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How DMOs Are Responding (March 30 Roundup)

Published Date
Author Julia Manoukian

On a call with 200+ travel and tourism marketers last week, we asked our community “What resources will be most helpful to you right now?”

Overwhelmingly, people said they wanted examples of what others are doing. 

If you missed last week’s roundup, we covered how DMOs like Visit Napa Valley and Marketing Greece are encouraging visitors to stay home and plan for later. Others like Visit Indy and Visit Stockton supported local businesses with calls to action for their communities. 

This week, we’re bringing you fresh examples of how DMOs are responding. 

Act as a reputable source of information for locals and visitors

More than just being a reliable source of information, these DMOs have shown they can be a trusted resource to the community.

Charlevoix Area CVB

On their website, a landing page provides updates, business hours for restaurants that are open, ideas for families and locals, and links to live video feeds showing different parts of the city.

Visit Greenland

On a DTTT weekly call, Visit Greenland explained they are continuing marketing without mention of COVID-19 to offer escape and inspiration for travelers. On their website, they still link to official guidance and travel information specific to the country.


Wyoming Office of Tourism

Travel Wyoming's landing page for “Adventure Responsibly” includes information on mindful adventuring, closings & cancellations, how to support local businesses and even a video for people to get inspired by Wyoming locals. 

Visit Trentino

This regional DMO in Northern Italy has altered its homepage messaging to say “Waiting for summer.” Plus, there’s a coronavirus module in the bottom right corner of the page answering FAQs.

Supporting local businesses

Supporting local businesses while adhering to state health mandates is the focus of the following DMOs. 

Fáilte Ireland 

Fáilte Ireland, the National Tourism Development Authority of Ireland, offers a very comprehensive resource center for tourism partners and businesses in Ireland. They have information on areas like managing temporary closures, HR risks, and how to safeguard future revenues. 

Visit Newport Beach

Visit Newport Beach features a header on their website that urges locals to support local restaurants. Choosing curbside delivery on take-out, purchasing gift cards for future use, and engaging on social media with positive thoughts are just a few of the actions listed. 

Explore Virginia

Explore Virginia has a comprehensive list of virtual tours around Virginia, for people to explore and learn from local museums, historic sites, and other tourism destinations. 

Explore York, PA

Explore York, PA, is promoting a scavenger hunt that adheres to social distancing guidelines. They’re getting people to submit images of York County and giving out local gift cards as prizes.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

It is scavenger hunt time! And, yes, there will be prizes! Best of all, you can participate from the comfort of your home or out on a walk or drive around the county. The only rule? At least three of the four pictures have to feature York County locations. You can either take a screenshot of a social media post, a website, or pictures from your walks and drives around the area. We will post new rounds on Thursday and Saturday as well. Two winners from each round will be able to pick a gift card of their choice! Either post your photos in the comments or in a post on your page, just make sure to tag us at Explore York PA. #ScavengerHunt #ExploreYorkPa #GameTime #FamilyTime #YouGotThis Instagram has nothing to do with this contest.

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Visit Duluth

Duluth, MN, has pivoted its efforts to focus on supporting partners. For their 30 Days of Giveaways Campaign, they purchased gift cards from their local partners. Through at least April 17, they’re giving away a gift card or package through a registration page on their website. 

Another page called In Our Community highlights what local businesses and groups are doing during this time—how they’re getting creative and staying active with an online presence, deals and specials, and more.

Visit Albuquerque

Visit Albuquerque has repurposed their #TrueABQ hashtag to share True ABQ Acts of Kindness. In their stories, they are highlighting local tourism partners that are giving back, like those donating food to shelters. 

Louisiana Northshore

Louisiana Northshore has a gallery as the header for its COVID-19 restaurant updates page, which includes notices that businesses are posting on social media.

They also have a call to action on their site prompting businesses to share their updates on social with their hashtag to collect the responses.

Choose Chicago

Choose Chicago created a landing page for people to experience Chicago from home. This website connects you to all things Chicago, making it easier to take virtual tours of local museums, order delivery from local restaurants, and give back to your community.

Encouraging travelers to “Dream Now,
Visit Later”

Here are some creative strategies DMOs are using to build their brand, not bookings. 

Val di Sole

Val di Sole, a small DMO in Northern Italy, changed their homepage banner messaging to “While you're waiting to go outdoors again.” While this is a mountain/ski destination, all banners show summer activities.

Visit Guelph

Visit Guelph, Ontario, created a little inspiration to help people plan how they will explore Guelph when the time is right. People can share their colored creations with the team by using #VisitGuelph and be featured on their Instagram.

