We recently attended the 2019 Museum Association of New York annual conference and spoke with attendees from all over New York State representing all types of museums and cultural institutions. I talked with folks from 21 different museums and cultural institutions about how they are creating inclusive environments, attracting new audiences and fitting within the tourism fabric of their community. We used these great insights to create another Museum Series (see last year’s series here) with five episodes filled with knowledge. Through this series, I hope you will find a new perspective on this important segment of the tourism industry.

In this episode, I share my conversations with:

• Julia Fell, Assistant Curator of The Museum at Bethel Woods
• Natalie Shoemaker, Marketing and Events Coordinator of the Roberson Museum and Science Center
• Jessica Moquin, Executive Director of the Chenango County Historical Society and Museum
• Anastasia Garceau, Director of the Waterford Historical Museum and Cultural Center

What You Will Learn in This Episode:

• How The Museum at Bethel Woods works to preserve and showcase the history of the 1960s, leading up to 1969
• Woodstock Music and Art Fair that took place at the historic site where the museum is now located
• How an innovative “pay it forward” program is promoting inclusivity by allowing visitors who are financially struggling to still be able to visit the Roberson Museum and Science Center
• How the Chenango County Historical Society and Museum is intentionally developing partnerships with the Bundy Museum and the National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum to help promote inclusivity in a region not known for its ethnic diversity
• How the Waterford Historical Museum and Cultural Center is promoting inclusivity by partnering with The Arc of Rensselaer County to showcase the work of artists with mental and physical disabilities

The Museum at Bethel Woods

Julia Fell shares the important mission of The Museum at Bethel Woods as a part of the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, located in Solomon County, New York. She discusses its role in the preservation of the history of the 1960s, culminating in the Woodstock festival that took place in 1969 on the historic grounds where the museum now stands, and she talks about the upcoming 50th anniversary of the Woodstock festival in August 2019. She discusses the efforts Bethel Woods and the museum are making to promote inclusivity through a variety of programming that targets many diverse audiences, she highlights their efforts to meet ADA accessibility standards, and she shares efforts to attract new young audiences. Julia discusses a series of oral history videos highlighting what life was like in the 1960s for young people of the day, contrasted with what life is like for today’s youth. She shares how the museum serves as a primary driver and important economic engine for the local community. She discusses the upcoming 50th anniversary of Woodstock and the boom in interest it is bringing to the museum.

Roberson Museum and Science Center

Natalie Shoemaker explains how the historic Roberson home serves as both the location for and the centerpiece of the Roberson Museum and Science Center located in Binghamton, New York. She discusses efforts to promote inclusivity at the museum including installing non-binary bathrooms and the use of inclusive pronouns. She shares how she wrote up an exhibition about a series of art pieces created by people with mental illness, and she shares the important lesson she learned when she inadvertently used a non-inclusive word in the write-up. She discusses the importance of continual growth and evolution in the area of inclusivity. She talks about the economic depression that is common in the area, and she discusses a “pay it forward” donation program to increase access to struggling community members. She shares efforts to attract new audiences to the museum. She gives information on social media outreach work she and the museum are doing to promote their exhibits. She shares how the museum fits into the local cultural fabric and discusses future opportunities to work with college students and older community members.

Chenango County Historical Society & Museum

Jessica Moquin describes efforts the Chenango County Historical Society and Museum are making to promote inclusivity, despite being located in a region not known for ethnic diversity, through intentional partnerships with other organizations such as the Bundy Museum and the National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum. She shares how the museum is working to attract new audiences including a structural redesign of their main gallery and hallway lobby, as well as sharing stories about the region and the lasting impact it has made beyond its own borders. She discusses how her museum is one of four in the area, and she shares how the four museums are collaborating to develop an officially designated museum district to promote each other and attract new audiences. She shares future growth opportunities she recognizes for the museum and its more than 40,000 artifacts, eight-structure campus, and almost one hundred active volunteers.

Waterford Historical Museum and Cultural Center

Anastasia Garceau discusses the variety of historical and educational purposes the Waterford Historical Museum and Cultural Center in Waterford, New York serves in an effort to preserve and promote local history and heritage. She highlights the diverse backgrounds and perspectives the museum’s volunteers bring to its efforts, and she shares partnerships with groups like The Arc of Rensselaer County, a community-based organization advocating for and serving people with mental and physical disabilities. Anastasia talks about her efforts to create engaging programs covering a broad spectrum of interests that will attract a diverse audience of visitors. She shares how Waterford is a great tourism location with many different and diverse destinations to appeal to travelers, and she shares how this directly benefits the museum and allows to serve as a central location connecting these sites. She discusses how the museum is always looking for growth opportunities and ways to expand their existing programming.

Overview

Each of these organizations is truly committed to tackling inclusivity issues in their own unique and innovative way. From the Roberson Museum and Science Center’s use of non-gendered pronouns and offering of non-binary restroom facilities, to the Waterford Historical Museum and Cultural Center’s partnership to highlight the artistic contributions of mentally and physically disabled artists, each of these museums has found a remarkable and stand-out way to promote inclusivity, attract diverse new audiences, and further integrate their work with other tourism and cultural efforts of their communities.

Resources:

• The Museum at Bethel Woods website: www.bethelwoodscenter.org/the-museum/
• Roberson Museum & Science Center website: www.roberson.org
• Chenango County Historical Society & Museum website: www.chenangohistorical.org
• Waterford Historical Museum & Cultural Center website: https://waterfordmuseum.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/

We recently attended the 2019 Museum Association of New York annual conference and spoke with attendees from all over New York State representing all types of museums and cultural institutions. I talked with folks from 21 different museums and cultural institutions about how they are creating inclusive environments, attracting new audiences and fitting within the tourism fabric of their community. We used these great insights to create another Museum Series (see last year’s series here) with five episodes filled with knowledge. Through this series, I hope you will find a new perspective on this important segment of the tourism industry.

In this episode, I share my conversations with:

• David Hutchings, Executive Director of Sonnenberg Gardens and Mansion State Historic Park
• Nanette Hance, President of the Williamson-Pultneyville Historical Society
• Jonathan Maney, Executive Director of Hyde Hall
• Cherese Wiesner-Rosales, Director of The Vestal Museum

What You Will Learn in This Episode:

• How the Sonnenberg Gardens and Mansion State Historic Park is using innovative programming and presentations to promote inclusivity and draw a more diverse audience.
• How the Williamson-Pultneyville Historical Society is using collaborations with their local school district in an effort to expand their reach and engage new young audiences.
• How Hyde Hall is using its historic lighting, including vapor-lit chandeliers, to become a one-of-a-kind destination for visitors from all over the world, as well as a desirable location for TV and film.
• How the Vestal Museum is making efforts to be not just a historical site and museum but also a center of and showcase for music, arts and culture for the town of Vestal.

Sonnenberg Gardens and Mansion State Historic Park

David Hutchings shares the history of the Sonnenberg Gardens and Mansion State Historic Park in Canandaigua, New York, sharing how the home was built in 1887 to be the summer home of Frederick Ferris and Mary Clark Thompson. After her husband Frederick died in 1899, Mary Clark Thompson toured gardens around Europe for inspiration to redesign the mansion’s own gardens as a tribute to Frederick. David speaks about his organization’s efforts toward inclusivity through programs designed to connect with many different people of many backgrounds, including an upcoming performance by an African-American women’s gospel choir covering the stories of women’s suffrage, slavery and Abolition. He discusses upcoming horticulture programs including one on climate change and the local landscape. David shares efforts to attract new, younger audiences to the gardens, including a Moonlight Stroll series with musical performances. He discusses the significant role the Thompson family played in the development of the local community and the contributions they made throughout the region. David shares future plans for the continual development of the site.

Williamson-Pultneyville Historical Society

Nanette Hance shares the founding and purpose of the all-volunteer historical society in Pultneyville, New York. She discusses how the organization is the custodian of the Society house, as well as the nation’s second oldest Little Theater and Pultneyville’s Centennial Park. Nanette explains how the organization is constantly working for inclusivity, including a collaboration between the school district and the historical society. She shares how the society is promoting their exhibits and programs, and some of the programs the society has recently shared including one featuring a well-known children’s book illustrator. She discusses the society’s efforts to reach out to new audiences through community outreach and education. Nanette also shares how the society is more aggressively using social media, and she talks about the success they have found through digital outreach. The Society house is becoming a part of local historical trails as an effort to more fully integrate into the travel fabric of the community, and she talks about efforts to grow the society’s membership and discover new members and visitors.

