Schedule

Concurrent Session: Presentation

• A Story Nobody Else Can Tell: A Fireside Chat

  Franklin 11-13

  Philadelphia Marriott Downtown

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  Airlines see the journey before anyone else. Where demand is building, which markets are heating up, when travelers start planning. In this fireside chat, Ad+genuity (leading travel industry marketing agency) sits down with United Airlines to pull back the curtain on the kind of insight only an airline can offer: what key sporting events travel patterns are already signaling, how airline insights can sharpen drive-market campaigns, and the demand signals most destinations never get to see. If you market a destination, this is the room you want to be in.
  Takeaways:
  •What airline demand insights reveal about emerging travel moments, such as key sporting events and other cultural moments.
  •How to apply airline insights to sharpen drive-market campaign strategy.
  •How can destinations identify demand trends and influence decisions earlier in the planning journey.
  •How to differentiate strong travel audience signals from weak insights, and the questions every destination should ask before they take action.

• From the Field of Play to the Feed: How Sports Tourism Fuels Destination Storytelling

  Franklin 5-7

  Philadelphia Marriott Downtown

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  Sports tourism has traditionally been measured in room nights and economic impact. But forward-thinking destinations are recognizing something even more powerful: sports events are storytelling platforms.
  From creator partnerships and user-generated content to earned media and community pride, sports events can fuel authentic stories that live far beyond the final whistle. This session will explore how destinations are breaking down silos between sports, marketing, and communications teams; maximizing the value of events already on the calendar; and turning a single event into months of content, engagement, and visibility.

• How DMOs Can Support Community Vision Without Mission Drift

  Franklin 1-2

  Philadelphia Marriott Downtown

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  Visit Lake Charles evolved from a traditional tourism marketer into the strategic marketing and communications arm for Just Imagine SWLA, proving how DMOs can support community-led initiatives without losing focus on visitation, brand, or mission. This session explores how DMOs can responsibly step into deeper community roles when the opportunity aligns.

   

  Takeaways:

  • Evaluate community initiatives using a practical decision framework to determine when deeper DMO involvement aligns with mission, brand, and visitation goals—and when to say no. 
  • Implement governance and role-definition tools that establish clear boundaries, accountability, and expectations, protecting the DMO’s core   mission while supporting community-led efforts.
  • Apply a scalable communications-first framework to support community initiatives through marketing, storytelling, and earned media without absorbing ownership or operational drift.
• Leveraging PR Strategy for Convention Center Transformations: Turning Construction into a Destination-Wide Story

  Franklin 3-4

  Philadelphia Marriott Downtown

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  Convention center transformations represent once-in-a-generation opportunities for destinations. When managed strategically, they are more than capital projects—they become platforms to elevate a destination’s brand, attract meetings, business, and engage national media. This panel session with Visit Austin, Visit Cincy, and Visit Milwaukee will explore how destinations and agency partners harness PR to maximize visibility and reposition their cities during and after convention center transformations. Renovating or expanding a convention center is a complex, multi-year endeavor. But beyond the hard hats and construction fences lies a powerful PR opportunity: the chance to tell a story of innovation, resilience, and citywide growth.

   

  Takeaways: 

  • Leverage milestone storytelling—from groundbreaking to ribbon cutting—to generate   consistent coverage and media interest.
  • Design curated media activations like familiarization tours, media dinners, and trade show press conferences to build buzz.
  • Expand the narrative beyond the facility to encompass sustainability, walkability, diversity, and culinary culture.
  • Integrated Approach of leveraging your paid media spend to help drive earned coverage in the meetings market. 
  • Maintain competitive positioning by sustaining coverage after reopening and aligning with editorial calendars and industry event.
  • Attendees will learn how to turn a construction project into a brand-defining communications moment for their destinations.
• The Mother Road 2.0: Leading a Legacy Brand Across Multiple Destinations

  Franklin 9-10

  Philadelphia Marriott Downtown

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  How do you evolve a legacy brand without losing what makes it iconic—especially when multiple destinations are involved? Using Route 66 as a case study, this session goes beyond campaign execution to explore how Oklahoma is navigating the complexity of modernizing a historic brand across state, city, and smaller destination partners. From aligning 11 smaller destinations around a shared vision (“The 100 Greatest Miles”) to balancing local priorities with statewide strategy, we’ll unpack the real challenges behind collaboration, brand consistency, and decision-making.

  Takeaways:

  Attendees will walk away with practical insight into how to:

  • Align multiple stakeholders around a single brand vision.
  • Balance legacy storytelling with modern traveler expectations.
  • Manage tradeoffs between local control and regional impact.
  • Execute a cohesive strategy across destinations of different sizes.