Schedule

As the way people discover, plan, and experience travel continues to evolve, so does the role of the welcome center. Today's travelers expect personalized experiences, authentic connections, and seamless digital tools alongside meaningful face-to-face interactions. Once viewed primarily as information stops, welcome centers are becoming strategic gateways that shape first impressions, inspire exploration, and support local communities. Join destination leaders for a peer-to-peer discussion on what's next. Together, we'll explore emerging trends, innovative ideas, and practical approaches that can help shape the next generation of welcome centers.

Our goal is simple: Everyone leaves with a fresh perspective, meaningful connections, and at least one practical idea they can take back and apply in their own destination.

As resident sentiment, public scrutiny and political pressure continue to grow, destination organizations can no longer afford to engage communities only during moments of controversy or crisis. Building long-term trust now requires intentional storytelling, stronger local relationships and a clearer connection between tourism and community value. This peer-to-peer roundtable will explore how destination leaders are building resident support over time through local media engagement, civic pride initiatives, internal communications and community-centered strategies — before they need public buy-in most.

Takeaways: 

• Build   Trust Proactively: Explore how destination organizations are building long-term resident trust and community support before challenges arise.
• Strengthen Community Ties: Share approaches for strengthening civic pride, local storytelling and community engagement as part of a broader destination strategy.
• Demonstrate Value: Discuss how organizations are measuring resident sentiment, navigating public scrutiny and demonstrating tourism’s value to local communities.

Events are often judged by attendance numbers, but attendance alone doesn’t tell the full story. As destinations face increasing pressure to justify investments, recruit the right opportunities, and demonstrate value to stakeholders, many are asking: Which events create the greatest value? How should success be measured? And what information is needed to make smarter event decisions?

Join this interactive roundtable discussion as we explore how destinations are evaluating event performance, defining event value, and identifying opportunities that align with their goals. Participants will share challenges, best practices, and emerging approaches to event measurement and strategy.