Hyde Hall

Jonathan Maney describes the history of Hyde Hall in Cooperstown, New York, a fifty-room British-American limestone mansion with a remarkable view and a fascinating history. Jonathan explains how inclusivity at Hyde House goes beyond accessibility for physically impaired guests to also include a variety of programs and events with an intent for outreach. He describes a partnership with the Cooperstown Graduate Program that engages the students to do research and conduct interviews with people who worked at Hyde Hall. He shares how Hyde Hall has been working with Cornell University to digitize the Clarke Family documents and share them online. He also discusses how events have been key to attracting diverse audiences and younger people. He explains how Hyde Hall is working to restore its kitchens and ultimately offer cooking classes there, and he shares efforts to create an engaging experience for visitors. Jonathan also explains efforts to partner with other museums, festivals, restaurants and historic hotels in the area. Jonathan explore the importance of working with local craftspeople to restore the original lighting that was used in the home in the 1800s, and how the lighting has been a significant factor in creating an authentic, memorable experience for visitors. He shares how the lighting and atmosphere of Hyde Hall have made it a significant filming location for major TV series and movies.

The Vestal Museum

Cherese Wiesner-Rosales discusses the role the Vestal Museum, a former train depot converted into a museum, plays in preserving the culture and history of the town of Vestal, New York. She shares the museum’s efforts to promote inclusivity by engaging the history of the local Native American tribe and creating an exhibit, as well as a lacrosse exhibit to draw in new audiences. Cherese explains  how the museum is working to become a living space, music and art venue and a draw to many different ages and cultures. She discusses how the museum is working to become a tourism anchor for Vestal, including making efforts to move the museum back to its original location and create a proper historic district for the town. She shares the effort the museum is making to build funds and develop grants to physically move the museum in the future.

Overview

For each of these organizations and destinations, thinking outside the box and leaning into the distinctive characteristics and offerings that make these locations unique has been instrumental for helping engage new audiences and expanding their reach. Ongoing inclusivity efforts through programs and exhibits that connect the history of these locations to the diverse society we live in today have been an important part of their efforts as well. A broad selection of programs that engage many different kinds of people across ages and ethnic backgrounds will be instrumental in their continued audience-building success going forward, truly highlighting the important role inclusivity can play for the travel and tourism industry at large..

Resources:

• Sonnenberg Gardens and Mansion State Historic Park website: www.sonnenberg.org
• Williamson-Pultneyville Historical Society website: https://w-phs.org/
• Hyde Hall website: https://hydehall.org/
• The Vestal Museum website: www.vestalmuseum.org

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/

David Gilbert serves as president and CEO of Greater Cleveland Sports Commission, an organization dedicated to making Greater Cleveland a premier destination for amateur sporting events, and Destination Cleveland, the region’s convention and visitors bureau.

The Greater Cleveland Sports Commission is responsible for attracting, promoting, and managing major amateur athletic events, and for creating sporting opportunities for youth and amateur athletes. Since 2000 the organization has attracted or created more than 190 events, including 25 NCAA championship competitions. These events have contributed more than $570 million in local economic impact.

At Destination Cleveland, David is responsible for carrying out the organization’s mission to drive economic impact and stimulate community vitality by positioning and promoting Cleveland as an exciting, vibrant destination. Among many accomplishments, they notably landed the 2016 Republican National Convention. David serves as vice president on the board of the International Children’s Games based in Leucine, Switzerland, and sits on the boards of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Greater Cleveland Film Commissionand the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage.

He was named by Crain’s Cleveland Business as one of Cleveland’s 30 top influencers of the past 30 years, Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year, and in 2016 he received the SME Cleveland Business Executive of the Year award.

On this episode of Destination on the Left, I talk with David about making destination marketing more entrepreneurial and working more strategically at creating a unified brand experience. All destinations have unique challenges. How do you encourage locals to promote tourism? How do you reach out to potential visitors and make your destination their top choice? David and Cleveland have faced some unique challenges and found some remarkable solutions.

What You Will Learn on This Episode:

• Why DMOs need to become more entrepreneurial
• The many ways tourism and economic development intersect
• How to shape the perception of your destination
• How to be more strategic in your tourism branding
• Ways to create stronger alliances between DMOs and stakeholders

We’re All in This Together

Unless you’re a literal island, no travel and tourism entity can afford to function as an island unto themselves. When organizations think that way, everyone suffers.

Part of the challenge David faced was to help all the various cultural institutions, museums, sports teams, and local legends to realize they were part of a broader ecosystem. Together, they could accomplish far more than they could alone. But local DMOs also need to make sure all these groups understand the value a DMO can add- then the DMO needs to deliver.

Brand Perception

“Yeah, but you’re Cleveland.” A decade ago, Cleveland had a perception problem. Outsiders had a visceral (read: negative) reaction to the name. A significant portion of the population would not recommend it as a place to visit for friends and family. As you can imagine, that is a LOT to overcome.

But overcome they did. David and Nicole explore how he and the team at This is Cleveland flipped the script. They did it through some very deliberate steps in reshaping the City of Cleveland brand in a way that was both authentic and positive. “If it’s not real, and if you don’t deliver on the brand promise, everyone will be able to see that.” David shared. There is some great conversation about finding the promise of your brand and then living up to it.

To sum it up, David says, “You don’t have a brand for different audiences. A brand is a collection of stories about who you are. And if you hit it on the mark, that’s not going to change. The way you deliver it might change, but the brand will not change.”

Resources:

• Website: https://www.clevelandsports.org/
• Website: https://www.thisiscleveland.com/

Episode Transcript

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/

We recently attended the 2019 Museum Association of New York annual conference and spoke with attendees from all over New York State representing all types of museums and cultural institutions. I talked with folks from 21 different museums and cultural institutions about how they are creating inclusive environments, attracting new audiences and fitting within the tourism fabric of their community. We used these great insights to create another Museum Series (see last year’s series here) with five episodes filled with knowledge. Through this series, I hope you will find a new perspective on this important segment of the tourism industry.

In this episode, I share my conversations with:

• Samantha Hall-Saladino, Executive Director of the Albany County Historical Association
• Amy Weinstein, Vice President of Collections & Oral History of the 9/11 Memorial & Museum
• Beth Hill, President and CEO of Fort Ticonderoga
• Joshua Voda, Public Affairs Officer of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian
• Araya Henry, Manager of Youth and Family Programs at The Hudson River Museum

What You Will Learn in This Episode:

• How the Albany County Historical Association is making efforts to become more inclusive by including the stories of the slaves and, later, the immigrant domestic servants who lived in the historic home
• How the 9/11 Memorial and Museum works to honor all who lost their lives in the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks as well as the February 26, 1993, World Trade Center attack, and to preserve the history of those significant events
• How Fort Ticonderoga works to provide a remarkable two-day destination experience for its visitors, and to promote education and the preservation of its historical heritage and military significance while supporting the region economically
• How the National Museum of the American Indian established in 1916 became a part of the Smithsonian in 1989, and how its mission is to both preserve the history of Native Americans as well as to educate people about Native American life today
• How the Hudson River Museum hosts numerous events dedicated to the arts and sciences within the historic home, planetarium, amphitheater, and galleries devoted to arts and environmental sciences

The Albany County Historical Association

Samantha Hall-Saladino shares the history of the Albany County Historical Association, housed in a historic home in Albany, New York. She discusses the efforts the Association is making to promote inclusivity by telling the stories of the slaves and immigrants who at one time lived in the home. She discusses the difficulty of making the entire house accessible for everyone and shares details of the virtual tour that will allow guests to view the second floor of the home in a virtual setting if they are unable to go to the second floor in person. She shares efforts to attract new audiences to the site, including key cross-promotion partnerships. She discusses exciting future opportunities for the mansion to continue its growth and community engagement.

The 9/11 Memorial and Museum

Any Weinstein shares the mission of the 9/11 Memorial and Museum to honor the lives lost in the terrorist attacks as well as to document and preserve the story of those attacks. She shares how the Memorial is working to honor all of the first responders and others who became sick due to chemical exposures on that day, as well as anyone who helped with the city of New York’s recovery efforts. She shares how inclusivity has always been a part of the Memorial as people from all walks of life were affected by the terrorist attacks. She shares details of their new Memorial Glade and its designers, and the symbolism surrounding it. She discusses maintaining the Memorial as a place of honor and as a reminder of the past. She talks about the upcoming 20-year anniversary of the attacks that will take place in 2021, and she shares how the staff has been discussing plans to commemorate the significant date.

