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Destination On The Left

Destination On The Left is a podcast focused on the travel and tourism industry that explores successful collaborations, creative marketing ideas and best practices. Interviews are a mix of Destination Marketers, Industry Leaders, Consultants and businesses in the industry. We explore consumer marketing programs and travel trade marketing programs. This podcast provides an opportunity for professionals in the travel & tourism industry to share what they have learned and successes that they have achieved.
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Now displaying: February, 2023
Feb 22, 2023

Olivia Novak is the marketing manager for Discover Lancaster. Helping people is Olivia’s passion, and being a resource for others as they plan their trips to Lancaster appeals to that passion. Lancaster, PA, is an up-and-coming destination with so much to offer; from heritage to adventure, there truly is something for everyone.

Olivia’s background in sports has strengthened her understanding of the human desire for experiences. As a former college athlete and Final Four National Tournament participant, she has seen firsthand how to build one moment into a larger-than-life experience.

On this episode of Destination on the Left, I talk with Olivia Novak about Visit Lancaster’s successful partnership with the Baltimore Ravens and how her small DMO negotiated the relationship. She also offers great advice for young professionals starting out in the tourism industry and shares more about the accessibility project that they are in the midst of launching to make sure their destination is open to all abilities.

What You Will Learn in this Episode:

  • How Visit Lancaster is standing out from the crowd by partnering with professional sports teams such as the Baltimore Ravens
  • Olivia shares her advice for destination marketers interested in tapping into the sports world
  • Projects that Olivia and Visit Lancaster are excited about in 2023, particularly sharing more information about their destination’s accessible attractions
  • The importance of trust, leaning on your team, and believing in where you’re going when you’re coping with challenges
  • How Visit Lancaster has successfully collaborated with neighboring destinations to create the Keystone Crossroads trail to attract more visitors to the region
  • Olivia’s thoughts on how to move forward and develop your career as a young professional in destination marketing

Trusting the Right Opportunity Will Present Itself

Olivia shares her insights on the negotiation process in the destination marketing world. She emphasizes the importance of customizing packages to fit the needs of both parties, especially for smaller destinations. Olivia encourages destinations to have open conversations and find a mutually beneficial agreement with organizations, whether it’s a sports team or any other larger entity.

Olivia also discusses her strategic decisions on which events Discover Lancaster wanted to invest their time and energy into and the importance of being confident in saying no to opportunities that aren’t right for you.

Accessible Lancaster

Olivia discusses her efforts to promote Lancaster as an accessible destination for all visitors. This involved creating resources, such as a comprehensive and accurate guide on their website, highlighting accessible attractions, hotels, restaurants, and activities. She also shares more about their collaboration with Tempest, an agency that specializes in creating accessible guides for destinations.

We talked about the DMO’s efforts to partner with local influencers, including a wheelchair user and a family that focuses on accessible travel due to their son’s Spinal Bifida. The goal is to craft staycation experiences for these influencers and have them share their experiences with the public.

Community Focused

Finally, Olivia emphasizes that Lancaster County and its businesses are an integral part of the fabric of the community and need to be represented in the resources provided by the Visitor’s Bureau. She acknowledges that the bureau currently only represents a small portion of the community and outlines the plans to center the needs of the community as a whole in their offering going forward.

Resources:

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Feb 15, 2023

Julie Ellis is an author, professional speaker, and leadership coach to corporate leaders and scaling Entrepreneurs. Julie provides her unique experience and expertise to her coaching clients, gained through 25 years of working first in the corporate world and then as a leading Canadian entrepreneur. She is a co-founder of award-winning Mabel’s Labels, one of Canada’s greatest small business success stories.

Julie’s book, Big Gorgeous Goals, is written for women entrepreneurs who want to step out of the small box they find themselves in and set world domination in their sights. In discussion with over a dozen women entrepreneurs, Julie explores their stories of why and how they have achieved great things in their lives and careers and pairs that knowledge with her own stories of how she built, grew, and sold her business to a giant in her industry.

