Destination Marketing Podcast

Destination Marketing Podcast

The Destination Marketing Podcast is built for tourism marketers across the country who are overworked and understaffed. Our goal is to help these people prioritize the activities that are proven to be most effective in marketing a destination and stay up to date on the latest technologies and trends in the industry. This isn’t a feel-good, motivational podcast. We’re diving deep into what to do and how to do it. Subscribe today if you’re a tourism marketer and want to perfect your craft.

Episodes

450: DMO Hiring is Broken with Collin Norman

August 18, 2026 • 45 mins
Collin Norman sat through 4 interviews, a Zoom panel with more than 20 people, a request for his start date and a tour of the budget — then got rejected by email, with no call and no feedback. Today he's the Executive Director of Visit Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, and he's building a hiring process that looks nothing like it. Collin joins Adam Stoker to break down why DMO hiring is broken, why it's the same disease as t...
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

449: The Future of Agency/Client Relationships in Destination Marketing

August 11, 2026 • 40 mins
In a solo episode, Adam Stoker unpacks a shift he can't stop thinking about since the latest CMO Jam: the agency-of-record model in destination marketing is about to change — whether agencies drive it or clients do. Adam walks through the forces quietly reshaping the relationship — media commissions shrinking, AI erasing the knowledge gap that once justified agency premiums, and DMO teams pulling more work in-house &mda...
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

448: Travel Nevada's Keelie Cox on Turning Alex Honnold Into a Content Powerhouse

August 4, 2026 • 45 mins
Travel Nevada CMO Keelie Cox joins the show to break down "Get a Little Out There," the destination's five-episode series with free solo climber Alex Honnold — from the initial pitch and contracting logistics to the numbers behind it: 1.75 billion earned media impressions and over four million hours watched. Keelie shares why owning the content rights mattered, how the project got approved on a tight timeline, and why Travel ...
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

447: Experience Ruston's New CEO Reveals the 3-Word Framework Every DMO Needs with Tori Davis

July 28, 2026 • 46 mins
Tori Davis, President & CEO of Experience Ruston, Louisiana, joins Adam Stoker to talk about her path from marketing intern to DMO CEO, and the "three I's" framework she's using to guide the destination — Impact, Investment, and Identity. She and Adam also dig into how Ruston is preparing for Louisiana's first Buc-ee's, using it as a gateway rather than a distraction from the rest of what the destination offers. Plus, Ada...
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

446: How Visit Mesa Built a $60M Sports Tourism Machine with Lance Fite

July 21, 2026 • 46 mins
Adam sits down with Lance Fite, VP of Sports at Visit Mesa, to unpack how sports tourism became Mesa's biggest tourism driver, booking 60,000–80,000 room nights a year. Lance shares his path from pro basketball to DMO leadership, the story behind Arizona Athletic Grounds (a 280-acre sports complex years in the making), and why youth sports keep the lights on between marquee events. Adam opens with a monologue on why DMOs are...
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

445: The Glorified Directory Website is Dead with Will Wright

July 14, 2026 • 44 mins
Adam Stoker talks with Will Wright, managing partner of UK-based Destination Core, about the content-centric, owned-media-first website platform they've quietly built together. They dig into why traditional destination websites function as glorified directories, how their first joint client, Play Golf Myrtle Beach, put the concept to the test, and why the best DMOs now win by answering travelers' questions and inspiring them, rathe...
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

444: Why Reddit and ChatGPT Are the New SEO for Destinations with Crister Aalberg Næss

July 7, 2026 • 42 mins
Visit Voss, a Norwegian village of 15,000, is showing up in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews without a big ad budget. Host Adam Stoker breaks down why attention + trust = action, then Visit Voss's Crister Aalberg Naess explains how reviews, Reddit, and a signature extreme sports festival built the trust that AI search now rewards. Subscribe to our ⁠⁠⁠⁠newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠! The ⁠⁠⁠⁠Destination Marketing Podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠ is a part of the ⁠⁠⁠⁠...
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