Fort Ticonderoga

Beth Hill shares the historical significance of Fort Ticonderoga and discusses their efforts to preserve the Fort as an important site of military history. She discusses the unique upcoming opportunity Fort Ticonderoga will have to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States. She shares how Fort Ticonderoga is working to create programs dedicated to women and people of color who served in the military, and she talks about why accessibility and inclusion have been of vital importance to their work. Beth discusses why families, not history buffs, are their largest audience, and she talks about building marketing and programs around visiting families. She shares some of the audience outreach work the Fort has been doing. She discusses the Fort serving as a major tourism anchor for the region and shares the economic impact the Fort has brought to the region, and she shares the importance of supporting the local community’s infrastructure development and the partnership opportunities that has brought. She shares future opportunities to expand the reach of Fort Ticonderoga.

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian

Joshua Voda outlines the history of the Museum of the American Indian and explains why one of its important missions is to remind people that, while the history of Native Americans is a rich one, Native American life continues today and isn’t entirely represented by the history we know. Joshua discusses the role inclusivity plays in the mission of the museum, and he shares how the museum works to dispel stereotypes and steer people toward a better understanding of the impact Native Americans have had on all aspects of American history. He shares efforts the museum has made to attract new audiences, including opening the new STEM-focused “Imaginations Activity Center.” He shares details of an exhibit the museum is working on to showcase the Native American history of the New York area. He discusses outreach efforts to help teachers bring knowledge from the museum directly into their classrooms.

The Hudson River Museum

Araya Henry shares the many diverse and multi-disciplinary functions the Hudson River Museum serves, dedicated to both art and science. She outlines inclusivity efforts the museum makes through programs dedicated to teens of all ethnic, educational and economic backgrounds. Araya shares partnership efforts the museum is making to build their audience, including collaborations with nearby museums and cultural sites for cross-promotion and with local businesses to offer mutual discounts. She shares the future opportunities the future is looking to, including working with the local school system and becoming a part of the curriculum for local students. She discusses the local LGBTQ+ Advisory Board and the opportunities for partnerships and promotion that it represents for the museum.

Overview

Each of these organizations has turned to marketing and partnership opportunities as a crucial component to fuel their growth and reach. Working with area schools and offering new educational opportunities has been one avenue for success for many of these museums and historical sites. Developing and promoting inclusive programs and reaching out to different groups of people from all backgrounds have been equally important. A prevailing theme from each of these conversations is that travel and tourism sites such as museums, historical and cultural organizations can only benefit from working together, and the region-wide travel and economic impact these partnerships can create are dramatic and beneficial for everyone.

Resources:

• Albany County Historical Association’s Ten Broeck Mansion website: www.tenbroeckmansion.org
• The 9/11 Memorial & Museum website: www.911memorial.org/museum
• Fort Ticonderoga website: www.fortticonderoga.org
• National Museum of the American Indian website: https://americanindian.si.edu/
• The Hudson River Museum website: www.hrm.org

For more than 25 years, Robert Rose has helped clients tell their story more effectively through digital media. As the founder of the Content Advisory, the education and consulting group for the Content Marketing Institute, Robert has worked with more than 500 companies, including 15 of the Fortune 100.

He has provided strategic marketing advice and counsel for global brands such as Capital One NASA, Dell, McCormick Spices, Hewlett Packard, Microsoft, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. I’m very excited to bring this episode to you today. He has written several books with CMI colleague, Joe Pulizzi, including Killing Marketing and Content Inc.

On this episode of Destination the Left, I talk with Robert about how the travel and tourism industry can capitalize on and improve our content marketing work. How do you nurture and build trust with your audience? How do you increase your role as a go-to resource for information about the region or entity you serve? We talk about that and more in this stellar, news-you-can-use conversation.

What You Will Learn:

• How to go miles deeper as a thought leader compared to your competition
• How to acquire an audience and build trust
• Becoming a reliable source of information for your travel/tourism customer
• Why social media followers are not your addressable audience
• Whether content marketing is part of your marketing strategy or is your marketing strategy
• How to increase the value of your contact to impact buying decisions

Creating Subscribers

One of the interesting twists Robert brought to the conversation was about subscribers. The goal of content marketing is to create subscribers. He says, “When we think about a Facebook follower, or a podcast listener, or a Twitter follower, that is not an addressable audience. You are still depending on someone else’s algorithm to put our message of trust in front of that audience. A subscriber is something different. They see that post on Instagram or that great post you wrote, yes. But a subscriber is someone who signs up after reading one of those things, not for the thing they got, but for the things that they’re going to get from you down the road.”

Buyer’s Journey

Another piece of the conversation with Robert focused on the buyer’s journey. In your work, what is the buyer’s journey from awareness to purchase? The art of content marketing is understanding when to reach out to the potential buyer and what information or ideas to present at that point in their buying decision.

With the right kinds of engagement, awareness becomes engagement and engagement becomes a trip to your destination, and they guest sharing that experience with their social networks, and maybe even returning again.

Resources:

• Website: http://killingmarketing.com/
• Website: https://contentadvisory.net/

Episode Transcript

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/

We recently attended the 2019 Museum Association of New York annual conference and spoke with attendees from all over New York State representing all types of museums and cultural institutions. I talked with folks from 21 different museums and cultural institutions about how they are creating inclusive environments, attracting new audiences and fitting within the tourism fabric of their community. We used these great insights to create another Museum Series (see last year’s series here) with five episodes filled with knowledge. Through this series, I hope you will find a new perspective on this important segment of the tourism industry.

In this episode, I share my conversations with:

• Michael Perekrestov, Executive Director of the Russian History Museum
• Toby Manker, Executive Director of the Phelps Mansion Museum
• Don Papson, Co-founder and Past President of the North Star Underground Railroad Museum
• Mary Riley, Park Manager of the Port Byron Old Erie Canal Heritage Park

What You Will Learn in This Episode:

• How and why the Russian History Museum came to be found in the unlikely setting of Jordanville, NY, and what valuable cultural purpose it serves
• How the Phelps Mansion, built in 1870 in Binghamton, NY, was established as a museum in 2005 in an effort to preserve the last home of its kind on what was at one time referred to as “Mansion Row”
• Why Don Papson and his wife founded the North Star Underground Railroad Museum in Ausable Chasm, NY to honor and preserve the history of the Underground Railroads after a chance conversation in a grocery store
• How the Old Erie Canal Heritage Park in Port Byron, NY is helping preserve and promote the important historic and economic impact of the New York State canals

The Russian History Museum

Michael Perekrestov discusses the 1930 founding of the Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, New York, by religious and political refugees from the Soviet Union after the Russian Revolution. Michael explains why the Monastery became a center of Russian history and culture within the United States, and he shares how the Russian History Museum came about in an effort to preserve the wealth of Russian artifacts that were kept at the Monastery. He explains how the museum is working to raise awareness and shares the initiatives the museum is taking to expand their audience through partnerships with other museums nationally and internationally. He outlines the opportunities he sees for the museum to engage with the local tourism industry in a mutually beneficial way, and he shares his plans for the future of the museum, including efforts to utilize social media as a way to bring the museum to a “virtual audience” all over the world.

The Phelps Mansion Museum

Toby Manker shares the unique history of the Phelps Mansion in Binghamton, New York, and discusses the challenge and opportunity of turning a relatively small home into a thriving museum. Toby discusses how population and income decline in Binghamton have been an obstacle in bringing in new visitors, and she shares how a wide variety of program offerings has helped work around this problem. She expresses her views on inclusivity and shares how the museum has been able to accomplish a lot on a small budget and with a staff of two. She discusses audience outreach initiatives and talks about how the museum’s primary audience is out-of-town visitors brought to the museum by way of TripAdvisor, and she shares how the museum interacts with the Path Through History Weekend to connect to other tourism drivers. Toby discusses working with university students and partnering with the university’s music department.

The North Star Underground Railroad Museum

Don Papson discusses the founding of the North Star Underground Railroad Museum in Ausable Chasm, New York, after a chance conversation in a grocery store. He shares why he believes in preserving the history of the Underground Railroad, and he discusses the importance of having a diverse organization. He shares the profound story of a six-year-old visitor from a biracial family who was deeply appreciative of her visit to the museum. He discusses the untold history of the Chinese Underground Railroad and the work his museum has done to create an exhibit telling the forgotten story and its historical significance. He shares how the historical context of the Underground Railroads is echoed in the divisive political climate of today. Don discusses the efforts his museum is taking to promote itself and reach out to young people, and he shares how the museum is coordinating efforts with the local tourism industry for cross-promotion.

