By Jeff Goss, President/Creative Director Travel and tourism work is fascinating for the same reasons that one visits a destination personally or with family. Only we get to share our emotional experience to other potential visitors to get them to follow our example. What a fulfilling responsibility! After seeing the waterfall that changes color with…
Read moreThe Importance of Destination Safety
By Travis LeJune, Account Manager Traveling is one of our favorite things to do. We explore, we learn, and the places we visit become a part of who we are. Of course with traveling, you always want to take precautions and travel as safely as possible, but right now, travel safety is receiving a bit…
Read moreClassic Creative: Cherokee Nation
By Jeff Goss, President and Creative Director The Treaty of New Echota was signed December 29, 1835, in New Echota, Georgia, by officials of the United States government and representatives of a minority Cherokee political group, The Treaty Party, headed by Major Ridge, his son John Ridge, and nephews Elias Boudinot and Stand Watie. The…
Read moreCraft Beer Tourism & Culture
By Ryan Laffler, Account Manger and Digital Director Let’s talk about beer! And no, I’m not referring to the run-of-the-mill lagers that many macrobreweries pass off as “beer” (let alone drinkable). I’m referring to the world of craft beer; the wonderful world of strange ingredients, amusing label designs, and punny names. While beer tourism has…
Read moreCultural Look at Cabell County, West Virginia
By Gabrielle Diepenbrock, Account Coordinator & Social Media Manager Last month, a few members of the team journeyed to Huntington, West Virginia, to take a look at several of the cultural assets Huntington and Cabell County have to offer. The trip was a great reminder to the team about why the agency does what it…
Read moreCultural Creative – “Unto These Hills”
By Jeff Goss, President/Creative Director The original script of the outdoor drama Unto These Hills was written by Kermit Hunter, a University of North Carolina professor, in 1950. The play told the story of the Cherokee people, who can be traced back to the Paleolithic period, have lived in the mountains of Western North Carolina…
Read moreA Top Destination for 2017: Why Americans Are Flocking To Cuba
By Gabrielle Diepenbrock, Account Coordinator/Social Media Manager Last March, Barack Obama became the first sitting U.S. president to visit Cuba since Calvin Coolidge’s visit to Havana in 1928, when he attended the Pan American Conference. Obama’s visit was primarily to restore relations between the U.S. and Cuba — a relationship severed during the Cold War…
Read moreCultural Creative: The Islands of Palau
By Jeff Goss, President/Creative Director Palau, settled 3,000 years ago by migrants from the Philippines, was discovered by Europeans in the 16th century and made part of the Spanish East Indies in 1574. Sold to Imperial Germany in 1899, Palau was conquered by Japan during World War I and was made part of the U.S.…
Read moreCultural Creative – Cherokee “Oops” TV Spot
By Jeff Goss, President/CEO [row] [span8] [/span8] [/row] Well, there’s selling baskets in the gift shops, and then there is telling the story of a basket and having people buy it. We chose the latter as we focused on the lifestyle of the Cherokee civilization to build the brand by increasing interest and intrigue —…
Read moreMarketing a Small Town
Maximizing Budgets and Promoting Inherent Resources By Chloe Ayres, Senior Graphic Designer One of the principles of successful marketing (especially when marketing a destination) is to capitalize on honesty. Small towns and/or smaller destinations often imitate larger destinations in order to attract visitors, but that completely misses the point. Visitors go to smaller destinations for…
Read moreThe 10 Branding Principles We Live By
[embed]https://www.flickr.com/photos/129767087@N03/16703717985[/embed] By Bob Davies, Brad Strategist 1. A Brand is a creative expression of a value proposition. We start with the fundamentals. A value proposition is the foundation for the Brand. It is the key to business or organizational viability. We create value propositions by generating a large number of possibilities and then evaluating them…
Read moreCultural Creative: Disney’s Vero Beach and Hilton Head Island
By Jeff Goss, President [row] [span4][/span4] [span4][/span4] [/row] Vero Beach was chosen due to the stretch of available land on the Southeast coast and its proximity to The Magic Kingdom. With a construction trailer and grading still taking place on the property, we began the marketing for the first Disney Resorts outside of the Walt…
Read moreWhat Destinations Should Know About Local SEO
By Gabrielle Diepenbrock, Account Coordinator/Social Media Coordinator Of course destinations want to draw visitors from across the state, country, and even the other side of the world. But what about the local visitor? Destinations should optimize their local search ranking and provide content to encourage leisure and travel within their local geographic region as well.…
Read moreCultural Tourism: A Huge Opportunity and A Growing Trend
Cultural tourism. It sounds like a niche. In reality it is something different. Cultural tourism is a huge opportunity and a growing trend. According to the Travel Industry Association of America, roughly eighty percent of the 150,000,000+ adults who travel more than fifty miles from their homes can be considered “cultural tourists.” Thirty percent of…
