures the genuine authenticity of a place and why the voices of the people who are passionate about your destination are so powerful in attracting new visitors. Website: https://connecttravel.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seccombe/ Twitter: @troutline

Kurian Mathew Tharakan is the founder of the sales and marketing strategy firm StrategyPeak Sales & Marketing Advisors and a 27-year sales and marketing industry veteran. He has consulted for companies in numerous sectors. Mr. Tharakan is also the author of the Amazon Bestseller, "The 7 Essential Stories Charismatic Leaders Tell," which details how anyone can move people and mountains with the power of story. On this episode of Destination on the Left, I talk with Kurian Tharakan about the importance of storytelling as a tool for sales and marketing. He shares the seven stories that every leader should tell and how stories make activities and destinations come alive for the listener. Kurian also shares case studies of how destinations can leverage collaboration and community relationships to tell their authentic stories and attract more visitors. What You Will Learn: The importance of creating curiosity with a relatable story What an 'idea stack' is and how it can help build your authentic story How to develop your marketing to make value propositions Why collaboration is so beneficial when you're telling your destination story How destinations can embrace the diversity and equity and inclusion movement in the stories they tell Tell Your Authentic Story If you have an authentic story, you're more likely to engage people's imagination. Take control of the narrative by using stories to lead your teams internally and to lead markets externally. You're not focusing on a single idea, but rather an 'idea stack' that appeals to different audiences and sets you apart from your competitors. Kurain shares his seven essential stories and describes why every marketer needs to create a Venn diagram for their central story. Engage Attention Stories begin with intrigue and curiosity, and whatever you want the customer to hear should be functionally relevant and emotionally significant. Collaboration is important when telling your story; you can engage the whole tourism ecosystem — from boutique hotels to niche activities — to create curiosity in potential visitors. By thinking broadly about your destination, you can create a story that engages a range of audiences. Book: The 7 Essential Stories Charismatic Leaders Tell Infographic: https://www.dropbox.com/s/uavv5hi1u8izn1d/The%207%20Essential_Stories%20Infographic.pdf?dl=0 Website: https://strategypeak.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kuriantharakan/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/strategypeak-sales-&-marketing-advisors/about/ Twitter: @KurianTharakan Email: kurian@strategypeak.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/

Mike Testa is the President and CEO of Visit Sacramento & the Sacramento Sports Commission, leading a team dedicated to promoting Sacramento as an attractive travel destination while enhancing Sacramentos image as a dynamic place to live and work. Through the impact of travel, Mike and his team strengthen Sacramento's economic position, grow the region's economy, attract development investment, and improve the quality of life for the people who call Sacramento home. In just three years as the CEO of Visit Sacramento, Mike has generated new streams of visitors to the region by investing in and promoting Sacramento's arts community and creating and expanding music and food festivals. He has also focused on growing and securing new and diverse sporting events and advocating for, and ultimately securing, the expansion of the Sacramento Convention Center. Visit California Travel & Tourism data shows that Mike's vision of diversifying Sacramento's visitor platform is working. In 2019, Sacramento generated record revenues from tourism, as visitors spent more than $3 billion into the regional economy. In 2021, Visit Sacramento will help further elevate the Aftershock Music Festival (the largest hard rock festival on the West Coast) into a four-day, 120,000-person music event. Later that same month, Sacramento will host its first Ironman competition. Through Mike's vision, commitment to community collaboration, and consistent innovation, Sacramentos identity has evolved from a sleepy State Capital to a relevant food destination, recognized nationally as America's Farm-to-Fork Capital. Through creating the Tower Bridge Dinner and events like the Farm-to-Fork Festival, Mike's ability to see Sacramento's heritage and reimagine its identity as a food and agriculture leader has brought millions of dollars in revenue to local businesses national earned media to Sacramento. Additionally, Mike Testa is responsible for initiating and creating the relationship with the Paris-based Michelin Guide to generate a California dining guide that spotlighted 14 of Sacramento's restaurants and earned the city its first Michelin-starred restaurant in its inaugural year of publication. Mike is a graduate of St. Mary's College and has spent his career promoting, connecting, and developing relationships to elevate organizational goals. As an expert communicator and seasoned