Two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend the Georgia Governor’s Conference on Tourism. I had never attended another states Governor’s Conference on Tourism while I was working for a CVB in Illinois, as I only attended the Illinois Governor’s Conference on Tourism. I truly found it beneficial to go to another states Tourism Conference and learn about everything they are doing to attract visitors to their state, as well as network with other marketing and tourism professionals. Granted, I was attending the conference as a vendor (for my employer J Rudny, Interactive Design Solutions) and not as a marketer working at a Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB), I still feel there were things I got out of the conference to help me grow as a marketer.
Why tourism marketers should attend a state tourism conference besides their own.
1. Networking – You have the opportunity to network with other tourism marketers. Granted there are other conferences for tourism professionals to attend that you can network with tourism marketers from other states, such as eTourism Summit. At the Governor’s Conferences you can network with not only marketers, but CEOs and get a better understanding of how DMOs in other states operate.
2. Education – Learn what other states are doing marketing wise. As a destination marketer, I was learning about the marketing efforts in other states from the industry ‘experts’, which was great, but when I attended the Georgia Governor’s Conference, I got a greater insight into their marketing campaigns. Plus, it was verification of what I did when I worked at a CVB. For example, in the summer of 2015, I launched a music video that was the culmination to our song search. No other destination in Illinois was doing anything like this, but at the Georgia Tourism Conference, I learned how Georgia promoted their music initiative and I received verification of what I did when I worked at a DMO in Illinois.
3. Inspiration – You will get inspired to create stronger campaigns and improve your overall marketing. You will head home with a lot of ideas, and it may seem overwhelming, but I guarantee you there will be 1 idea that you can implement immediately. Which would not only impress the boss, but give you a sense of accomplishment and make attending the conference worthwhile.
4. Innovation – You probably already know what your own state is doing marketing wise, but you will hear about innovative ideas from another state, that you can bring back to your office and implement right away. There is simply no such thing as too many marketing ideas. As marketers, we attend marketing geared conferences, but attending a different states tourism conference than our own, provides us with insight into different marketing strategies to attract travelers to the area.
5. Career Growth – As a destination marketer, we attend other conferences that allow for networking with marketing professionals, but state conferences are different, you have the opportunity to network with CEOs and tourism professionals from another part of the country. If you are looking to advance your career in tourism, there is nothing better than networking with CEOs and professionals in another state. Meet as many people as possible, as you never know what will happen in the future, and someday you could move up from a Tier C destination to a Tier B destination. Networking is key to growing your career.
Learning from your peers at other state’s governor’s conference on tourism will provide you with a broader perspective of the tourism industry. Next time you are doing your budgets, be sure to include another states tourism conference, as a line item in the list of conferences you would like to attend. You won’t regret the learning experience.