443: The Hidden Engine Behind Virginia's Tourism Growth with Katie Conner

June 30, 2026 • 42 mins
Katie Conner, Director of Destination Development at Virginia Tourism Corporation, joins Adam to talk about how a team of six supports 133 localities across the state. They dig into what communities actually need from a state tourism office, why proactive outreach matters, and how authentic local assets — from trail towns to sunflower festivals — become the foundation for sustainable destination growth. Subscribe to ou...
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

442: How Discover Long Island Built a Community-First Marketing Strategy with Allison Brown

June 23, 2026 • 50 mins
In this episode, Adam Stoker sits down with Allison Brown of Discover Long Island to explore how a destination with 126 unique communities shifted from outbound tourism marketing to community-first advocacy. Allison shares the strategy behind Lily, their mobile activation truck, their award-winning Long Island Tea Podcast, and how they're using owned media to connect with residents just as intentionally as visitors. She also covers...
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

441: Stop Letting Other Destinations Own Your Story with Adam Geller

June 16, 2026 • 42 mins
Adam Geller manages tourism for Page, Arizona — a city where Horseshoe Bend and Lake Powell are globally iconic but most visitors don't even make it up the hill to town. In this episode, he shares how he turned that challenge into a strategy: building an interactive Grand Circle map that made Page the authoritative center of one of the world's most famous road trip circuits, launching gamified Bandwango passports to extend vi...
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

440: A Special Episode of Destination Discourse: Live from DI MarCom 2026

June 9, 2026 • 53 mins
In this special live episode of Destination Discourse, recorded on stage at the Destinations International Marketing and Communications Summit in Cleveland, Ohio, Adam Stoker and Stuart Butler tackle the questions the industry keeps dancing around: Why does a DMO actually exist, who is its primary customer, and if funding disappeared tomorrow, who would fight to bring it back? With live audience polling and real-time debate from DM...
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

439: Why DMOs Must Stop Capturing Demand and Start Creating It with Megan Buchbinder

June 2, 2026 • 48 mins
Megan Buchbinder, Director of Marketing at Wilmington and Beaches CVB, joins Adam to challenge how DMOs measure value, why Google Ads may be doing more harm than good, and how she redesigned her agency RFP process from scratch — and actually made it fun. Subscribe to our ⁠⁠⁠⁠newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠! The ⁠⁠⁠⁠Destination Marketing Podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠ is a part of the ⁠⁠⁠⁠Destination Marketing Podcast Network⁠⁠⁠⁠. It is hosted by Adam Stoker...
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

438: How to Build a Video Strategy That Actually Tells Your Destination's Story with Jesse Salazar

May 26, 2026 • 38 mins
Jesse Salazar, Video Production Manager at Visit Lodi, joins Adam to talk about why storytelling instinct matters more than gear, the case for in-house video production, and Visit Lodi's new partner video co-op program. Adam opens with a challenge to DMOs: if locals drive 50%+ of visitation through visiting friends and relatives, why aren't we treating them like a priority audience? Subscribe to our ⁠⁠⁠⁠newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠! The ⁠⁠⁠⁠De...
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

437: The PR Strategy Keeping Las Vegas on Top with Molly Castano

May 19, 2026 • 44 mins
Adam Stoker sits down with Molly Castano, VP of Public Relations and Communications at the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, for a candid conversation about what it takes to keep 150,000 hotel rooms full and the world's most-watched tourism brand on top. Molly shares how her team navigated a brutal summer news cycle, the unexpected strategy that flipped traditional media training on its head, and why Vegas treats every a...
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

436: Why Your Podcast Is No Longer Just a Podcast with Matt Henson

May 12, 2026 • 41 mins
The rules of owned content just flipped — short-form clips aren't driving traffic to your show anymore, they ARE the show. In this episode, Adam Stoker is joined by Brand Revolt's video and content lead Matt Henson to unpack why every podcast is really a "show" now, and how to structure episodes around five distinct interests instead of one long conversation. Matt also pulls back the curtain on Visit Myrtle Beach's new stakeh...
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