destination marketing executive, he is highly sought after to speak at CEO forums, participate in panel discussions, serve as an event emcee, and facilitate conversations around marketing, tourism development, and community economic creation and development. Mike is also widely known as a thought leader in economic development through festivals and events. In 2017 he was hand-picked to participate in a panel discussion at Austins SXSW about building successful special events and the intricate components of forming relationships between host cities and festival producers. In 2008, Mike was named as a '40 under 40 leader' and in 2014 was awarded the Vibe Award from the Downtown Sacramento Partnership, which recognized 'Visionary Innovators in Building Excellence.' He is active on the boards of the Sacramento Metro Chamber of Commerce, Sacramento Zoo, Midtown Association, and Downtown Sacramento Partnership. Mike is an educator and enjoys sharing his knowledge as a former media relations instructor for the Western Association of Convention & Visitors Bureaus and the UC Davis Extension. On this episode of Destination on the Left, I talk with Mike Testa, who shares his passion for the city of Sacramento and details how Visit Sacramento built a brand as the Farm-to-Fork capital of America. We discuss Sacramento's challenges as a city in California, where there are many bucket list cities, and creative ways his team has carved out positioning that Sacramento can own. Mike also highlights how his organization has creatively collaborated to successfully produce events for the city that are now attracting a vast number of visitors every year. What You Will Learn: All the exciting events that Visit Sacramento has created with its partners to attract visitors to the city, including the Farm-to-Fork Festival Why Mike focuses on building a brand to seek out national and international opportunities, including their collaboration with the Michelin Guides Visit Sacramento's creative plans for the future and how the COVID-19 pandemic has made them reflect on how they attract visitors to the city Why it's so critical to build partnerships during challenging times How Mike approaches destination marketing within the local community Leadership in Adversity In times of adversity, we often see that team members find the strength and confidence to step up to lead and are keen to take on challenges that benefit the whole community. Mike's leadership skills are shaped by his previous experience in a wide range of roles in marketing and community relationship development, and he fosters that ethos in his team. Mike also shares his insights on connecting with organizations in your area and why building deeper bonds ultimately helps you move forward to achieve your goals. Partnership Events With the Farm-to-Fork initiative, Mike and Visit Sacramento designed a 360-degree celebration of what the region had to offer and worked hard to get community and local media buy-in to the event, which has subsequently gone from strength to strength. Mike shares the most significant lessons he learned from building the festival gradually and candidly describes some of the valuable partnerships and collaborations they rely on to attract visitors to their destination. Website: https://www.visitsacramento.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-testa-1082673/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/sacramento-convention-&-visitors-bureau Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VisitSacramento/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/visitsacramento 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/

Paula White is a globally recognized sales leader with experience in scaling Inside Sales Teams into multi-million stand-alone sales channels. Using unique perspectives and a forward-thinking approach, she achieves 8% – 10% compounded yearly growth leading from a foundation of heart and mind. Her passion for people, purpose, and results has lent itself to experience in various industries: travel and tourism, investments, veterinary and healthcare distribution. Paula began a consulting business in 2021 to bring a new innovative way to explore leadership legacies and knowing each leadership style is as unique as one of your music playlists. She uses music as a metaphor and tool to enhance your experience through her company, Side B Consulting. Paula currently serves as a member of the AA-ISP Advisory Board and has been recognized as a Top 25 Most Influential Sales Leader for three consecutive years by AA-ISP. She was the award winner of 'Excellence in Execution' in 2017, ranked amongst the 'Top 100 Coaches to Watch' for two consecutive years by Ambition, and has been honored with the 2020 Mentor of the Summer for #GirlsClub. Paula served as President of the AA-ISP Columbus Ohio Chapter from 2015 – 2018 and is currently a mentor for #GirlsClub and a SalesClass.ai Contributor. On this episode of Destination on the Left, I talk with Paula White, who discusses the human side of the sales process and where she believes current problems lie. She shares some of the details of her new company, Side B Consulting, and why and how she uses music as a motivator and a tool to help clients understand their leadership