What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas right? Not this time! We have the must-see sessions from this year’s eTourism Summit happening April 10-13 and you are going to want to take these tips, trends, and innovative ideas back to your team. 

With sessions hosted by some of the most innovative destinations in the tourism game like Discover Puerto Rico, Visit Phoenix, Visit Lake Charles, Visit Sacramento, and Atlanta CVB (to name a few), we know the content will be ON. POINT. Here are our top picks!

Short-Form Video Masterclass

Learn how to make the best possible content for popular channels like TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and Instagram Reels. Turn lookers into bookers!

Presented by: Rachel Gohel, Media Relations Manager, Visit Phoenix; Astrid Emmanuelli Ruiz, Social Media Manager, Discover Puerto Rico; Charlotte Inda, Social Media Specialist, Traverse City Tourism; Kathryn Shea Duncan, Director of Social Media, Visit Lake Charles; Alice Goode, Product Marketing Manager, CrowdRiff

Campaign Conversations: Digital Fundamentals that Drive Demand

Expedia Group Media Solutions talks shop with DMO marketing experts about campaigns and proven strategies that move the needle. Gain insight to help you answer that age-old question from elected officials and stakeholders,“How do we know that marketing is actually bringing in visitors to the destination?”

Presented by Coryn Briggs, Director of Digital Marketing, Traverse City Tourism; Leah Chandler, CMO, Discover Puerto Rico; Derek Price, Director, Business Development North America, Expedia Group Media Solutions; Michelle Streeter, Communications and Marketing Officer, Visit Mesa

Unapologetic Is the New Authentic

“Authentic” is the overused buzzword of diversity marketing and it needs to evolve. See how Visit Sacramento’s DEI efforts, along with a bold new campaign “Unapologetically Sacramentan. Unapologetically Queer,” is reaching new audiences and showing how smaller DMOs can stand out and drive awareness and visitation.

Presented by: Sonya Bradley, Chief of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Visit Sacramento; Tom Whitman, President, Ion Marketing Group; Dustin Woehrmann, President & Creative Director, Communify

Driving Value-Based Outcomes: Destinations Leading The Pack

Learn how Lake Charles created impactful value-based destination marketing strategies, attracted visitors that helped the CVB support its destination goals, and showed stakeholders how their marketing program created community impact and economic growth.

Presented by: Jonathan Keslow, Director of Sales, Travel and Tourism, Epsilon; Anna Strider, Director of Digital Strategy & Online Marketing, Visit Lake Charles

If You’ve Got It, Flaunt It: How Atlanta Drove Millions of Impressions by Highlighting Some of its Most Unusual and Curious Attractions

Amazing food, breweries, outdoor recreation — let’s face it, these are all things that lots of destinations can boast. But only Atlanta is home to a restaurant that rotates between global cuisines every three months, an immersive 360-degree painting of a Civil War battle, and the world’s largest collection of miniature chairs. Learn how Atlas Obscura and Discover Atlanta partnered to highlight these incredible places through written and audio content, and how it helped the City in the Forest break out of the pack.

Presented by Ariel Azoff, Executive Director, Brand Partnerships, Atlas Obscura; EJ King, Social Media Manager, Atlanta CVB

Small Team + Small Budget = Big DMO Energy 

Money is great, but creativity is even better! Hear from three distinctly different destination perspectives—county, city, and state—about how they made the most of their effort to overcome tight purse strings.

Presented by: Stacey Dickson, President, Lake Lanier Convention & Visitors Bureau; Amy Howell, VP of Tourism, Marketing & Communications, Indiana Destination Development Corporation; Lisa Logan, Tourism Program Director, Tour Stafford, Virgina; Jenn Barbee, Co-Founder and Partner, Destination Innovate

Leveraging a Direct-to-Glass Video Strategy for Traveler Engagement

You’ve heard of acronyms like D2C and B2B, but there’s a new acronym in town: D2G. Direct-to-Glass is the future for how DMOs can create a robust CTV video strategy that is both efficient and localized. Learn how a D2G strategy boosts unique reach and brand receptivity and how to highlight the diversity of first- and third-party data sources that can be used to reach an addressable audience.

Presented by: Diane Charno, Vice President, Brand and Communications, Visit Myrtle Beach; Rosa Morriseau, Sales Director, LG Ads

Captivating and Connecting with Your Community is Key

Community is always something we hear about in the travel and tourism space, but the definition of community is highly variable and personal. For some, community is a geographic designation. For others, community is defined by shared interest. What does it mean to you? Hear how three unique destinations and a surprise travel brand define it along with their unconventional community initiatives.

Panelists: Joshua Albrecht, Vice President of Marketing and Communications, VISIT Milwaukee; Corinne Hogge, Director of Marketing, Pack Up + Go; Courtney Merchand, Assistant Director, Marketing, Ottawa Tourism; Dakota Snider, Senior Manager of Marketing & Events, Mammoth Lakes Tourism; Meredith Vaughn, CEO, Vladimir Jones

Data Driven Omnichannel Strategies: Turning Data to Stories

The travel resurgence shows no signs of abating and tourism is set to return to pre-pandemic levels this year, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization. Thus, travel is leading the way as a top-spending advertising category so far this year. But, what are the most effective ways for tourism brands to break through the clutter to reach the vast and growing audience of travel enthusiasts? Destination marketers are increasingly utilizing data-driven OOH as an effective channel to reach and engage consumers as part of a proven omnichannel strategy. By leaning into data, technology, and creativity, marketers can build effective cross-channel campaigns that reach consumers throughout daily journeys, bringing captivating travel experiences to life that prompt consumer action.

Panelists: Stuart Butler, CMO, Visit Myrtle Beach; Donald Lilley, Director of Technology and Business Intelligence, Visit Baltimore; Anna Strider, Director of Digital Strategy & Online Marketing, Visit Lake Charles; Jim Wilson, CEO, Talon America

We’ll see you in Vegas baby!! 

–Jenn & Kristen