The Port Byron Old Erie Canal Heritage Park

Mary Riley discusses the unique partnership with the state that is supporting the Old Erie Canal Heritage Park in Port Byron, New York, and she shares the park’s mission to help educate visitors and preserve the vital history of the Old Erie Canal and other canals throughout New York. She discusses the pilot program the park is involved in to demonstrate how states can work directly with historic sites. Mary shares how the park promotes inclusivity through making their sites handicap-accessible, designating the park as dog-friendly and providing treats and water for canine visitors, offering printed guide books for hearing-impaired people who are unable to take the audio tour and providing wheelchair-accessible picnic tables for visitors. Mary shares how roadside visitors account for many of their first-time guests, and she discusses working with local tourism destinations to be an addition to visitors’ trips. She discusses future opportunities for growth and expansion of the park.

Overview

Through each of these interviews, a common theme has been the importance of inclusivity efforts and outreach programs as a way to bring the message of these museums and historical sites to as many people as possible. For smaller or more out-of-the-way locations, social media and the internet can be an especially valuable way to get the word out. Likewise, partnerships with other destinations and local tourism hotspots can help generate new visitors and bring in new audiences. These four unique organizations have truly demonstrated that when travel and tourism destinations work together, everyone benefits.

Resources:

• Russian History Museum website: www.russianhistoryfoundation.org
• Phelps Mansion Museum website: https://phelpsmansion.org/
• North Star Underground Railroad Museum website: https://northcountryundergroundrailroad.com/museum.php
• Port Byron Old Erie Canal Heritage Park Facebook page: www.facebook.com/pg/OldErieCanalHeritagePark/

As a native of Utah, Jason grew up visiting the National Parks, Monuments, and other regions throughout the Western United States. That is where he first fell in love with the history and geology of the area.

As he grew up, he continued to enrich his education and knowledge at nature camps and class trips throughout the Southwest. One of his favorite trips was down to Havasupai Falls and the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. Even when he attended college in California, he continued to enjoy the diverse geological and ecological environments nearby.

He has enjoyed camping, hiking, backpacking, and touring throughout the west for the last 20 years. One of his greatest loves is sharing his passion for the history, geology, and beauty of the Southwestern United States with the tours he hosts.

On this episode of Destination on the Left, I talk with Jason about his experience building an adventure tour operation from scratch over the past six years. With tours running all over the southwestern United States (and now in Oregon!) it’s all about relationship-building. From customers to guides, to all those involved with making these unique experiences happen, building relationship and building trust have been the key to success.

What You Will Learn in this Episode:

• Tips for hiring the best client-facing employees
• How to create an environment of constant improvement
• Staying connected to customers as you grow
• The little things you can do to create “Wow!” experiences
• Building great relationships with DMOs and vendors
• Why trust is such a crucial ingredient to success in this business

From Point A to Point B

For large tours on the open road, there is a ready solution: buses made specifically for the travel industry. For smaller group tours, Jason was not finding the right mode of transportation. Bench seats in an Econoline might work for very short distances, but not for a 5 to 12-day trip. Through dedication, research, and customization, Jason finally found the right van and now the comfort of travel is remarked on by customers almost as much as the destinations.

That kind of attention to customer experience can set your company apart from the competition. When you’re in a business where the journey is literally as important as the destination, everything that happens between point A and points B becomes important.

Navigating the Travel Ecosystem

As a tour operator, Jason relies on DMOs for information and broader marketing initiatives. He relies on service providers like river rafting companies and glamping outfitters – who could easily undercut him and steal customers away.

It all comes down to trust. That’s why developing relationships is important, from customers to all the players in the travel ecosystem. When you know and trust each other, the opportunity to cooperate gives everyone a fair shake. Wrestling for the same clientele can be nerve-wracking, but you have to put yourself out there and find the people and organizations that are a good fit.

Resources:

• Website: southwestadventuretours.com

Episode Transcript

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Paul Leone began his career as a multi-media producer for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York. He soon moved on to editing, shooting, and producing several series for cable television and later worked in the studio, agency, and advertising industry. As a TV producer, he wrote and developed several television pilots on American craft beer, the first few hosted by Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head. Although they were never picked up, he discovered his passion for craft beer and knew what he wanted to do as a career moving forward. From 2008-2013, he hosted Beer America TV with John Pinkerton of Moon River Brewing and today, Paul is the Executive Director of the New York State Brewers Association. Since starting, Paul has seen New York’s brewing industry double in size, many new laws passed and has met hundreds of incredible and passionate brewers all over the state and country.

On this episode of Destination on the Left, I talk with Paul about how attractive hyper-local experiences are, but how they can be a challenge to market beyond a region. They also dig into how craft brewing has grown and has become a major attraction in tourism for many regions.

What You Will Learn in This Episode:

• How to market hyper-local experiences
• Why craft beverages fit well in the tourism category
• The economic impact craft beverage has on the local tourism economy
• How to toot your own horn you are not top-of-mind in your category
• Event marketing that connects with visitors

The Economic Impact of Beer

It is no big surprise that beer is important to people- it’s important to economies. But to understand the economic impact on local economies, and the tourism dollars pumped into local economies, a study needed to be done. That’s where the New York State Brewer’s Association comes in and the numbers are impressive for the craft beer industry.

In New York State alone, the economic impact is 5.4 billion dollars in economic impact. Brewers employ 20,000 people across the state and craft brewing creates a $317 million impact on tourism. If those wine and brewery trails are paying off in your region, you are definitely not alone. Craft brewing is big business, spread across small businesses throughout any given region. It matters in a big way to the tourism industry in particular.

Marketing the Hyper-Local

Visitors love the local flavor and nothing offers local flavor better than a cold, locally crafted beer. But how do you let potential visitors know all that local flavor – whether beer, wine, or some other regional specialty or recreation activity? That is the challenge Paul was facing New York State’s multi-faceted craft-brewery industry.

Beer Festivals have been a recent focal point. Paul noticed that many festivals were run by distributors – people got a variety of beer for their festival ticket, but they didn’t get any real connection with the people who actually crafted that beer.

Bringing the brewers right to the festival makes all the difference – to the point where they didn’t need musical entertainment anymore! By focusing on the brewers, festivals have become even more of a draw, and the hyper-local flavors are described by the people who actually make them.

Resources:

• Website: newyorkcraftbeer.com
• 2018 Economic Impact Study: newyorkcraftbeer.com/economic-impact-county

Episode Transcript

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Bob Provost, president, and CEO of New York Tourism and Industry Association (NSYSTIA) has been pretty much everywhere in New York State, from Long Island to the Thousand Islands. He currently resides on a small farm in northern Rensselaer County. When Bob joined NYSTIA as a member in early 2017 he had no idea he would be joining the staff as president and CEO in September of 2018. He felt that there was tremendous potential yet to be realized in the organization and terrific people to work with.

Prior to joining NYSTIA, Bob enjoyed success as chief marketing officer with the Hearst newspapers in Albany, New York from 1987 to 2005. He then served as CMO of the Star-Ledger, Newjersey.com. During his time there, Bob campaigned for a more structured, proactive tourism infrastructure in the Garden State.

In 2015 Bob transitioned from his role as a media executive to become president and CEO of the Greater Newark Convention and Visitors Bureau where he dramatically upgraded digital marketing and international outreach, achieving increases in occupancy, average daily rate, and welcome the first new hotels in that market in decades. Bob has worked with students throughout his career as a faculty member at Sienna College and Rutgers Business School, and with hundreds of interns. He has served on the boards of many institutions, colleges, cultural and arts organizations, chambers and CVBS, as well as social service organizations.

On this episode of Destination on the Left, I talk with Bob about the economic impact of tourism, and how to really listen to residents and help them understand and embrace the positive impact of tourism. He says, improve the visitor experience and you will improve the resident experience. Find out how to get neighbors and business owners on board and treat tourism as the economic development engine it is.

What You Will Learn in This Episode:

• Why best practices are more important than industry experience
• How to help a community understand that good tourism means an economically healthy community
• How internships from outside hospitality can be a win-win
• The 8 Ps of Tourism Marketing
• The importance of embracing change as communities and tourism itself evolves

Tourism as Economic Development

Too often, the wider economic impact of tourism is overlooked by residents. Bob wants to change that by helping people involved in tourism change the narrative. Bob shares how if your tourism sector is successful, then you will have revitalized downtowns in small towns as well as jobs and small business success.

Tourism also reduces their tax burden and increases employment opportunities. It enhances the quality of life choices that are available to them by supporting restaurants, attractions, and other leisure opportunities. Bob wants the business community to understand how they can hitch their wagon to that visitor economy and increased sales and success.

Embracing Change

Bob ended our conversation with this message: “I’m a big believer that healthy organizations are very much like healthy organisms. They need to embrace evolutionary change or they will not survive the competition of the fittest.”