On this episode of Destination on the Left, I talk with Julie Ellis about how setting big gorgeous goals allows you to step into your own brilliance and consider your personal and professional ambitions in a new way.

What You Will Learn in this Episode:

  • About Julie’s first business, how she built it, and why she ultimately decided to move in another direction
  • Why Julie was inspired to write Big Gorgeous Goals: How Bold Women Achieve Great Things
  • What we can do to avoid feeling trapped in small thinking
  • How to identify and chase your big, gorgeous goals
  • Some of the ways to get ourselves unstuck including having people you can collaborate with
  • Why there is no better time than now to start thinking about your big gorgeous goals

Accomplishing Your Goals

After talking to other women who have accomplished big things, Julie Ellis, Co-Founder of award-winning Mabel’s Labels, learned that those huge achievements are only a part of their story and that the processes and support systems that sustain them are often overlooked.

Julie’s book, Big Gorgeous Goals: How Bold Women Achieve Great Things, highlights not only big achievements but also the unseen support and effort that goes into them.

Think Big!

Julie believes that during uncertain times, people tend to think small and put their biggest goals and dreams on the sidelines. She believes that big gorgeous goals often remain unachieved because of missing ingredients such as money, time, knowledge, or support.

When someone is successful in their current life, they avoid pursuing their biggest goals because they worry that those goals will test their confidence and push them out of their comfort zone. Chasing big goals requires bravery and overcoming obstacles, and Julie encourages people not to give up on their dreams and keep pushing toward them.

Get Out of Your Own Way

When pursuing big goals, there are so many things that can stand in our way. We can be tempted to fill our calendars with commitments and wear our “busy” badge as a symbol of achievement. This can lead to a lack of time to reflect, dream, and pursue our desires. Julie shares why creating space in our lives is essential to make room for reflection, exploration, and chasing our goals.

Resources:

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Feb 8, 2023

Jill Delaney is the President and CEO of Discover Albany, previously known as the Albany County Convention and Visitors Bureau. Discover Albany represents hundreds of local businesses and attractions and assists each year in hundreds of regional meetings, events, and destination promotion. Discover Albany also operates the Discover Albany Visitors Center and the Albany International Airport Information Center and serves as Albany County’s Official Film Commission and Sports Commission.

Jill previously served as the President and CEO of the New York State Tourism Industry Association (NYSTIA), a statewide organization serving Tourism Promotion Agencies like Discover Albany as well as attractions and service providers.

Jill currently serves as the Legislative Chair of the NYS Destination Marketing Organization. She is also a board member of the Empire State Society of Association Executives (ESSAE), Co-Chair of the Destinations International Small Destinations Council, and VP of the Capital-Saratoga Tourism Region. She is a member of the Hudson Valley Tourism Board, the Albany Institute of History and Art Community Engagement Committee, the Capital Region Sports Foundation, and the Albany Airport Master Planning Committee, and serves her alma mater as President of the University at Albany Alumni Association as well as the University Council.
Jill and her husband, Michael, live in Clifton Park with their three children.

On this episode of Destination on the Left, I talk with Jill Delaney, President, and CEO of Discover Albany, about their Discover My Albany campaign and how it has led to the DMO standing out in a way that goes beyond visitor numbers and into economic development and destination management. We also discuss their renewed focus on community partnership and how Discover Albany serves as the official Film and Sports Commission for Albany County.

What You Will Learn in this Episode:

  • How Jill is promoting Albany’s unique attributes as a way to attract more visitors
  • How they launched the ongoing resident-led series called “Discover My Albany” to promote the city
  • Albany’s role as a key economic driver for the county
  • Why they made the decision during the pandemic to keep all staff and figure out the finances as they went
  • Why collaboration with neighboring counties of Long Island and Schenectady is vital to keeping up to date
  • Details of the Destination East trade show and how they impressed event planners from all over the country with the collaboration and teamwork within New York State

Promoting Albany’s Unique Attributes

Albany has decided to lean into its unique attributes to attract visitors. The city boasts a solid community, a low cost of living, and an abundance of fascinating history and architecture. To promote the city, Albany has launched an ongoing resident-led series called “Discover My Albany.”

