In this week's roundup, we'll take a look at how DMOs like Visit Florida and Discover Long Island are providing up-to-date information for locals, future visitors, and partners.
We'll also explore how others are keeping travelers' dreams alive, as well as adding positivity and a sense of local pride into people's feeds.
As a side note, we’re always looking for examples of how travel & tourism businesses are responding during this time. You can enter a submission in our Travel & Tourism Community Stories Hub.
And if you missed them, here are our previous roundups:
Act as a reputable source of information for locals and visitors
Want to keep your locals, potential visitors and partners informed and engaged? Take inspiration from the following DMOs.
Visit Florida maintains an up-to-date dashboard of data
The data is related to local tourism and reports on changes to demand in hotels, airlines, rental bookings, and more.
Discover Long Island launched an interactive landing page to engage local partners
This local DMO launched a consumer resource page highlighting virtual events, local offers, an open-eateries interactive map, virtual tours, and downloadable guides and videos.
#DCtogether highlights the virtual side of DC
Destination DC’s COVID-19 Information & Resources include updates, virtual attraction tours, 360º videos, kids’ activities and more.
“As the nation grapples with this crisis and people are encouraged to stay home, this page is intended to help you pass the time and consider ways to give back to the hospitality community, even if you can’t do it in person,” says The Travel Vertical.
Supporting local businesses
Supporting local businesses while adhering to state health mandates is the focus of the following DMOs.
Visit Charlotte runs ‘Pitch In. Take Out’ campaign
The folks at Charlotte, NC, are running a campaign to promote local restaurants and food delivery. Visit the page for an interactive list of restaurants open for business.
Visit Statesboro asks people to leave reviews on Tripadvisor or Yelp
This Instagram post from the Georgia-based CVB says it all:
Visit Wollongong creates hashtag to support local
The team in NSW, created the #wearewollongong hashtag promoting ways to support local businesses, special offers for future bookings and gift cards.
South Australian Tourism Commission starts a Facebook group for virtual content
The team created the #SeeSouthAustraliaFromHome Facebook group to share virtual content, like virtual tours of Adelaide and how to support local businesses.
Philadelphia CVB highlights ways to interact with the city online
This page shows ways to interact with the city’s attractions, culture, and food from home, which the DMO has also been promoting across social media.
Greater Miami CVB encourages locals to enjoy takeout
Similar to the example we pointed out with Dine Stockton, CA, this DMO is helping some restaurant employees by inspiring people to purchase takeout from local establishments.
Encouraging travelers to “Dream Now, Visit Later”
Here are some creative strategies DMOs are using to keep people's travel dreams alive.
Travel Iowa adopts #DreamNowVisitLater
In their email messaging, Travel Iowa is urging visitors to put their trips on pause for the moment and stay safe at home.
Auburn and Opelika Tourism Bureau engages followers on Instagram
The Alabama DMO has been active on Instagram, asking questions to their followers about where they are, how they are, and what their favorite takeout options have been.
Travel Saint Lucia's '7 Minutes in St. Lucia'
The campaign invites people to experience the destination through Instagram Live streams. Topics include yoga, cooking, and meditation.
Lifting followers’ spirits and fostering local pride
Adding positivity and a sense of local pride into people's feeds is important right now. Here are some creative ways to do that.
Nelson Kootenay Lake adapts “Finding Awesome” campaign
Nelson Kootenay Lake has long run a campaign called "Finding Awesome". This has been adapted to "Finding Awesome...Within" during this pandemic.
This page and email campaign showcase the people of their community through stories, videos, and photos using CrowdRiff galleries.
Bryce Canyon National Park creates an activity booklet
Bryce Canyon National Park wanted to continue to engage their community and build pride in their park, so they created the Bryce and Beyond Activity Booklet. It is full of coloring pages, word searches, crosswords and more to help you learn about Bryce Canyon Country.
Tourismus-Marketing Brandenburg GmbH offers a wide range of digital activities
This German DMO boasts an impressive range of virtual activities on their website: digital museum exhibitions, VR nature tours, Spotify playlists, #digitaldetox reading lists, local documentaries, a digital culture community page, local businesses doing delivery, and more.
Zermatt Tourism projects daily light shows
Zermatt, a Swiss tourist town that suspended operations, is projecting a light show onto the Matterhorn every evening—from the Swiss flag to heart symbols, #stayhome, etc.
Region Villach creates games about life in the city
This Austrian DMO created a game for people to explore the city. You can purchase the board game version or play "One day in Villach" online.
Visit Linz starts an Instagram question series called Linz Talks
Visit Linz, Austria, started an Instagram series where they ask questions to their audience such as “What’s your motto in life?”
The DMO stresses "How important it is now to think positively and let others participate” inviting followers to chat about “funny, thoughtful or personal things - and get to know each other better!"
#DothanDistancing helps community members activities
Visit Dothan, AL, created the hashtag to build a sense of community online and encourage locals to share safe social distancing activities they were participating in.
How is your DMO responding? Visit our Community Stories Hub to let us know.
Image credit: @feds_photos
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