If you don’t evolve, change is going to be a lot more traumatic. Making a smaller, incremental change on a consistent basis allows you to move forward as an organization and thrive. That’s the philosophy he is embracing for NYSTIA and one that we all have had to learn – hopefully not the hard way!

Resources:

• Website: nystia.org

Episode Transcript

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Jennifer Barbee is a serial entrepreneur, professional speaker, and all-around boss. Jennifer and her partner Kristen created the agency Destination Innovate in 2017, in addition to running to successful digital branding agencies. She has been named Stevie® Female Entrepreneur of 2013, 2014 in Advertising/Media/PR (U.S. and Europe), ranked #17 in StartUp Nation’s® Top 100 Moms in Business and has represented some of the country’s leading brands, affectionately dubbing her the “dot com diva” and the “Harvard of Internet and Travel”.

Jennifer wows crowds with her unique brand of humor and real talk. She is a tireless advocate of women entrepreneurs and regularly hosts success schools and offers private coaching. She continues to offer her digital strategy expertise to consulting and speaking at conferences around the world.

Jennifer is also a mom of four and is an avid coffee and mimosa enthusiast.

On this episode of Destination on the Left, I talk with Jennifer about risk-taking in travel marketing. It may push our comfort levels, but it can pay big dividends compared with the status quo. We also talk through some great marketing strategies and tactics you can start using right away – from Facebook tools to DMOs.

What You Will Learn in this Episode:

• The importance of calculated risk-taking
• Finding the gaps in marketing that others are not exploring, and getting there first
• Taking advantage of “now” opportunities, not non-existent “forever” strategies
• How to bring gender equity to leadership roles in the travel industry
• Ingredients for successful collaboration
• How DMOs can share with smaller stakeholders marketing secrets they can use themselves

Embracing Risk

Expedia and Travelocity took big risks if you can remember back to those early days of the internet. Millennials, just sit back and let us tell you the story. At the dawn of the 21st Century, a flight and hotel aggregator was literally wishful thinking. Jennifer talks about how Expedia and Travelocity took that wishful thinking and some great coding expertise and created some dramatic disruption in the industry.

Jennifer invites us to not be afraid of risk. There are so many calculated small risks you can take to make a bigger impact with your marketing budget, like putting the story in the hands of the visitor. She offers some great examples of personality-driven websites that target a specific segment you want to attract. When a visitor tells you what they like, you can target the right message that engages, building a relationship, and bumps up your visitation numbers.

Travel Marketing Hacks

We also discuss a fascinating social media hack destination marketers can use. It’s great for large organizations but even better for the smaller hotel or attraction. It’s a really great platform for the small BNB or the small hotel owner who only has 20 or 60 rooms to take control of the booking. You can do a double dip there, building awareness and doing good in marketing, but also utilizing a booking engine with no fees attached. We dig into the specifics of how you can make this happen on Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.

Jennifer is an amazing resource who is always willing to ask tough questions, give unexpected answers, and generally get the conversation to the level where big ideas can turn into action that makes a real difference in your organization.

Resources:

• Personal Web Site: jenniferbarbee.com
• Company Web Site: destinationinnovate.com
• Get Lost in Loudon Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgw-C2m0IXg
• SLAY IT: slayit.info

Episode Transcript

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/

Colleen Onuffer is a consultant at Break the Ice Media and vital part of the team. She uses her passion for writing and storytelling in her role here to make a big impact for her clients. Since her start in 2016, Colleen has helped her clients find their essential stories and develop targeted messages.

Colleen enjoys making new travel media contacts by participating in travel shows, like Discover America Day and I Love New York Media Marketplace. She loves exploring travel trends by attending conferences likes the one provided by the New York State Tourism Industry Association.

This episode of Destination on the Left is a team cast, in which I talk with Colleen about influencer marketing. What is it, and how can you best use it to bring more visitors to your destination? Colleen has literally written the book on this, working with the Break the Ice team on a new ebook on the subject.

What You Will Learn in This Episode:

• Why working with an influencer is different from working with a traditional travel journalist
• How to understand and set expectations for an influencer you work with
• Why the number of followers is not the best metric to use in deciding which influencer to work with
• How to find the right influencer “match” for your destination
• How influencers can help you reach a new or underserved market for your destination

Is Your Destination Right for Influencer Marketing?

Working with influencers may or may not be a fit for every destination. But it can be an incredibly powerful way of making a big impact through the social media pull of that influencer. Colleen and I talk about how to vet influencers to match the audience you are trying to reach. Who is their audience? What is the level of engagement they receive? If they post content and don’t get much response, they might not deliver the bang your buck that you are looking for.

Understand that sometimes an influencer will come to a destination for the comped travel package alone, but some will be looking for financial compensation. This is how they earn a living, after all. Be ready to know your own budget for the project and be willing to discuss the deliverables you expect for an agreed-on price.

Working With An Influencer

Influencers are looking for a different experience than a traditional travel journalist. Understanding each other’s expectations will make the experience a benefit to you both. For most influencers, capturing great images is the key, so itineraries tend to be more fluid. They need time to get a shot of a gorge or a sunset, or whatever they find interesting about your destination.

To make the most of the opportunity, make sure to supply them with hashtags and links to deals or resources that point the influencer’s followers back to your destination. The impact could be felt months or even years after the influencer has come and gone. Being able to track who expressed interest and who actually booked a visit will help you measure the success of your influencer marketing projects.

Resources:

• Influencer Marketing eBook Download:
• Resource on Influencers

Episode Transcript

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/

Sally Berry is a tourism industry expert who helps Destination Marketing Organizations prepare their destinations to be more competitive and attractions bring in more visitors.

Sally has worked at a small family-owned attraction, a regional DMO and at the Corning Museum of Glass, a world-class museum in New York. She has spent time as a tour operator and also an adjunct college professor at Paul Smiths Travel and Tourism program. She now runs her own tourism consulting and training company.

Sally was named one of the Top Ten Most Influential Women in the Group Tour industry from Groups Today magazine, May 2016, and a Top 20 Tourism Professional in the U.S. by TourOperator.com, 2015. She served as a board member of the U.S. Travel’s Experience Network, formerly known as the Attractions Council.

On this episode of Destination on the Left, Sally and I talk about the opportunities and challenges in the international tour group space, especially the China market. Her experience gives her insight into not only the growing market in Chinese tour groups and FITs but how to nurture relationships with tour operators and guides. She also offers some great tips on using relationship-building tools and social media to connect with these markets.

What You Will Learn in this Episode:

• Maximizing marketing time and dollars on your best clients and markets
• How to manage international and domestic segments of your visitor base
• How to make it easy for tour operators to choose your destination
• Why the China market needs to be on your radar
• Best practices for treating tour guides right

Narrow Your Focus

It’s tempting to just cast your nets wide and hope to catch a lot of travelers to your destination. But Sally encourages attractions and destinations to use the 80/20 rule. Find out who your top market segments or top repeat tour clients are, and focus 80 percent marketing time and energy on those groups.

Narrowing your focus will sharpen your message and deepen your relationships with those groups. Sally has found that narrowing your focus actually increases traffic and dollars to your destination.

China Market

You might not think the market for Chinese tour groups is a good fit for your location. In the past, if you were beyond the “golden triangles” in the northeastern US or California in the west, the China market was a long shot. But Sally is seeing that change as more Chinese people look to travel and expand beyond those traditional areas of interest.

Sally and I discuss a hugely popular Chinese social networking platform called WeChat, a huge tool for understanding and interacting with people and groups in the China market.

There is a lot more great food for thought in this conversation. Sally suggests finding partners in the destinations guests are coming from and going to when they visit your attraction. But, also looking for partnerships with groups you might not think of at first. There is a world of co-opetition out there to explore and make use of.

Resources:

• Website: sallydavisberry.com
• Getting familiar with WeChat: http://sallydavisberry.com/wechat-is-a-great-way-to-build-relationships-in-the-chinese-tour-market/

Episode Transcript

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/

Connie Stopher serves as Executive Director of the Southern Idaho Economic Development Organization. In this role, she oversees the business and talent recruitment for a seven-county region. Since taking on the role of executive director in 2017, the southern Idaho region has experienced nearly $500 million in business expansions and nearly thousands of new jobs created.

Previously, Connie served as the executive director of the South Coast Development Council in Coos Bay, Oregon, and as the economic development specialist at Bannock Development in Pocatello, Idaho. In both of those roles, Connie enjoyed the opportunity to create new business retention and expansion programs that helped revitalize struggling communities and assist existing and new businesses.