The series weaves personal stories from all parts of Albany County into the visitors’ guide and features videos by locals showcasing their favorite places and what they love about living and working in the city.

Emerging as a Key Economic Driver for the County

During the pandemic, Discover Albany made the hard choice to keep all of their staff and figure out the finances as they went. This decision proved to be beneficial as it allowed them to focus on new challenges, such as attracting filmmakers and sports teams to the city. As a result, the county executive and legislature chair officially designated Discover Albany as their official Film Commission and Sports Commission.

Collaboration is the Key to Success

Collaboration is key for Discover Albany, and Jill shares how they work with neighboring counties to be stronger together. Recently, they were selected to sponsor and host Destination East, a trade show organized by Northeast Meeting Group.

This collaborative effort impressed meeting planners from all over the country and showed how well New York State works together to get the job done and ensure the best outcome for clients.

Resources:

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/

Feb 1, 2023

Todd Wynne-Parry brings a wealth of global senior leadership knowledge and insight developed over more than 20 years of reporting directly to CEOs and Boards in industries that range from luxury, lifestyle, and outdoor hospitality to investing, consulting, and financial analysis.

As a CGO, EVP, SVP, and Executive Committee member, he has helmed major expansion, post-merger integration, and growth initiatives for the world’s premier hospitality brands, including, AutoCamp, Two Roads Hospitality (formerly Commune Hotels & Resorts), Global Acquisitions and Development, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), and Starwood Hotels and Resorts.

Specializing in brand expansions and M&A in Asia, the Middle East, and the Americas, Todd has closed deals and developed contracts that generated upwards of $30 million in enterprise value annually and built relationships with key decision-makers across a wide range of global and regional, and city markets globally.

On this episode of Destination on the Left, I talk with Todd Wynne-Parry, and we do a deep dive into the developing outdoor hospitality sector. In our conversation, Todd walks us through the attributes and appeal of nature-based locations and offers solutions to some of the industry’s roadblocks and challenges.

What You Will Learn in this Episode:

  • How Todd found his niche in the outdoor hospitality sector
  • How the outdoor hospitality sector has evolved
  • Features of a great outdoor hospitality location and how to curate a fantastic guest experience
  • Todd gives us a framework for brands interested in adding outdoor hospitality experiences
  • How marketers should be thinking about outdoor experiences within the broader travel and tourism offering
  • Some fantastic examples of successful outdoor ventures that are leading the way for the future of outdoor hospitality

Growth of the Outdoor Hospitality Sector

Outdoor hospitality is a wide-ranging sector that can be divided into two main categories: the lower end of the price point, such as RV parks, and the higher end ultra-luxe options. Although where guests are staying is only part of the experience. The most important thing is to be immersed in nature in a way that allows them to take a bridging step out of their comfort zone.

Incorporating Outdoor Experiences

The outdoor hospitality sector can also benefit land in unexpected ways, such as being an additional source of income for wineries and farms. Wineries can use outdoor experiences to add a new business line and boost profits, while farms can use events on their land to support regenerative farming.

Todd shares an example of a farm in Kentucky called Martin Acres, owned by an ex-slave’s descendants and is part of the Kentucky bourbon trail. The farm is now in its fourth generation and is exploring ways to incorporate outdoor hospitality to host family reunions and generate income.

Enhancing Well-being

Being outside in nature is an important aspect of enhancing our well-being. Todd discusses why the sector’s evolution allows people to escape the city and connect with nature, their partners, or their families. Instagram-worthy shots are also a great way to increase the destination’s visibility on social media.

However, there are some speed bumps to consider, such as labor and workforce issues and environmental concerns on the road to developing as an outdoor destination. Todd shares some ways brands can overcome these challenges on the podcast.

Resources:

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/

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