Leading Industry Thought Leaders Weigh in on the Road to Recovery during Virtual DMO Roundtable

As states across the United States begin to open up to domestic tourism, TravMedia brought together Don Welsh, President and CEO of Destinations International; Elliott L. Ferguson, II, President & CEO, Destination DC and National Chair of the U.S. Travel Association; and Liz Bittner, President & CEO for Travel South USA, a 12 state regional marketing alliance owned by the state tourism offices of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia, to discuss the road to recovery.

Don Welsh, President and CEO of Destinations International, who represent 625 members in 13 countries, including 459 destinations in the U.S. said, “Travel is part of our DNA, we are going to slow, we are going to pause, we are going to be safe.. but we are not going to stop experiencing one another…I don't think travel will stop, nor do I think face-to-face meetings will stop, but it's got to be built on safety and security, and all the other things people are working on behind the scenes around the world.'

Elliott L. Ferguson, II, President & CEO, Destination DC and National Chair of the U.S. Travel Association, said, “There will be no cut and paste of the Marketing Plan for 2021…The fact that now we have limited dollars, you know right now it's all about how do we keep the lights on, how do we bring our people back from being furloughed… and that also means, as I have said to stakeholders in Washington, don't expect much from me in terms of all those really cool ads you see. I need to make sure that our most important resource, our people are protected.”

Elliott went on to share, “We are going to look at the market that can physically come in the next three months, and the reality is, as much as we covet the international market, we appreciate the fact you come, that you stay longer, that you spend more, and I can assure you that that was what was talked about with Members of Congress on the other call, we also recognize the fact that you can't travel… It doesn't mean we won't return, but it's very difficult for me to look at an ad campaign in the next three months or so, based on the fact that it's going to take longer than that for that market to recover.'

During the DMO Roundtable Liz Bittner, President & CEO for Travel South USA, shared, “The South is the size of Continental Europe…and Tourism is the Top three economic drivers of all the States, only behind manufacturing and agriculture … As the smoke clears, we remain committed to the international traveler, we are going to keep the lights on for our international traveler, specifically, last week, we launched a series of videos in French, Italian, in German, in Dutch, in Portuguese and in Chinese, that's called 'One Day Closer' because we believe, every day, we are 'One Day Closer', when that exactly is, I don't really know, but we are 'One Day Closer 'to that.

Some of the positive feedback that flooded in post-panel.

• “Phenomenal! Terrific panel, great balance of their expertise. One of the best panels, I've seen since this whole thing began!”
• “Very impressed with your commitment to domestic tourism. An example to us all. Keep leading the way!”
• “Just wanted to say that webinar was super, gave us some great insights into the current situation and recovery.”

The 'DMO Roundtable – Road to Recovery' recording will be available next week. Previous Webinar recordings can be viewed here:
USA Webinar: Luxury Travel Panel: Looking Beyond the Coronavirus Crisis | 21 May 2020
Asia Webinar: Travel PR during Coronavirus | 8 May 2020
USA Webinar: Travel PR during Coronavirus | 23 April 2020
Australia Webinar: Travel PR during Coronavirus | 15 April 2020

Future webinars in the U.S. series will focus on International tourism boards, where we will discuss how each destination plans to recover from COVID-19.

For more information on the TravMedia Webinar Series, please visit: travmedia.com/webinars/