Melissa Barry is the Executive Director of Southern Idaho Tourism. She is responsible for developing and promoting tourism and recreation in southern Idaho and helping to strike the balance between economic impact and environmental stewardship. Since taking the leadership role at Southern Idaho Tourism, lodging collections have risen from historically flat numbers to double-digit increases. Southern Idaho Tourism, has received multiple national press stories, and partner approval rating is at 94 percent.

Prior to joining Southern Idaho Tourism, Melissa managed the marketing department at Cabela’s, the world’s foremost outfitter.

On this episode, I talk with Connie and Melissa about how tourism and economic development go hand-in-hand, and some specific partnerships that they have forged in their region. From recruiting people to live and work to inviting visitors without damaging the natural resources that draw people to a region in the first place, working together with all potential stakeholders is the only way to really get the job done.

What You Will Learn on this Episode:

• A “best-kept secret” pitch for talent recruitment 
• Strategies you can use to marketing your region
• How to get locals to become tourism cheerleaders
• Ways stakeholders can manage visitor impact on natural resources
• How to grow tourism in rural areas

Tourism as Economic Driver

Tourism and economic development can get siloed, hampering the collaboration that can happen and boost a region economically. For Connie and Melissa, that means working together. For instance, they might combine their video promotion budgets to create a better end product than each could have done separately. Or what if tourism agencies and local chambers of commerce work in conjunction with each other? In some areas, this is a stretch, but it shouldn’t be. There is a synergy that can happen when local communities welcome visitors, new residents, and new businesses to the region. When all of that happens together, communities thrive.

Tourism in Rural Areas

Why would anyone want to visit? That can be the sentiment from locals who don’t realize the beauty and wonder of their own backyard. Connie and Melissa share how sometimes they need a little bit of help in identifying the assets they have, even in the smallest of communities. It comes down to realizing that they have assets that are worthwhile for visitors to see and participate.

Resources:

• Website: visitsouthidaho.com
• Website: www.southernidaho.org
•  Southern Idaho Economic Development’s podcast, Secret’s Out Idaho!: southernidaho.org/blog

Robin Boehler is a co-founder of international management consulting firm, Mercer Island Group. Mercer Island group is a prominent global marketing management consulting firm helping clients and agencies solve a broad range of business problems from building business and tough competitive markets, to creating strategic roadmaps, and matching the right clients and agencies for productive relationships, to name a few.

Robin’s unique ability to work with teams and help improve organizational productivity is the direct result of an eclectic background, including her degree in human development and family studies from Cornell University, several years of experience in elementary education, plus training and team building experiences across a myriad of industries, and extensive volunteerism experiences. She is a frequent speaker having presented and keynoted at events sponsored by the BMA, the four A’s, AMI, and others.

On this episode of Destination on the Left, I talk with Robin Boehler about her wealth of experience in starting and maintaining vital client/agency relationships. How do you uncover what you need from a marketing agency or PR firm and finding the right fit? Robin’s wealth of experience and knowledge is on full display in this can’t miss episode.

Things to Consider When Choosing an Agency Partners

If you think you are not big enough for an agency to want to work with you, think again. Travel and tourism business is a desirable category for both regional and national marketing agencies.

How do you find an agency to work with? Robin’s advice is to start with introspection. Know your organization and what you need before you start looking at your next agency relationship. Know why you need an agency. What are you trying to solve? The reason that’s important is you need to know what business results you think will be improved by hiring an agency. Figuring out the right fit may take some time, but hopefully, you and this agency will be in it for the long haul. Take your time.

Network Your Way to a Good List

You don’t want to automatically go with the first agency you meet. Find out what they are like and what their strengths are and see if that fits with your needs. Do you need a good media buyer? Help with social media? Good creative? Whatever the scope of work, Robin suggests starting with a list of 20 and meeting with at least 5 before making a final decision on who to work with.

The goal is to take the mystery out of how this relationship is going to work. This isn’t a commodity that you’re buying. You’re buying strategic intelligent, creative assets from a group of people who will be thinking partners with you.

Resources:

• Website: http://www.mercerislandgroup.net/

Bill Geist is the Chief Instigator at DMOproZ, a firm specializing in strategic planning, governance, marketing, and legislative issues for convention and visitor bureaus, tourism-focused chambers of commerce, economic development organizations, and communities. Prior to forming DMOproZ, Bill served as the President/CEO of the Greater Madison (WI) Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Bill is the author of Destination Leadership and a contributor to Fundamentals in Destination Marketing. He has provided consulting services to over 200 DMOs since 1995 and is a popular speaker on marketing trends and destination development across North America.

On this episode of Destination on the Left, I speak with Bill about the shifting role of the DMO. Marketing is just the tip of the iceberg. DMOs have a larger leadership role to play in the economic fortunes of the communities they serve. It starts with an attitude of service, of giving back.

What You Will Learn on this Episode:

• Why DMOs need to speak up on economic development issues in your communities
• The role of advocacy in DMO work
• What DMOs can do better than the internet
• Why understanding who you don’t appeal to is as important as understanding who you do appeal to
• Why storytelling is only going to become more important in the work of DMOs
• How to connect more with the community you serve as a DMO

Destination Leadership Organizations

Recently, we have begun discussing the expanding role that DMOs are playing and should play in their communities and now we’re thrilled to welcome a guest who has been promoting this conversation for a long time. Talk about great timing.

Bill talks with us about the evolution of destination marketing over the past decades, and the need for destination leadership. He relates some stories of economic development missteps that could have been avoided if DMOs has raised their voice – but they thought it wasn’t their place.

DMOs can be a critical conduit of information and stories that will help communities flourish and visitors fall in love and return again and again. This is a wonderful conversation on the leadership role DMOs can and should play.

It’s Not About Heads in Beds

Bill believes DMOs have often done a poor job of telling the story of their value to a community. At the end of the day, it’s not about heads in beds – what DMOs do is improve quality of life. They make their destination a better place to live.

It comes down to communication. DMO directors would love to hear from you, and the community is waiting for leaders to sit down and talk about what’s happening, what they can promote and what stories they can tell on your behalf. It’s a two-way street, but Bill Geist is encouraging DMOs to take the lead!

Resources:

• Website: dmoproz.com/
• Website: longwoods-intl.com/travel-tourism-research/
• Facebook: facebook.com/DMOproZ
• Twitter: @DMOproZ
• Destination Leadership Book: Destination Leadership Book

Episode Transcript

Cassandra Harrington has served as the director of Destination Marketing Corporation for Otsego County for over a year. Prior to that, she was the director of the Cayuga Lake Wine Trail and she started her marketing career as the membership development manager at the Seneca County Chamber of Commerce.

In her own words she is “learning the inner workings of the group travel industry as well as the intricacies of New York state matching funds, and who’s who in the igloo of the county, regional, and state tourism efforts.”

On this episode of Destination on the Left, I talk with Cassandra Harrington of the Otsego County Tourism board about sharing the tourism love beyond America’s pastime at Cooperstown. How is the role of DMOs changing? How best can you help visitors and locals alike embrace those changes and reap the benefits of visiting or living in a given region? That’s the conversation we’re having, join in!

What You Will Learn in this Episode:

• How local, regional and state DMOs can coordinate efforts and all win
• How to encourage group tours to your region that are more than “party busses”
• Using shoulder seasons to encourage savings on people’s travel budget
• Ways to highlight both a “big draw” attraction as well as the “hidden treasures” in your region
• How to encourage locals to embrace the economic engine of travel and tourism
• Helping communities see the benefits of non-traditional lodging like AirBnB

#NextGenDMO

Cassandra is part of a growing trend of people who are coming into Destination Marketing Organizations from the attraction side of the travel industry. These newcomers have noticed the trend themselves and jokingly refer to the hashtag #NextGenDMO as they collaborate and experience their new roles together.

It’s safe to say the passion and sense of innovation they bring to their roles is welcome. As technology and the ways visitors experience a region change – for instance, not necessarily from a hotel room removed from town, but right in town, in your neighbor’s short term rental property – DMOs are challenged with drawing in these visitors and finding ways to extend their stay and make it as memorable as possible.

Attracting the Visitors and Engaging the Locals

Another trend we’re seeing is how DMOs are more and more filling the role, not just of attracting visitors, but getting locals excited about the economic opportunity and vitality that tourism brings to their home region.

This is happening in Otsego County, home of the Baseball Hall of Fame and many more hidden gems that visitors have come to love and locals have treasured for years. The rise in popularity of short term rentals means that visitors are living side-by-side with locals during their stay. Highlighting the long-term benefits in infrastructure improvements and other ways occupancy taxes of those visitors help the local economy has become part of the DMOs job description.

