2022 MARKETING OUTLOOK FORUM
Schedule

Moderators:  Marlise Taylor, Director, Tourism Research, Visit NC – Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina; Dee Ann McKinney, Marketing Research Director, Missouri Office of Tourism

A great way to kick off your MOF experience is the DMO Roundtable. The informal open-forum discussion typically surfaces the most urgent research and measurement issues confronting destination management and marketing organizations. If you’re a DMO, you’ll be interested to hear what your colleagues are up to and raise issues of your own. If you’re a supplier with DMO clients, it’s an ideal way to hear what the burning issues are for clients like yours.

This session is sponsored by:

Moderators:  Andria Godfrey, Senior Vice President, Longwoods International.

Moderator: Derek Ramthun, Partner Relations Marketing Strategist, Explore Minnesota
Speaker: Dave Goulden, Vice President of Product, Sojern

Speakers: Dr. Sheila Flanagan, Chair, Marketing Outlook Forum and Host Visit Montgomery

 Speaker: Dr. Suzanne Cook, Co-Chair, Marketing Outlook Forum

COVID-19, intertwined with political division and heightened expressions of social unrest, brought many issues to the attention of all of us in travel. In some cases, these were long-standing trends of interest to our industry but were exacerbated by the crises. In other cases, new extraordinary challenges and opportunities arose as one of the largest industries as the world battled for survival. To set the stage for our discussion over the next three days, Suzanne Cook will reflect upon many of these and on what we have learned that will help ensure a healthier more sustainable travel industry in the future.

Speakers: Jack Johnson, Chief Advocacy Officer, DI; Various DMOs will share the stage

A panel of state/local organizations will discuss how they have gotten the balance right among recovery, tourism businesses and residents.

Take a few minutes to network with new and old acquaintances!

Speaker: Adam Sacks, President, Tourism Economics

The leisure market is booming, and economic fundamentals point to a solid foundation for continued rebuilding. However, business and group travel remain suppressed and risks to the recovery loom large. Adam Sacks will share Tourism Economics’ latest views on the economy, the mindset of travelers, and expectations for how and when travel will fully recover.

Moderator: Andria Godfrey, Senior Vice President, Longwoods International.

Speakers: Steve Paganelli, CDME, Director Destinations, Hotels and OTAs, TripAdvisor; Leah Chandler, CDME, Chief Marketing Officer, Discover Puerto Rico.

Join travel and tourism innovators as they share how their organizations leaned on innovation to navigate the pandemic and the developments propelling them in the upcoming year. It is innovation and creativity that have kept the lights on for this global industry! Learn from standout leaders how they made innovation happen in the face of crisis, the developments that were accelerated during this time, and where they are taking their organizations in the upcoming year.

Hosted by Visit Montgomery, location to be finalized

Sponsored by a variety of DMOs.  Come and sit at the best-dressed table!  See the best marketing videos from the sponsored destinations.

Speakers: Martha Sheridan, President & CEO, Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau; Gretchen Hall, President & CEO, Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau; Loren Edelstein, Vice President, Content Director, Northstar Meetings Group

Of all types of travel, business travel and meetings/conferences/conventions travel were hurt most and have been the slowest to recover. And as recovery accelerates, it is likely to be uneven and will vary a great deal by location, type of event, and segment.   How will attendance sizes be affected?  How do destinations deal with this and how should they be marketing themselves in today’s environment?  How are hybrid meetings going to change and how might these affect on-site attendance?   Benefit from the experiences and intelligence of experts from the NorthStar Meetings Group, as well as from some key convention and meetings markets across the U.S. who will share their expectations for the year ahead.  

Take a few minutes to network with new and old acquaintances!

Moderator: Esra Calvert, Zartico.

Speakers: Kristen Reynolds, President/CEO, Discover Long Island; Tony Lyle, Vice President – Tourism Development, Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority; Allison Schult, Director of Marketing, North Carolina

A panel of destinations to talk about what they are doing digitally, out-of-the-box.   How creative use of technology is used for marketing purposes. Breaking the mold.