style. Paula also provides some actionable tips for keeping the human connection in sales and outlines her approach to understanding and stepping into your legacy behaviors. What You Will Learn: Why we should re-humanize the sales process Actionable tips on how to connect with potential clients How to use music as a leadership tool How to understand a walk in your legacy behavior How putting together the right playlist can shift your mindset Humanize the Sales Process Travel professionals love what they do because they're helping people by serving the communities they work in and the visitors who spend time with them — which is why it's much more helpful to be a consultative salesperson than a purely transactional one. Sales is a process, but it is also a very human experience. Paula shares her philosophy on why we need to re-humanize sales and describes the rule of three by three by three that helps her connect with clients. Legacy Behavior Music is a potent leadership tool — if you're stressed out, you can quickly change your mindset by playing the right songs to get you in the correct headspace for the task ahead. Paula explains why after 30 years working in corporate America, she was inspired to use music to motivate herself and her team and why she decided to help leaders figure out and walk into their legacy behavior and exemplify their ideal qualities through the metaphor of music. YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_xkbbpzjHaNghE5e3U6x6w Website: www.paulaswhite.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paula-pw-white-344a8611/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/side-b-consulting Twitter: @pswhite00 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/

Pamela Brooks Williams is a Huntsville native who is passionate about her city and sharing its highlights with anyone she can. She has been with the Huntsville/Madison County CVB for 16 years. As Tourism Sales Manager, she works to bring groups of all types and leisure travelers to our community and especially enjoys working with student groups taking advantage of the unique offerings available exclusively through the Educational Escapes program, which she coordinates. Pam is responsible for implementing new products and events in Huntsville, such as Huntsville Restaurant Week, the Lucky Duck Scavenger Hunt, and Trains on Main Scavenger Hunt. In addition, she currently serves on the board for the Alabama Restaurant and Hospitality Association. Before joining the Bureau, Pam worked at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, serving in various roles and was active in the local hospitality industry. She graduated magna cum laude from the University of Alabama Huntsville with a degree in history and political science. Pam enjoys travel and is frequently on the go. She has three talented, intelligent, and very busy children. On this episode of Destination on the Left, I talk with Pam Williams about her love of the diversity, the variety, and the incredible experiences that working with the DMO offers, and she shares why she is so passionate about the travel industry. We discuss why Huntsville is perfectly positioned as Rocket City, USA, and Pam describes some of the amazing attractions on offer, including their Space and Aviation Camps. Pam also gives her expert advice on creating successful collaborations, including details of Huntsville's new initiative. Finally, she shares the new messaging that they are using as we head towards recovery. What You Will Learn: How Pam and her team manage the growth and the infrastructure of their expanding destination to ensure that visitors have a great experience in Huntsville What the Huntsville CVB has done to help it stand out in the crowd. The Attractions Week initiative — how it works, similarities and differences from Restaurant Week, and how they are promoting it Unexpected opportunities that the COVID-19 pandemic has given them to be creative when evolving to meet whatever the future brings How Pam has been able to leverage 'coop-etition' to join with competitors to collaborate on projects over the last 12 months Keeping It Fresh We discuss the pivots that the CVB has made over the last year to showcase its range of attractions, and Pam outlines how Huntsville creatively shines a light on each sector with the new initiative Attractions Week. Reimagining annual events to ensure they stay fresh and exciting for repeat visitors is a priority for the destination, and Pam also describes how they let people know what's going on in the area using social media and their website. Supporting the Community Huntsville has been encouraging people to support local businesses more than ever, and in addition to inviting in visitors, they have focused on promotions that help local residents shop locally. Pam describes the I Heart Huntsville campaign, how inviting visitors, influencers, and locals to share what they love about the community works, and why they're showing their love and appreciation for their hospitality heroes this year. Website: https://www.huntsville.org/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pam-williams-tmp-ctp-6270b67/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HuntsvilleCVB Twitter: https://twitter.com/go2huntsvilleal 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/