Resources:

• Website: otsegocounty.com/depts/tor/

Richard Arnold is the Director of Fun at Atlantic Travel and Tours. He is a graduate of Acadia University and has been with Atlantic since 1987.  He is also a member of the board of Travel Alliance Partners, where he serves as treasurer.

After working as an employee for many years, Richard took the plunge and purchased Atlantic Travel and Tours. He is a busy man- but he’ll be the first to tell you his first love is hosting the trips and being a tour director. Though his title is now Director of Fun, he still gets out in the field and leads trips from time to time. He says, “I want to be judged on the job, not on the fact that I am president of the company. At the end of the day, if I’m not doing my job, I need to hear it like any other tour manager.”

On this episode of Destination on the Left, I talk with Richard Arnold about his longtime experience in running tours in an around Nova Scotia and outbound tourism to the far reaches of the world. How has group travel changed? How can you stay competitive? How can you continue to make a profit and make promises like a guaranteed departure trip? We discuss answers to these questions and many more.

What You Will Learn in this Episode:

• How to balance the people side of the business with the numbers side
• How to make a guaranteed departure policy work, even with a low headcount
• Partnering with “competitors” to run a larger, more profitable tour
• The difference between what is most memorable and what makes people open their wallets in the first place
• How to build greater tourism awareness in your destination community

Evolution of Group Touring

In the early 2000s, many thought the era of group touring was over. People want to follow their own path, conventional wisdom said. Richard thought something else was happening and developed what he calls “the illusion of choice.”

Part of this is about giving people a sense of having freedom of choice. When you offer options, Richard has found that most people default to joining the larger group anyhow. But you’ve empowered them with a choice, which is what travel consumers want these days.

Paying Attention to the “Wow”

Richard has uncovered a gem of wisdom in his 33 years in the industry- often the thing that caused a touring client to open their wallets in the first place is different from what they find most memorable about a tour. Be sure to pay attention to those “wow” factors that may not be the reason people initially book a trip, but what they get out of it in the end.

What “wows” one person might not “wow” another. The greater the customization you can offer (even in group tour offerings), the bigger the “wow”. Richard shows us how you can find ways to make any size tour for any length of time work, through strategic partnerships or just creative thinking and attention to your bottom line.

Resources:

• Website: atlantictours.com
• Twitter: @Atlantic_Tours
• Facebook: facebook.com/atlantictourslimited

Dr. Kirsten Ellenbogen brings more than 25 years of experience to her role as the third president of Great Lakes Science Center in Cleveland, Ohio. Kirsten’s energetic leadership during the last two decades has advanced informal STEM education. Her leadership activities at Great Lakes Science Center have included the launch of a new strategic initiative, Cleveland Creates, developed in collaboration with regional workforce development leaders to change the community’s manufacturing narrative through STEM education for middle school youth and families. Kirsten has worked at five museums during the past two decades and consulted for more than 30.

She is a founding leader of the Northeast Ohio STEM Ecosystem Collaborative and has been appointed to serve on the mayor’s steering committee on sustainability as well as the planning and Urban Design Committee of the Group Plan Commission. She holds a Ph.D. in science education from Vanderbilt University and a BA from the University of Chicago.

On this episode of Destination on the Left, I talk with Dr. Kirsten Ellenbogen about science, city-wide collaboration, and national partnerships in museum tourism. Kirsten also breaks down the vast difference it makes when other institutions speak with each other and work together, instead of being adversarial.

What You Will Learn:

• How to work with competitors to establish points of differentiation
• The power of saying yes
• How to manage a challenge to attendance in what should be your busiest season
• Working with other community players to achieve and exceed expectations around a huge community event
• How to maintain your roots as a beloved institution while also connecting with first-time visitors
• Working with other nearby cultural institutions to create a wider “campus”
• Cathedral thinking – Looking at tourism development from a generational perspective
• How strategic plans bring focus to both what you are working on and what you are not working on

From a “No” Organization to a “Yes” Organization

Organizations get reputations. When you have a reputation for saying no, opportunities start to dry up, and you get stuck in a rut of doing the same things year after year. Saying yes can also have its challenges, like when your city is hosting a national political convention.

Kirsten talks about how to bring stakeholders together to think through the best ways to face the challenges and opportunities when you invite the nation into your town.

Cathedral Thinking

We also revisit a concept from another episode – Cathedral Thinking – as we explore what it means to be a cultural institution with a long view, and a view to contribute and participate fully in the community where you are situated.

Planning isn’t just about the next year or two, but about laying a foundation for generations to build on. That may sound grandiose, but when you are a cultural institution in a community rich with art, sports, music, and science attractions, taking the long view together is just good stewardship.

What foundations are you laying down for future generations?

Resources:

• Website: greatscience.com
• Facebook: facebook.com/greatlakessciencecenter/
• Twitter: @GLScienceCtr

Tiffany Gallagher is eastern USA branch manager for Civitas, where she helps clients form and manage Tourism Improvement Districts. Throughout her career, she has shown a strong commitment to the tourism and business communities. Most recently she served as the President of the Greater Syracuse Hospitality and Tourism Association and currently serves on the New York State Hospitality and Tourism Board of Directors. Relevant experience also includes; serving on the Board of Directors of Destination Marketing Organizations, Strategic Planning Councils, and Business Improvement Districts. 

On this episode of Destination on the Left, I talk with Tiffany about how Tourism Improvement Districts (TIDs) can create a public/private partnership that brings huge benefits to a travel region. These can be formed around hotel accommodations, wineries, breweries or ski resorts. TIDs create a stable funding stream and puts decision-making in the hands of industry leaders in the region.

What You Will Learn:

• The role that Tourism Improvement Districts (TIDs) play in building a destination’s competitive advantage
• How TIDs are getting more traction in the eastern United States
• How to set up a TID as a legal entity
• Why TIDs are a benefit to both the public and private sector in the district
• The crucial role of relationships in DMOs, local government, and industry in a successful TID partnership
• How to gather the general data needed and the buy-in to form a TID in your area
• How a TID establishes a stable funding stream to market your region as a unique travel destination
• Why there are no size requirements for establishing a TID – from one hotel to major cities
• How TIDs can form around any travel-related industry (wine, brewery, skiing, etc.) that agrees to form one

When and Why to Form a TID

TIDs are an exciting concept that has been a big factor on the west coast of the US and are slowly growing in popularity across the eastern US.

What makes a TID such an attractive idea? The power, Tiffany tells us, is that this funding mechanism is championed by the industry. It is also managed and spent by the industry. TIDs are a stable form of marketing funding that hotels or other travel categories in a region can use until it doesn’t make sense anymore. If the payers are not benefitting, they can disband the TID.

How to Form a TID

A Tourism Improvement District is a legal entity. Tiffany has formed organizations as small as one hotel and as large as all the hotels in a mid-sized city. Relationships are key, as this is essentially a public/private partnership between local governments and the industry players in a given region.

Resources:

• Web site: http://www.civitasadvisors.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tiffany-gallagher-09a0146/
• Email: tgallagher@civitasadvisors.com

Fred Bonn of New York State Park, Finger Lakes Region, and his management team, oversee 29 facilities across 10 counties. In 2018, Finger Lakes Parks has welcomed over 3. 8 million patrons who enjoyed hiking, swimming, boating, golf, and camping. Prior to joining New York State Parks, Fred served as the director of the Ithaca-Tompkins County Convention and Visitors Bureau. Currently, he serves on the board of the Finger Lakes Tourism Alliance, and the State Theater of Ithaca. He also represents New York State Parks on the Erie Canal National Heritage Corridor.

On this episode of Destination on the Left, I talk with Fred about regional collaboration from the perspective of a state-run entity. He has some fantastic success stories to share about working to enhance the visitor experience at the parks he and his team manage and paying attention to all the resources that abound beyond the park borders. He also ends with arguably our most delicious co-opetition story yet, so listen in for a truly special episode.

What You Will Learn:

• Equipping all customer-facing staff with training to answer basic questions about your destination and region
• Finding funding and working with key stakeholders to enhance the visitor experience at your venue
• Tying your destination into the broader visitor experience of your region
• How to manage huge maintenance projects at key attractions while protecting public safety
• Empowering people to come up with solutions
• Taking blinders off and working for a greater good
• Best practices for successful partnerships
• The power of face to face conversation in travel planning
• Taking travel information to where people are actually going

Taking the Blinders Off

Even if you’re just a little cabin in the woods, you are part of a wider region where people are spending time vacationing. The more you can look beyond your individual business, the more opportunities you will find. For Fred Bonn and the Finger Lakes area state parks, that meant not just thinking about hikes and camping, but about the regional wines, craft beverages, history – everything that draws people to visit the Finger Lakes region. Travelers don’t pay attention to town or county lines when they are planning their itinerary, so the more local businesses, public entities, visitors bureaus, and DMOs can work together to market a region – the more pie there is to share. That is the lesson Fred continually learns and preachs to others in his work.