This session is sponsored by:

Join us for a networking lunch and award presentation.

This event is sponsored by:

Take a few minutes to network with new and old acquaintances!

These experts will speak for 15 minutes on their sector topic.  You won’t want to miss it!

Air Service Developments – Rhett Morgan, Senior Director, Ailevon Pacific

Attractions – Jerry Henry, CEO, H2R Market Research

Sports – Dr. Jennifer Stoll, Principal, Stoll Strategies, Research and Education Sports ETA

What’s ahead for some of the key sectors of travel?  In a quick, Ted-talk type format, get the latest on performance, ongoing challenges, and expectations and forecasts for air service, attractions, and sports tourism.

Take a few minutes to network with new and old acquaintances!

Speakers: David Huether, Deputy Director for Research, US Department of Commerce; Alex Jarman, Research Analyst, Euromonitor International 

International travel to the U.S. effectively stopped throughout the COVID-19 period and has only recently been returning in fits-and-starts. The return of international travelers is crucial to the U.S. travel industry’s recovery. Providing the official U.S. analysis of COVID-19’s impact on international travel to and from the United States as well as its impact on international trade, David Huether will talk about current conditions in our key inbound markets, and potential developments over the months ahead. In addition, David will also provide an update on new data and tools that the Commerce Department has developed to help travel researchers monitor the state of international travel to and from the United States.

Join us for a networking reception.

This reception is sponsored by:

Join your favorite colleagues and new friends for breakfast!

Speaker:  Dr. Anirban Basu, Chairman & CEO, Sage Policy Group, Inc.

The pandemic of 2020-21 has ushered forth a combination of temporary and permanent shifts in consumer behavior.  This presentation will focus on how changes in behavior and returns toward normalcy will impact consumer spending patterns and tourism going forward.  The presentation will also discuss what strategies tourism professionals can deploy as we approach the new abnormal.

This session is sponsored by:

Speakers:  Apoorva Gandhi, VP of Multicultural Affairs, Marriott International; Elliott Ferguson, President & CEO, Destination DC

A deeper commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion is imperative, not only because it is the right thing to do but because it is also good for our industry. Elliott Ferguson has been instrumental in advancing conversations about race and tourism throughout the travel/hospitality industry. Serving as Board Chair of Tourism Diversity Matters, Elliott will share his experiences related to Washington’s DC’s efforts to reduce social and economic inequities, as well as discuss what Tourism Diversity Matters is doing to empower the tourism and events industry to change and evolve as we work to advocate for an inclusive and diverse workforce and guest experience. Elliott will be joined by Apoorva Gandhi who is responsible for ensuring that Marriott’s marketing, sales, and operations consider and reflect multi-cultural markets. He will discuss the creation of the Marriott-Sorenson Center for Hospitality Leadership, to be housed at Howard University, one of the nation’s leading historically Black colleges and universities.

Take a few minutes to network with new and old acquaintances!

Moderator: Helen Marano, Founder and President, Marano Perspectives

Panelists: Isabel Hill, Director, National Travel and Tourism Office, US Department of Commerce; Richard Peterson,  President & CEO, US Cultural & Heritage Marketing Council; Dawn Drew, Founder and CEO, MOSTE and  Dawn Drew Independent Productions; Cathy Ritter, Founder and CEO at Better Destinations LLC.

The restart is here, the promises have been made, the commitments have been recorded, but how well are we really doing in implementing all the fine intentions?  Are we managing to truly protect and respect the communities and environments, both natural and cultural, of destinations as we regain our sector’s rightful place in the global economy?  This closing session will explore these dynamics in reflection of the previous panels and delve into the ways that partnerships spur getting the “job done right this time”! Delegates will be encouraged to share their perspectives with this panel of leaders.

This session is sponsored by: