Call for Content

U.S. Travel’s ESTO isn’t your average marketing conference—it’s the ultimate stage for destination marketers to innovate, inspire and lead. The ESTO 2025 call for content is now open.

Ideas That Travel

At ESTO 2025, we’re shaping the future of destination marketing together. This is your chance to spark creativity, share transformative strategies and elevate the industry alongside peers and thought leaders.

Ready to make your mark? We’re calling on passionate professionals to craft compelling content and join us in rewriting what’s possible for destinations.

Submit Your Content Ideas

Key Dates to Know 

  • Call for Content Open: Tuesday, January 7 
  • Submission Deadline: Monday, January 27 
  • Acceptance Notifications: Late March  

Who Can Submit? 

  • Eligibility: Submissions are open to all U.S. Travel members and non-members.  
  • Guidelines for Partners: Ally members and partners are welcome, but sessions must focus on insights and solutions—not sales. Content should showcase real-world case studies that inspire action. 
  • Submission Cap: Each organization may submit up to two proposals. 

Session Content Expectations 

  • Provide three actionable takeaways for attendees. 
  • Ensure content is scalable for destinations of all sizes—large, medium and small. 

Your proposal should align with one of these high-impact themes: 

Focus Areas for 2025

  • Brand Differentiation: Standing out in a crowded market. 
  • Economic Uncertainty: Navigating challenges and driving growth. 
  • Shifting Traveler Preferences: Meeting the moment with evolving traveler needs. 
  • Technology Integration: Leveraging tech to enhance destination marketing. 
  • Digital Competition: Winning the digital race. 

What to Include in Your Proposal 

Make sure your submitted proposal addresses each of these items: 

  • Session Key Focus Area 
  • Session Description 
  • Proposed Speakers: Include name, title, company, bio and headshot. 
  • Learning Objectives: Highlight key takeaways. 
  • Preferred Format 
Submit Your Content Today

ESTO 2025 Content Submission FAQs

Ready to submit your content ideas and have additional questions? Review our FAQs below. If you have additional questions, reach out to U.S. Travel’s Content Team: [email protected].

Let’s create something extraordinary together. See you at ESTO 2025!

FAQ

Please see above under “What to Include in Your Proposal” for the requested information.

We estimate it will take approximately 15 minutes to complete the submission form. The amount of time it will take to answer certain questions will depend on how developed your submission idea is before beginning your submission.

We are so grateful to our speakers for both their time spent in preparation and their willingness to share their expertise. As an ESTO 2025 speaker, you will receive:

  • Complimentary registration so you can engage and network with attendees throughout the event.
  • Recognition for you and your organization as a thought leader.
  • A chance to provide learnings and new ideas to peers to address current and emerging challenges.
  • Access to exclusive, complimentary speaker coaching and resources to help bring your session to life.
  • Be available to present in person at ESTO 2025 in Phoenix, Arizona, during your scheduled session time. The scheduled session time will be determined in Spring 2025. The schedule for ESTO 2025 is Sunday, August 17, 2025, 9 a.m. - Tuesday, August 19, 2025, 2 p.m.
  • Create fresh, unique, and relevant content for today’s destination marketers. We ask that presentations not be a repeated session from another conference.
  • Tailor content and delivery to address attendees and destinations of all sizes and ensure clear takeaways for attendees.
  • Attend speaker training and preparation meetings, be open to feedback, and meet all deadlines provided by U.S. Travel’s content team.
  • Refrain from selling or lead generation in content sessions. U.S. Travel Association offers several paid, sponsor-led sessions to feature your organization and showcase your solutions. If interested, please contact Shari Bailey at [email protected] for more information about sponsorship opportunities.

An advisory committee of travel industry leaders and U.S. Travel’s content team reviews submissions and makes recommendations to curate a program that balances topics, session formats, and speaker profiles.

The information you will provide in the submission form is critical to the selection process. The committee and U.S. Travel’s content team relies on this information to understand precisely what will be delivered to participants. U.S. Travel’s marketing team will also use this information to ensure optimal attendance at your session. Additionally, the speaker details requested in the submission form is essential to understanding their professional expertise and diversity of perspectives.

Each organization may submit up to 2 proposals while the call for content is open.

Edits to your submission must be emailed to [email protected] by January 27, 2025. Please indicate the title of the submission to which you would like to make edits.