Lessons From the Ice Cream Sundae Wars

Controversy is sticky. People pay attention when there is a controversy. So when Ithaca, NY found out that Two Rivers, Wisconsin was trying to lay claim as the birthplace of the ice cream sundae, war may not have been inevitable – but it made for some good headlines. It was the perfect opportunity for some good old-fashioned co-opetition.

Both towns agreed to boast that they were the first, with the thought that maybe they would get some national media attention. Not only did it work, but when a media outlet would interview one town, they would call the other to give them a few clues about how to keep stoking the flames. “Reality” TV is not the only place where fake controversy can pay off- publicity from friendly rivalries can be a great way to garner attention and a win-win for both participants.

Resources:

• Website: parks.ny.gov
• Fred Bonn on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fredbonn/

Sam Filler serves as the executive director of the New York Wine and Grape Foundation, the main trade association responsible for statewide investments in research and promotion on behalf of the New York wine and grape industry. He previously served as director of industry development at Empire State Development. In that role, Sam worked closely with the alcoholic beverage industry and policymakers to implement governor Andrew Cuomo’s Craft Beverage Initiative. Sam is a graduate of Vassar and New York University. He serves on the boards of Cornell Agritech Advisory Council, National Grape Research Alliance, Wine Market Council, and New York Kitchen.

On this episode of Destination on the Left, I talk with Sam about the intersection of the craft beverage industry and travel and tourism. The regional nuances, especially of wines and other craft beverages, create a tremendous opportunity for destinations and the beverage makers who call that region home.

Credit: Wine and Grape Foundation

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN

• How to work together across a region to promote niche markets like craft beverages as part of the tourism fabric of the region
• Where to look for marketing dollars and join in creating a bigger impact through regional partnerships
• How you can lose economic development marketing dollars if you have no one in charge of deciding when and where to spend those dollars
• Ways to better know your target market, and target the right messages to that market
• How to bring the right tactics and strategies to your marketing plans, even on a limited budget

GETTING CRAFTY

Craft beverages are becoming a huge industry. Every town and hamlet, it seems, has at least one winery, brewery, and distillery, dispensing locally hand-crafted wine, beer, and spirits.

And of course, all of those adult beverages are a big part of the travel and tourism industry. Wine and beer trails are becoming more popular and drawing in a larger audience. These trails and other craft beverage related events present a great opportunity for beverage makers, regional hotels, restaurants and other destinations to work together to create a unique and memorable visitor experience.

STRATEGIES AND TACTICS

One of the challenges of collaborating with multiple players in a given region is figuring out who is in charge of what.

With a project like a wine trail, the point person is likely running a business full-time alongside this volunteer commitment. Sam saw the need to develop a “set of tactics and strategies that we can offer to these wine trails that they can kind of pull from and know that there are tried and true techniques to attract the right people.”

So through the Wine and Grape Foundation set about to provide exactly this kind of strategic direction and some real tools that can filter down to the smallest, smallest winery.  

RESOURCES

• Website: newyorkwines.org

Tami Brown currently serves as the General Manager for the Greater Cleveland Aquarium, the only independent aquarium in Ohio. Tami promotes the tenets of “servant leadership”, and her fascinating career path has wound between the arts and culture industry and the travel and tourism industry, giving her unique insights into both.

Tami has spent her career working with attractions in northeast Ohio including the Western Reserve Historical Society, the Center for Contemporary Art, the Cleveland Museum of Art, and the Cleveland International Film Festival. She served as Vice President of Marketing for Positively Cleveland, a non-profit dedicated to using tourism to drive economic vitality throughout the region. She also serves on many boards of directors, including the Ohio Travel Association, the Tourism Ohio Advisory Board, the Center for Community Solutions, and Flats Forward (representing the Flats neighborhood of Cleveland).

On this episode of Destination on the Left, I talk with Tami about the overlap between the arts and culture industry and the travel and tourism industry, and why that often-overlooked relationship has the potential to be a powerful driver for both industries. Listen to our conversation, and learn how effective partnerships can benefit everyone involved.

What You Will Learn:

• How Tami’s career diversion into marketing ironically led her to her dream job in the arts and culture industry.
• Why authenticity is the key to standing out as a desirable destination
• The power and potential of leveraging connections within different industries
• How an unexpected partnership with a local craft brewery to helped grow a program to protect and endangered turtle species
• The importance of communication when creating a partnership

Why Do Partnerships Matter?

One of the major challenges we the travel and tourism industry face is in finding new ways to promote ourselves. Tami provides a great example of the benefits that partnering with other organizations can provide. Her contacts within both the cultural and tourism industries have allowed her to use outside-the-box thinking to come up with innovative marketing possibilities.

There is an obvious and logical overlap between tourism and the arts and culture industry that is too often ignored. By reaching out and forming cross-industry connections, we can form strong relationships that have broad-reaching effects.

When Opportunity Knocks

Opportunities to promote our industry are everywhere, as long as we remain open-minded and ready to cooperate. We already know the dramatic economic impact that destination marketing can have, so the natural extension of that mindset lies in coordinating our efforts wherever possible. Through its partnerships with businesses and organizations in a variety of industries, the Greater Cleveland Aquarium is leading by example. That’s why it was my great pleasure to speak with Tami about her efforts.

Resources:

• Website: www.greaterclevelandaquarium.com

Episode Transcript

Beth Erickson has served as the President and CEO of Visit Loudoun since 2014. Visit Loudoun is in Loudoun County, Virginia and in 2016 alone, they generated almost $1.69 billion in travel spending and supported more than 17,000 jobs in the travel industry and adjacent businesses.

Prior to her current position with Visit Loudoun, Beth served as the Vice President of the Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership, a non-profit organization that works to raise awareness and support for the 180-mile stretch of land lying between Gettysburg, PA and Thomas Jefferson’s Virginia plantation home, Monticello. In 2008, the partnership was recognized by Congress as a National Heritage Area. Beth chairs the government affairs committee for the Virginia Restaurant Lodging Tourism and Hospitality Association. She also serves with numerous organizations including the Loudoun County Comprehensive Plan Stakeholder Committee, Loudoun County Economic Development Commission, Loudoun County Economic Development Authority, and many more committees and boards of directors. She has received numerous awards and honors for her work.

On this episode of Destination on the Left, I talk with Beth about the wildly successful work her organization has been doing to turn Loudoun County, Virginia into a popular and respected travel destination and well-connected cultural center. Listen to our conversation and discover how education, collaboration, and storytelling have served as powerful tools for building up the local travel and tourism industry and have had wide-reaching effects for the entire region.

What You Will Learn:

• How Beth’s background in manufacturing, marketing, and advertising first exposed her to the world of destination marketing
• How Loudoun County’s existing reputation as the wine country of the nation’s capital was a rich foundation to build upon
• How Visit Loudoun works with the Virginia state tourism office to coordinate and bolster their efforts
• Why Beth’s biggest challenge has been making tourism more visible, and how she has worked with elected officials to “tell Loudoun County’s story”
• What projects she’s currently working on, including the upcoming opening of a world-class athletics center and training facility
• Why collaboration and cooperation between “competing” parts of the tourism industry have been impactful on her own work

Why Does Destination Marketing Matter?

Aside from the tremendous economic impact the travel and tourism industry has on an area, destination marketing is a wonderful way to tell the story of a location. Through coordinated education efforts and cooperation with local and state organizations and elected officials, the ripple effect from marketing efforts can boost an entire region.

In Loudoun County’s case, the efforts Beth and her organization are making have been major contributing factors in opening up new avenues for growth. It has helped expand local transit and athletic opportunities, and certainly been an influence on Amazon’s decision to locate their HQ2 a mere 50 miles from Loudoun.

Cooperation Equals Opportunity

As Beth illustrates beautifully in our conversation, cooperation with others has been a powerful tool to help tell Loudoun County’s story. By working with the state tourism office, elected officials and other organizations, Beth’s coordinated efforts have paid dividends for the local travel and tourism industry helping to expand the local economy with new and exciting opportunities for both visitors and residents.

Our industry is a remarkable engine for regional growth and cultural development. There are countless opportunities for thinking outside the box while growing your reputation as a worthwhile travel destination. That philosophy of innovation and teamwork is precisely why it was such a pleasure to chat with Beth and hear her insights.

Resources:

• Website: www.visitloudoun.org

Episode Transcript