Travel Oregon

Travel Oregon started a #stayhomesavelives campaign. This graphic on their Instagram has been re-shared by many DMOs in the state. 

Riviera Nayarit CVB, Mexico

The Riviera Nayarit CVB published a “Dream Now, Visit Later” style video on Instagram, with a Spanish voice-over script. This is what it says in English:

  • Dear travelers, we face a common challenge today.
  • We need to band together to overcome these tough times. Together we'll overcome all.
  • When we do prevail, our sprawling beaches, our sunsets, our natural wonders, our unique taste, and our warm people, will be welcoming you with open arms.
  • We will be ready, for when you are ready.
  • With love, Riviera Nayarit. 

Algarve Tourism, Portugal 

Algarve Tourism, a region in Portugal, put their own spin on “Dream Now, Visit Later” with their #DontCancelPostpone Instagram campaign. 

Visit Portugal

Visit Portugal released this hopeful #CantSkipHope video. “The sweeping vistas and charming scenes displayed in the two-minute video certainly inspire one to visit Portugal in the future, but it does not come across as sales-y. The we’re-all-in-this-together tone feels uplifting in these trying times,” writes Skift.

Destination Panama City 

Destination Panama City is promoting a #StayHomeTogether campaign. As part of the initiative, they are running a 30-minute virtual concert mini-series on Facebook Live to help support local musicians. You can Venmo or PayPal tips to help support them. 

Lifting followers’ spirits and fostering local pride

From local recipes to dog-dedicated web pages, the next set of examples showcase some of the wonderful innovation and creativity that’s happening right now within the DMO community.

Stevens Point Area CVB

Stevens Point Area CVB, WI, is doing a few things:

  1. They keep an updated page of local businesses that are open and restaurants that are delivering. 
  2. They published a blog post of the top 10 secluded spots in the area. 
  3. They tracked down all the dogs with Instagram accounts and created a blog post to put out some positivity into the community.

Austrian National Tourist Office

Check out this web page with traditional Austrian recipes people can make at home.

Discover Lehigh Valley

The team at Discover Lehigh Valley, PA, created a template for folks to share in their Instagram Stories so they can give a shout out to their favorite place to eat, drink, shop, and get ice cream in the area.

Tourism Revelstoke

Tourism Revelstoke, in BC, created this video story about a few activities people can do while social distancing.

Visit Mammoth Lakes

The team from Visit Mammoth Lakes, CA, has been pushing the messaging that ‘Your Adventure Can Wait.’ Since Mammoth Lakes is a rural region, this message comes from a place of respect, and not wanting to strain the healthcare system. 

Instead of investing money from the local tax into marketing, they’ve used it to open a food bank as a way to give back to the community.

Visit South Bend 

South Bend, IN, created a page called “The Bend on the Big Screen.” This page features movies people can watch while at home that were filmed or starring celebrities from South Bend.

Visit Britain

In the same vein, Visit Britain has taken to social media to share:

  • British films and TV series to binge (Harry Potter, the Crown, etc.)
  • British playlists for people to “rock out to in your living room”
  • Recipes from some of Britain's best-loved restaurants
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Enough with the arguments about how to pronounce scones, here’s how to make them 😋 Bring out your baking gear and make some tasty treats for a lovely British afternoon tea at home! ☕ Ingredients (for 4): 🥚🧈🥣 - 230g of flour - 150ml of milk - 60g butter, diced - 25g of sugar - 1 egg - 1 sachet of baking powder - 1 pinch of salt Preparation: 👨‍🍳 Preheat your oven to 180°C. Butter a baking sheet or cover it with a piece of parchment paper. Evenly mix the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a bowl, then pour in the milk. Add the cold butter cubes, without melting them, then knead to obtain a smooth dough. Roll out the dough to about 2 cm thick on a surface coated in flour. Cut out discs with a glass or a large round cookie cutter. Brush the scones with the egg mixed with a little milk. Bake on the middle rack until the scones are lifted and slightly golden brown, usually taking between 15 and 20 minutes. Adjust the duration according to your oven! Taste the warm scones with a good tea, milk, jam and clotted cream. ©Visit Britain/Lisa Grellmann #LoveGreatBritain #VisitEngland #FoodIsGREAT

A post shared by Love Great Britain 🇬🇧 (@lovegreatbritain) on

How is your DMO responding? Give us a tweet @CrowdRiff or send us a message on Instagram to let us know. 

About the author

Julia Manoukian is the Senior Content Marketing Manager at CrowdRiff. A former journalist, she has helped several Toronto startups raise their thought leadership profiles and scale their content efforts to influence revenue. She's passionate about storytelling, traveling, and tech.

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