View From Afar
View From Afar is a podcast by the travel industry, for the travel industry. The travel industry is constantly evolving, and in our latest podcast, View From Afar, Afar editors talk with the changemakers—the CEOs, tourism experts, hoteliers, and more—who are making travel better for consumers, and the world.
Episodes
June 10, 2026 • 23 mins
Welcome to a special IPW 2026 series of View From Afar. In this episode, recorded live from the conference floor, Visit Phoenix president and CEO Ron Price sits down with Afar deputy editor Michelle Baran to talk about a city that's been quietly reinventing itself—and why so many first-time visitors leave saying, "I had no idea."
Ron has worked in tourism for 30 years, with a career that spans Marriott, Visit San Antonio, an...
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June 9, 2026 • 26 mins
Welcome to a special IPW 2026 series of View From Afar. In this episode, recorded live from the conference floor, Visit Austin president and CEO Tom Noonan sits down with Afar editorial director Billie Cohen to talk about a city that's in the middle of one of the most ambitious reinventions of any major American destination—and how it's keeping momentum without its biggest meeting venue.
Tom has led Visit Austin since 2016, ...
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Welcome to a special IPW 2026 series of View From Afar. In this episode, recorded live from the conference floor, Colorado Tourism Office director Timothy Wolfe sits down with Afar deputy editor Michelle Baran to talk about a state that's been ahead of the curve on managing tourism, not just marketing it—and what that's getting them.
Tim took the director role in 2021 after a long career in Colorado hospitality, including a ...
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June 4, 2026 • 23 mins
Welcome to a special IPW 2026 series of View From Afar. In this episode, recorded live from the conference floor, Louisiana Office of Tourism Assistant Secretary Doug Bourgeois sits down with Afar editorial director Billie Cohen to talk about a state whose pitch to travelers is built on joie de vivre—and what that actually looks like on the ground.
Doug has led tourism for the state since 2018, but his roots go deeper: he gr...
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Welcome to a special IPW 2026 series of View From Afar. In this episode, recorded live from the conference floor, Discover Puerto Rico CEO Jorge Perez sits down with Afar editorial director Billie Cohen to talk about what happens after a residency that brought 400,000 people from 108 countries to a single island.
Jorge came to Discover Puerto Rico with deep ties to the moment: as the former general manager of the Coliseo de Puerto...
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June 2, 2026 • 23 mins
Welcome to a special IPW 2026 series of View From Afar. In this episode, recorded live from the conference floor, Visit Detroit president and CEO Claude Molinari sits down with Afar editorial director Billie Cohen to talk about a city he insists is well past its comeback chapter—and what comes next.
Claude has led Visit Detroit since 2021, after a decade running Huntington Place, the city's convention center. Under his...
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Welcome to a special IPW 2026 series of View From Afar. In this episode, recorded live from the conference floor, Discover South Carolina director Duane Parrish sits down with Afar deputy editor Michelle Baran to talk about a state that's having a record-breaking year on the whole.
Duane has led South Carolina's tourism efforts for 15 years, a period in which tourism has become one of the largest industries in the state. In 2024, ...
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May 28, 2026 • 21 mins
Welcome to a special IPW 2026 series of View From Afar. In this episode, recorded live from the conference floor, Visit Seattle president and CEO Tammy Canavan sits down with Afar deputy editor Michelle Baran to talk about what it takes to put a city on the world stage—and what visitors will actually find when they get there.
Tammy has led Visit Seattle for four years, during which the city has opened the Summit building at ...
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Welcome to a special IPW 2026 series of View From Afar. In this episode, recorded live from the conference floor, Brightline Holdings CEO Nicolas Petrovic sits down with Afar editorial director Billie Cohen to talk about what it actually takes to build a new mode of travel in the United States—and what that could mean for travelers, destinations, and the industry at large.
Nicolas stepped into the CEO role at Brightline in e...
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Welcome to a special IPW 2026 series of View From Afar. In this episode, recorded live from the conference floor, Visit Florida Keys and Key West president and CEO Kara Franker sits down with Afar editorial director Billie Cohen to talk about leading a record-breaking destination on a fragile string of islands—and why "better tourism" matters more than "more tourism."
Kara joined Visit Florida Keys in 2024 after leading Visi...
