General Manager Discusses Impact Of US Branding, Expanding Outreach Of The Great Outdoors & The Rebirth Of New Orleans
With a travel conference as big as IPW [International Pow Wow] with thousands of exhibitors all pushing the many facets of Brand USA, the functionality and importance of the US Travel Association who seeks to make the policy to allow the easy and smooth process of visiting and enjoy the USA area becomes distinctly important. Malcolm , who previously worked for both Texas Tourism and Kimpton Hotels, currently operates as the General Manager of IPW. He sat down with The Buzz at the convention in New Orleans to discuss the impact of tourism in the US, the balance of the destinations and the lure of the outdoors.
The Buzz: One of the big branding aspects of IPW this year has been “The Great Outdoors”.
Malcolm : It started a few years ago as “Federal Row”. It really was to bring together our federal agencies who wanted to interact with international travel operators and media. The parks and the concessionaires mostly started to attract to that. And then this past year with the launching of our IMAX movie “The National Parks Adventure”…that added so much excitement for the 100th anniversary...the centennial of the National Parks. We thought “Let's Rebrand It!” You get what “Federal Row” is but it might not make the delegate want to go there. So we did “The Great Outdoors USA”. Really the focus of that was exactly that…the outdoors around the parks and how the Federal Agencies support the parks. The Department of the Interior and Lynn Schwartz at Brand USA really were a big part of this and Dirk Krendel (at Recreation.gov) who works a lot with the concessionaires. They really got the re-branding done. That is kind of the origins of it and how it has evolved. I see it continuing to grow. The National Parks are huge part of visitation for the international guest. As we saw with the Secretary Of The Interior early this week…the theme is... not just the big Western parks which are well known. I mean everybody loves them and wants to go to them. But it is thinking about the parks on all your holidays. Say Washington DC. Owl Creek is in Grand Teton National Park. Ellis Island in NY is a National Monument. Red Rocks, outside Las Vegas, where you can see the skyline, is a National Conservation Area so people thinking that they are doing more of an urban experience can still make the National Parks part of their program.
The Buzz: And that is the balance we stand for here at the Buzz...that balance of nature and urban because that is what the RV traveler wants...the best of both worlds.
MS: I think a lot of people are thinking when they do National Parks that it has to be a big Western exclusive outdoor experience. And it can be that for those who want it...but it can be so much more. That is the education that these national parks, national forests and national seashores [do] all over the US. That is the message. With the National Park Service...there are a lot of rules, being a federal agency, [in] how they can or cannot promote themselves. They really need to rely on the destinations, the park concessionaires and the other federal agencies to really help put their word out.
The Buzz: With a show like IPW in New Orleans, you really connect both of those ideas. People can enjoy urban allure with places like the World War II National Museum just a couple blocks away or they can head to the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park & Preserve right on the edge of city that is composed of more than 20,000 acres.
MS: What is really unique about IPW…because it moves around every year…is that we have a full year to market. It is a national show but it does put a spotlight on a host city and host region. We worked very closely with the New Orleans CVB over the past year. We’ve done joint promotions in markets like China. We’ve done some roadshows there. We’ve done some things in France. New Orleans puts [a while other] spin on [the show]…how the visitor is going to experience it…the flavors of the show. It really is a different flavor everywhere you go. And that is a big draw. New Orleans, in particular, this year …it has been 14 years [since they last hosted IPW] so they have been a lot to tell. I think internationally the city is very well known but it [has been] defined a lot [recently] by [Hurricane] Katrina. [New Orleans] wanted to use this opportunity [to show] the city being completely [revitalized]. It is back. It is on its feet. It is better than ever was…in hotel product, the restaurants, the attractions…really seeing people living in the city again. New Orleans is also attracting Millennials. It is a very energetic city. That is really what the city was really wanting and hoping to convey. This was their time to shine.
The Buzz: One of the keys it seems to the process in determining host cities is finding how their identities appeal internationally.
MS: It is RFP [request for proposal] process. We like geographically to really spread it out. It doesn’t always happen. There were a few years we were in California…back-to-back San Francisco and Los Angeles. It just depends on availability of the convention center. We typically run between [the beginning of] April and the end of June. May used to be the traditional month…but it is a tough month as a convention month so we don’t always get that. Alot of it is dictated by the convention center and the hotels saying yes…that they can do “this many” rooms for you. Right now, I would say over the past 5 years, the interest of international travelers to the US has never been higher, according to our suppliers. The [US] President is committed to bringing a hundred million visitors by 2021. People are [really] buying into it. Brand USA [the US national tourism bureau] has caused a lot of excitement. We were very fortunate that the last time we were RFP’d, we had good geographical mix. We work close with the city and state and we want our marketing to be reflective of what they are doing as well. We didn’t always do that in the past. Now, we work with the host city. We want to know what themes they are trying to get out. With [Las] Vegas [an upcoming host in 2020], for example, do they want us to feature gaming or not? If you look at DC [which is hosting in 2017], we might think too much on monuments [while] they ask us to do a different balance. So we work with the host city to make sure that we’re somewhat a reflection of how they’re selling themselves overseas. Each city has its own discovery and its own flavor. That why I always say…come back every year. You are always going to meet new exhibitors…discover a new city. It is not a show you just do one time.
Tim Wassberg
A graduate of New York University's Tisch School Of The Arts with degrees in Film/TV Production & Film Criticism, Tim has written for magazines such as Moviemaker, Moving Pictures, Conde Nast Traveler UK and Casino Player. He enjoys traveling and distinct craft beers among other things.
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