NYSTIA Annual Meeting Takeaways: It’s all about the experience!

It was two days well spent at the New Yorker Hotel in NYC! It was a great time to connect with other leaders in the travel and tourism space.

Here are my top two takeaways from the New York State Tourism Industry Association (NYSTIA) Annual Meeting:

We are in the people business. We had the great honor of hearing from Miss New York. She shared how she is working with New York by Rail to highlight how travelers can experience the best of New York all by train! While showcasing her social media content, she said something so simple but so true; “people care about people.” This is a great reminder for everyone in the tourism industry. People want to see people and share an experience with them – especially on social media. We are storytellers by nature and we should take ownership of telling the stories of the people who work, live, and play in our destinations.

We are selling an experience, not a destination. During the keynote from Wahn Yoon at L’Institut Idée, they shared some amazing insights into the future of travel as well as the future mindset of the traveler. Through their unique – and very scientific – research they discovered that it is all about the experience – confirming the tourism marketing direction we have taken for years. People want to go to destinations that cater to who they are fundamentally as well as their desires. Yoon spoke about how people want to visit destinations that are…

Like onions; layered. A neverending story of experiences. There is always something new and one visit is never enough!
Unconditionally welcoming and inclusive for all. Be yourself here!
Have a “special sauce.” A unique experience that they can’t get anywhere else.

Ultimately, the future traveler is looking for you to share people’s experiences and inspire them to have their own experiences in your destination. We have to get outside of the traditional thinking of tourism marketing. Now more than ever, it is more than just selling amenities and attractions.

“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” Marcel Proust

Download the NYSTIA presentations here.

By Kayla, Marketing Manager | November 7, 2022