435: AI Strategy and Meal Madness with Aaron Jumper

May 5, 2026 • 40 mins
In episode 435, host Adam Stoker explores the critical intersection of AI strategy and creative community activation with Aaron Jumper from Visit Cumberland Valley. The conversation begins with a deep dive into the 2026 AI landscape, specifically why providing deep "contextual intelligence" to tools like Claude is the defining factor in shifting from a marketing tactician to a true strategist. Aaron then reveals the blueprint behin...
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

434: What’s Broken About RFPs—and How DMOs Can Build Better Partnerships with Caleb Sullivan

April 28, 2026 • 42 mins
Adam Stoker and Caleb Sullivan tackle how AI is disrupting destination marketing—especially the value of vendor partnerships. They explore why traditional models (like media commissions and rigid RFPs) are breaking down, and call for a shift toward strategy, trust, and real collaboration. Caleb also shares ideas for rethinking the RFP process to focus on problem-solving and partnership, not just price and paperwork. Subscrib...
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

433: How to Turn Your Destination's History Into a Tourism Driver with Jake Wynn and Heidi Schlag

April 21, 2026 • 47 mins
Heritage tourism is one of the most powerful, and most underutilized, tools in a destination marketer's toolkit. Adam Stoker sits down with Jake Wynn, Senior Marketing and Communications Manager at Visit Frederick, and Heidi Schlag, founder of Heritage Tourism Studio, to unpack how DMOs and museums can work together to turn local history into compelling visitor experiences. The conversation covers why museums need to start thinking...
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

432: What to expect with this new generation of the DMP

April 14, 2026 • 24 mins
Welcome to a new era of the show: DMP 2.0. In this solo episode, I’m breaking down our shift to a more interactive format for Q2 2026 and diving into why the traditional, front-loaded marketing budget is headed for a "performance cliff." We discuss a necessary paradigm shift for the attention economy—moving away from one-off "hero" campaigns toward a consistent, high-volume content engine. Learn why your paid media shou...
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

431: Niches, Risk, and Rewriting the DMO Playbook, A Special Episode featuring Give Me Some Good News

April 7, 2026 • 51 mins
Adam Stoker joins the Give Me Some Good News podcast for a candid conversation about imposter syndrome, the death of "me-too" destination marketing, and why the future belongs to DMOs willing to think like strategists instead of tacticians. From autism-friendly travel to Pantone sunsets, Adam shares what it actually looks like to stop playing by the incumbent's rules — and win. Subscribe to our ⁠⁠⁠⁠newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠! The ⁠⁠⁠⁠...
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

Popular Podcasts

    Betrayal Weekly

    Betrayal Weekly

    Betrayal Weekly is back for a new season. Every Thursday, Betrayal Weekly shares first-hand accounts of broken trust, shocking deceptions, and the trail of destruction they leave behind. Hosted by Andrea Gunning, this weekly ongoing series digs into real-life stories of betrayal and the aftermath. From stories of double lives to dark discoveries, these are cautionary tales and accounts of resilience against all odds. From the producers of the critically acclaimed Betrayal series, Betrayal Weekly drops new episodes every Thursday. If you would like to share your story, you can reach out to the Betrayal Team by emailing them at betrayalpod@gmail.com and follow us on Instagram at @betrayalpod and @glasspodcasts. Please join our Substack for additional exclusive content, curated book recommendations, and community discussions. Sign up FREE by clicking this link Beyond Betrayal Substack. Join our community dedicated to truth, resilience, and healing. Your voice matters! Be a part of our Betrayal journey on Substack.

    Stuff You Should Know

    Stuff You Should Know

    If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.

    Dateline NBC

    Dateline NBC

    Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com

    The Bobby Bones Show

    The Bobby Bones Show

    Listen to 'The Bobby Bones Show' by downloading the daily full replay.

    The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show

    The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show

    The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis, to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.

Advertise With Us
Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

Explore

iHeart

Live Radio

Podcasts

Artist Radio

Exclusives

News

Features

Events

Contests

Photos

Information

About

Advertise

Blog

Brand Guidelines

Contest Guidelines

Subscription Offers

Jobs

Get the App

Automotive

Home

Wearables

© 2026 iHeartMedia, Inc.

  • Help
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • AdChoicesAd Choices