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May 22, 2026 • 24 mins
How does Surf City USA reintroduce itself to the world — and convert day-trippers into destination visitors — with the World Cup and LA Olympics on the horizon? John Urdi, the new president and CEO of Visit Huntington Beach, has a plan: privatize the funding, expand international reach, and tell a bigger story about the 10 miles of coastline behind the headlines.
In this IPW 2026 episode, recorded live from the confere...
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How do you tell your state's tourism story when the national headlines aren't telling it for you? Lauren Bennett McGinty, executive director of Explore Minnesota, has spent the past year doing exactly that: leaning into authenticity, neighborliness, and the everyday people who make Minnesota, Minnesota.
In this IPW 2026 episode, recorded live from the conference floor in Fort Lauderdale, Bennett McGinty sits down with Afar editori...
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May 20, 2026 • 27 mins
How does a state defined by wide-open spaces and authentic Western culture welcome the world, without losing what makes it Wyoming? Domenic Bravo, executive director of the Wyoming Office of Tourism, has a clear answer: open the front door wider, but invite people to explore the whole house.
In this IPW 2026 episode, recorded live from the conference floor in Fort Lauderdale, Bravo sits down with Afar deputy editor Michelle Baran ...
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May 12, 2026 • 43 mins
What does the U.S. travel industry look like just weeks before IPW lands in Fort Lauderdale for the first time?
In this episode of View From Afar, deputy editor Michelle Baran sits down with Geoff Freeman, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association, to set the stage for Afar's Live From IPW series. Picking up where their conversation left off at last year's conference in Chicago, Geoff and Michelle talk about the forces shap...
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February 2, 2026 • 28 mins
How do you bring ultra‑luxury hospitality to the high seas?
For Anna Nash, President of Explora Journeys, it starts with reimagining ocean travel as a floating boutique hotel experience rooted in European elegance, emotional connection, and slow‑travel sensibilities.
In this episode of View From Afar, Anna joins Afar deputy editor Michelle Baran to discuss how Explora Journeys is redefining cruising for a new generation of travel...
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December 8, 2025 • 23 mins
Nayara Resorts is confronting one of tourism's most overlooked problems—the housing crisis that forces local workers out of their communities in remote areas—by building homes for its most vulnerable employees.
In this ILTM episode, recorded live in Cannes, Leo Ghitis, CEO of Nayara Resorts, joins Afar editor in chief Julia Cosgrove to discuss how the luxury resort group is addressing both environmental devastation an...
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December 5, 2025 • 17 mins
Langham Hospitality Group is proving that heritage brands can innovate without losing their soul, transforming historic buildings into contemporary luxury destinations while maintaining the personal service that defines true hospitality.
In this ILTM (International Luxury Travel Market), recorded live in Cannes, Bob van den Oord, CEO of Langham Hospitality Group, joins Afar editor-in-chief Julia Cosgrove to share how he's guided...
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December 5, 2025 • 25 mins
For more than four decades, Matthew Upchurch has been a driving force behind how high-end travel is sold, experienced, and understood. As CEO of Virtuoso , one of the world's leading luxury travel networks, he's championed human connection in an increasingly digital world and advocated for the enduring value of trusted advisors and transformative, purpose-driven travel.
In this ILTM episode, recorded live in Cannes, Afar cofound...
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Live From ILTM: How Matter of Form Helps Luxury Travel Brands—From Aman to Belmond—Find Their Voices
December 4, 2025 • 13 mins
Matter of Form is proving that luxury travel brands need therapy—not to fix what's broken, but to discover what makes them singular in a sea of "elevated experiences" and "art of luxury" clichés.
In this ILTM episode, recorded live in Cannes, Anant Sharma, founder and CEO of Matter of Form, joins Afar cofounder Joe Diaz to dissect why luxury hospitality has become awash with homogenized language and how brands can reclaim t...
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December 4, 2025 • 19 mins
AmaWaterways is expanding river cruising's appeal beyond its traditional audience, drawing in solo travelers, active families, and wellness-focused guests who are discovering this style of travel for the first time.
In this ILTM (International Luxury Travel Market) episode, recorded live in Cannes, Catherine Powell, the new CEO of AmaWaterways, joins Afar editor in chief Julia Cosgrove to reveal the brand's fresh visual identity a...
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