Named one of the 11 Influential Black Women in Travel You Should Know by Travel Noire, Rachel Hill is a trailblazing Travelpreneur, Speaker, and Published Author. With a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) in Marketing, she has merged her Tech and Digital Marketing expertise and passion for travel into a global brand. Her engaged audience of over 30,000 sees her as a leader in both the travel and tourism space and the Digital Marketing industry. Utilizing her marketing and Influencer expertise, Rachel coaches new and aspiring Travel Brand Business creators and on how to build successful online brands, how to create valuable content, and how to monetize their brands. On this episode of Destination on the Left, I talk with Rachel Hill about how travel influencers can help brands reach niche markets. She shares her insights on demystifying travel in the Black community and gives an example of a successful creative influencer campaign she worked on to flip the narrative on cold-weather destinations. Rachel also breaks down the KPIs that she thinks are most important for influencer marketing and why it's much more valuable to focus on the impact of a campaign rather than how many likes you get. What You Will Learn: The best ways for destinations to approach influencers Why it's critical to have a coherent strategy when working with travel influencers How to measure interest and conversion rates from campaigns with influencers Best practices for influencer marketing to niche audiences How destinations can ensure they are open, authentic, and diverse in their marketing materials Why Rachel believes this is the perfect time for organizations and travel brands to be innovative and creative to attract visitors Engaging Your Audience When travel destinations approach influencers, it is important that they really understand whether that influencer's values and content align with theirs. There is no point in pursuing influencers with huge follower numbers if their audience doesn't connect to your purpose. A recent shift in destination marketing has seen a move towards micro-influencers who have engaged audiences who trust their opinion and direction. Don't focus on the numbers — focus on the impact. Niche Audiences If a destination wants to tap into a new niche audience, it's essential to be authentic by working with someone who can represent that niche audience well. You can shift the narrative and open up your region to travelers who had not previously considered it a place to visit by asking for the feedback of an influencer in that niche group. Rachel Hill gives her perspective on approaching influencers in a specific niche and outlines the best practices for influencer marketing to niche audiences. Quiz: https://www.rachelvhill.com/quiz Websites: https://www.racheltravels.com/ https://www.rachelvhill.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachelvhill Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRachelVHill Twitter: https://twitter.com/Therachelvhill

As Account Manager – Leisure Trade & Product Structure with Destination Sherbrooke for the past five years, William Hogg has developed and deepened key relationships with tourism partners and travel buyers from the region, across Canada, and around the world. The instigator of the Sherbrooke – Heart of the Townships brand, he continues to strategically develop products and position the city, partners, and the region in Canadian, American, and international (Asian and European) leisure and tour & travel markets. On this episode of Destination on the Left, I talk with William Hogg about how he has kept his Canadian destination Sherbrooke, near the U.S. border in Quebec, at the forefront of travelers' minds over the past year. He shares his most creative ideas – from hosting frequent virtual familiarization (FAM) tours for operators in the travel trade to creating an award-winning Local Flavors Road Trip. William also shares why he sees collaboration as the key to successfully navigating the changes in a post-pandemic travel industry. What You Will Learn: What the closure of travel and tourism due to the pandemic has meant for Canadian destinations Creative elements incorporated in Sherbrooke's strategy to move through the challenges of 2020/21 and beyond How William collaborated with neighboring municipal organizations to find ways of attracting hyper-local tourism What Destination Sherbrooke is doing to support their local community Why William is currently seeing more interest from U.S. tour operators than Canadian operators for Summer 2021 Collaborate for Success In the current climate, sharing wealth and resources is the key to success, and collaborations between destinations don't need to be completely equal for them to be successful. Smaller communities can collaborate with larger ones to work together to both draw visitors to their attractions and offer them a range of places to eat and sleep, leading to a win-win outcome for everyone. COVID-19 Friendly Attractions Being COVID-friendly is vital in the post-pandemic recovery period and promoting outdoor attractions that visitors feel comfortable with as they ease back into tourism is very important in the rejuvenation of the industry. William discusses why the attractions that Destination Sherbrooke is focusing on are centered around agri-tourism. He also describes how Sherbrooke won international recognition for the pivots they have made during the pandemic and the continued creativity they have shown in drawing people to the area. Website: https://www.destinationsherbrooke.com/en/visitors LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/william-hogg-94b24326/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/destinationsherbrooke Twitter: https://twitter.com/DSherbrooke

