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Presentations and Seminars

Keynote Address: The Power of Destination Marketing
Dr. Bill Siegel, Founder, Longwoods Group of Companies
Washington State has just shut down its tourism office, the first time that has happened since Colorado cut the state's tourism budget to zero in 1993. Bill Siegel documented the disastrous result of Colorado's elimination of the state's marketing funding. Now, in a new study commissioned by the U.S Travel Association, Bill showcases examples that provide dramatic and convincing evidence that destination marketing is a wise investment for taxpayers, even in difficult economic times. Promoting tourism does not compete with entitlement programs, but rather it helps pay for them, putting cash into public coffers, creating jobs, and enhancing the lifestyle of both tourists and residents.

Morning General Session:  State of the Tourism Industry
Nan Marchand Beauvois, Senior Director, National Council Relations, U.S. Travel Association
Covering the travel spectrum from the "Lost Decade" to President Obama's Executive Order for a National Travel and Tourism Strategy, U.S. Travel's Nan Marchand-Beauvois will talk about travel's impact on the nation's economy, the importance of business travel and the meetings industry, and the economic opportunities that exist if barriers to travel were eliminated.

Marketing Trends
Sharon Rossi, Vice President, Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation
The marketing mix of who you market to is changing.  In what specific way… different demographic by age, nationality, race, geography?  Why is it so different and how do you cope with this change. As part of the change, what are some new programs, cutting edge ideas the industry is bringing forward and perhaps things that have been tried that should be avoided?  How do marketers side-step pitfalls so they can focus on bringing new dollars into the community.

Emerging Media Marketing - What's right for you?
Debbie Gioguindo, Media Marketing Consultant
Social media and mobile marketing are the new way consumers plan and research.  Review platforms, what to use and why.  What social media tools are right for your business and work them in with your current marketing mix. We will look at Twitter, Facebook, Google+, foursquare, youtube and mobile apps. Do you know what people are saying about you? We will also look at tools so you can see who is talking about you.

Guerilla Research
Gary DeYoung, Director, 1000 Islands International Tourism Conference
Looking for affordable tourism local economic impact dashboard statistics or official information relevant to tourism investors? This session will give you an overview of where to access, interpret and manipulate public statistics related to tourism. While public agencies publish their data with tourism in mind, public reports reveal tourism trends with modest manipulation. Census information, sales tax data, traffic counts, labor data, real property records and other information are readily available on the internet with detail to the county and local level. Gary will discuss where to find the information and how to use it to reveal local trends in tourism.

Partnerships - Green Tourism & Transportation
Caylin Sanders, President, Escapemaker.com
Today’s traveler is seeking to lower their carbon footprint – whether it is through their lodging, dining or transportation choices – and even if it costs a little more.  Caylin will give insight as to what the local eco-traveler is looking for as well as marketing tips to attract them. Debbie Sanderson of Amtrak Marketing will share Amtrak’s new green marketing initiatives and how your destination can participate. You’ll learn inexpensive ways to position your destination as eco-friendly, to partner with like minded organizations, to identify your green assets and to turn your focus to new sustainable initiatives.  In addition, you’ll discover new ideas on how to complete the transportation link to your destination from train and bus depots.

Stick to the Facts: How to give your Legislative message.
Moderated by Jan Marie Chesterton
Description: New York State Hospitality & Tourism Association President, Jan Marie Chesterton, will moderate a panel that will focus on lobbying tactics that work. A lobbyist from Wilson Elser, the largest legal/lobbying firm in New York State,will join two veteran legislative staffers to discuss the art of lobbying and how to make sure your message is heard.

Afternoon General Session: Two Part Panel Discussion with the New York State Dept. of Economic Development, Divsion of Tourism.

  • Panel Discussion Part 1: Regional Economic Development infrastructure.
  • Panel Discussion Part 2:  2012 tourism promotion updates and programming.

Measuring Your Success
Doug Motel, Marketing Guru, Site Optimized
Marketing Guru Doug Motel will help you:

  • Learn what tools to use to recognize whether your strategy is right for you and whether it is worth your investment.
  • Understand how to use Facebook Insights, Google analytics and other nifty tools to measure the impact of your Blog, Press Releases, Twitter, Facebook and web traffic to your site.

Check back for additional descriptions of general sessions by the United States Travel Industry and Empire State Development.

Go to Speaker Bios for more information.