Carole Stizza is a Professionally Certified ICF Executive Coach, a SeniorHR Professional, and has a background in Industrial-Organizational Psychology. She has also survived 3 different car accidents (all stopped while turning left) and stage 3 cancer. Resilience, grit, and impatience for life have all been constant companions as she has supported her Air Force Husband and moved her family around the U.S. for 26 years and traveled the world. Her ability to help clients navigate change, clarify what is important, and step into better conversations have led her to be a contributing author in two books and now releasing her own called: The ASK Framework, questions that elevate your Influence, Performance, and Leadership. On this episode of Destination on the Left, I talk with Carole Stizza about the power of self-awareness that comes when you ask for positive feedback. It may seem counterintuitive to ask people to tell you what you are doing right — but that is exactly what Carol suggests doing. Carole also discusses the framework for how to have those professional conversations that she created to help people understand the idea of self-leadership, and why she decided to expand her ideas into a book. What You Will Learn: What it means to use self-leadership How Carole is seeing people apply self-leadership as we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic How Carole helps her clients learn how to celebrate and realize self-leadership The importance of taking curiosity in a more strategic, actionable direction by giving context in conversations How to use Carole's framework to introduce a sense of positivity and collaboration one-to-one or within a team How to remind people what they should celebrate about themselves when home or hybrid working You Are Already Your Best Self The first step of self-leadership is to recognize that you are already positioned to be your best self. We're all unique — so start to embrace how you uniquely think and move away from comparing yourself with others. Adopting what makes you unique and what sets you apart, then starting to appreciate and embrace those things ensures that you understand how to put yourself out in the world. Framework for Feedback As leaders and individuals we are always evolving, learning, and growing, so the idea that you are already your best self can be overwhelming. And that's because we don't always know what to celebrate about ourselves, we need a framework for feedback about what other people appreciate about the gifts they see in us. Keep growing and keep changing but also make the choice to enjoy who you are in the moment. Website: https://relevant-insight.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolestizza/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/relevant4you Twitter: https://twitter.com/relevant4you Book: https://resources.relevant-insight.com/ASKFramework986140 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/

Jim is the President & CEO of Response Marketing Group, a consumer-data-focused marketing agency in Richmond, Va. As such, he is responsible for relationship development and account strategy at the independent agency, which offers data analytics, predictive modeling, and multi-channel services. The agency serves several clients in the financial services, travel/tourism, and insurance sectors. With over 30+ years of experience in the marketing and advertising industry, Jim is a nationally recognized speaker at conferences and events such as the Forrester Marketing Conference, Direct Marketing Association, Public Relations Society of America, and the Southeast Tourism Society. Jim is considered a thought-leader on the value of data insights married to relevant messaging to the target audience. Jim also leads the Travel and Tourism practice for RMG, which includes clients such as Arkansas Tourism, Georgia Tourism, Visit Jacksonville, St Tammany Parish, The Ritz Carlton, and Marriott International among others. Prior to Response Marketing Group, Jim was Senior Vice President at The Allant Group in Chicago, IL from 2010-2014. He led the Strategic Consulting practice that delivered marketing strategy and high-level research to CMOs and brand managers at clients such as GM, Comcast, Nationwide Insurance, US Tennis Association, US Cellular, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, and Wells Fargo. From 1999-2010, Jim was an agency partner in RightMinds a strategic consultancy in Richmond, VA serving national brands and emerging growth brands. On this episode of Destination on the Left, I talk all things data with James Harenchar. Jim clarifies the types of data that are available, and how they help build predictive models and analytics that deliver a reduced cost per acquisition. He demonstrates how data has helped tourism marketers achieve better results with some recent case studies. Jim also walks us through the evolving nature of the direct response marketing industry, and how response attribution works in the digital world. What You Will Learn: How Jim leverages data analytics, predictive modeling for clients in the travel and tourism sector Where Jim finds the data that we don't have and the 'secret sauce' of matching it to messaging How building relationships translates into better, more effective marketing Why and how you should be differentiating your messaging for different audiences Why consistency across your messaging, imagery, and CTA considerably boosts your advertising response rate Engaging the Audience In the travel and tourism industry, we are always looking to marry customer insights with marketing strategy and use the data we have more effectively. But in some cases, it's the data we don't have that would help me gain greater insight into what individuals are looking for from a destination or experience. It's great if you have a first name and last name and an email address but if you don't have any detail on gender, income, whether they have children or are an empty nester then it's much more difficult to tailor your messaging and engage that individual that's already in your database in a meaningful way. Personalized Messaging The relevance of digital marketing is more important than ever, so the more data you have on your client base the more likely it is that you will be able to personalize your ads. The direct marketing industry has evolved to where potential visitors expect the images and ads that they're seeing to be focused on their interests. This is where data, analysis, and segmentation can help professionals in the destination marketing world achieve personalization more quickly and efficiently. Website: https://rmg-usa.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jharenchar/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rmgusallc/ 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/

Andy McNeill is a travel and hospitality entrepreneur with over 25 years of experience in his profession. He is the CEO and founder of American Meetings, Inc., an industry-leading meetings and events agency that produces thousands of live and virtual meetings annually for Fortune 500 clients. He is also the co-host of the Destination Everywhere Podcast, top travel and hospitality podcast that highlights bucket-list destinations, luxury hotels, local cuisine, and must-do activities. Andy is a significant voice in the hospitality, meeting, and travel industries. On this episode of Destination on the Left, I talk with Andy McNeill about how the travel industry has changed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Andy shares his thoughts on the hybrid event model and how destinations and suppliers can benefit from this new approach to meetings. We also discuss creative ways that destinations can take their experiences and products virtual to support both online and in-person attendees. What You Will Learn: Key lessons learned during the last year on how the travel industry is evolving Why Andy McNeill believes the hybrid-event model is here to stay How destinations can make their virtual event component creative How in-person events are making attendees feel safe How Conventions and Visitors Bureau (CVB) staff can innovate to promote their destination Creative Hybrid Events The travel and tourism industry has fundamentally changed over the last year, but we can adapt and grow with the changes. With a few creative tweaks, you can tailor your offering to what visitors are looking for both in-person and for virtual tourists. Andy describes some of the most creative online and hybrid events that he has seen in the past 12 months and gives listeners some inspiration for planning their own engaging events to attract visitors. Technology and Collaboration We dig into the specifics of how to leverage the spirit of 'coop-etition' the blend of collaboration and competition if you are part of the CVB community. Andy shares his experience of using technology to promote visitor destinations and how to ensure your region is still an attractive prospect in the new normal world of safety protocols and flexible booking policies. Collaboration is going to be key to enhancing the online event experience so we also explore the key lessons learned, and how the industry will evolve as we come out of the pandemic. Hotel Negotiating Tip in the New Normal: https://americanmeetings.com/tips-for-negotiating-in-the-new-normal/ Cleaning Requirements Interview with Shari Cedar: https://americanmeetings.com/venue-cleaning-requirements/ Safety Guideline Digital Booklet: https://americanmeetings.com/wp-content/uploads/AMI-Safety-Sanitation-Resource-Guide-for-Live-Meetings.pdf Destination Everywhere Podcast: https://americanmeetings.com/podcast/ Website: https://americanmeetings.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andy-mcneill/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AmericanMeetings/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/andymcneill https://twitter.com/amermeetings 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/