Read moreHow The Cultural Traveler Uses Social Media
By Gabrielle Diepenbrock, Account Coordinator/Social Media Manager The internet has given a wealth of information to today’s consumer. And people do take the time to research. They want to make the best decision with the time and money they have. Cultural travelers are no exception. Cultural travelers are looking for destinations that will provide them…
Read moreCultural Creative: The Island of St. Lucia
By Jeff Goss, President/Creative Director Travel and tourism work is fascinating for the same reasons that one visits a destination personally or with family. Only we get to share our emotional experience to other potential visitors to get them to follow our example. What a fulfilling responsibility! After seeing the waterfall that changes color with…
Read moreCultural Creative: Festival of Native Peoples
By Jeff Goss, President The Apache, the Bad River Chippewa, the Sioux, the Chickasaw, the Choctaw, the Creek, the Crow, the Cherokee, the Ottawa, Hopi, Miccosukee, Pawnee, Seneca, the Osage, Tulalip, Samish, Squaxin, the Zuni, Totonac, Git Hoan, Hälau Palaihiwa O Kaipuwai. We know name-dropping is in bad form, but we had to share a…
Read moreBranding Process Kicks Off For Elizabeth City, NC
By Ryan Laffler, Account Manager Two weeks ago, The Goss Agency had the pleasure of visiting one of its clients, Elizabeth City, to present the results from our branding process. Located on the Pasquotank River in Eastern North Carolina, Elizabeth City truly is a gem of Southern charm and culture. The branding process uncovered Elizabeth…
Read moreClassic Creative – Haywood County
Haywood County, after our branding workshop filtering and prioritizing all the features and visitor experiences, determined that the authentic Appalachian culture and clean natural environment were the assets that rose to the top. Thus, “Haywood County, Authentic Appalachian, pure and simple” was born. A new logo was created by illustrating the landscape in a turn-of-the-century…
Read moreClassic Creative: Ah TAh Thi Ki Museum
By: Jeff Goss, CEO and President It was such an interesting visit. It was not only a trip to the Florida Seminole lands, but also a journey back in time to the roots, the history, and the culture. The Seminole lived in relative peace for centuries, save a few Indian wars among their neighbors. Then…
Read more4 Ways To Attract Millennials To Your Destination
By: Courtney Jacobs, Account Intern Millennials are armed to be the driving force behind the travel industry. They use travel to go on adventures, learn other languages and study. Why are they so eager to travel? This generation was jaded by the recession and now places less importance on saving for retirement and instead values…
Read moreQ+A: How Do I Optimize Pinterest For My Destination?
By Gabrielle Diepenbrock, Account Coordinator and Social Media Manager 1. Why is Pinterest important for travel destinations? You may ask: Isn’t Pinterest just a website where stay-at-home moms find cool recipes and quirky DIY crafts? While there may be some truth in that, there is so much more to Pinterest that your destination can benefit…
Read moreWhat Do Millenial Travelers Want From Your Destination?
Millennials want to travel more than older generations. They’re spontaneous and live for adventure because it creates memories. Millennials love travel so much that 78% say they’d splurge on experiences over material things. They’re also a growing force that generates $180 billion in annual tourism revenue. So what should you know about this traveling generation?…
Read moreCultural Creative – Natchez, Mississippi
By Jeff Goss, CEO/Creative Director Renowned as the rowdiest landing on the Mississippi in the 1800s, it truly is fascinating to visit Under The Hill in Natchez, MS. Built from 1730-1734, Under The Hill consists of about 20 buildings on the river’s edge below the bluff where the French built Fort Rosalie to…
Read moreWhy You Need to be Focusing on Native Advertising
By Ryan Laffler, Account Manager & Digital Director Display ads, the advertisements that you see on the top and sidebars of almost every webpage nowadays, are in decline. One part of the problem is that they are rarely relevant to the user. While this has changed somewhat with Google Adsense’s targeting algorithm, it started to…
Read morePin It! – The 3 Most Important Tips to Optimize Your Pinterest
By Travis LeJune, Account Intern Do you have a Pinterest yet? If you are a shopper, you should definitely get one. If you are a seller, you MUST have one! Sure, it is still a fairly young social media platform, but it has been churning up some extremely surprising statistics we think you should know…
Read moreBring International Travelers To Your Destination
Summer is here! Here are some insights on the international traveler coming to the U.S.: There are many reasons why summer is a peak travel season. Many families are able to take time to travel with the kids out of school, while others take advantage of visiting better climates to escape the summer heat, or…
Read moreCultural Creative – Haywood County, NC
Haywood County, after our branding workshop filtering and prioritizing all the features and visitor experiences, determined that the authentic Appalachian culture and clean natural environment were the assets that rose to the top. Thus, “Haywood County, Authentic Appalachian, pure and simple” was born. A new logo was created by illustrating the landscape in a turn-of-the-century…
Read moreSustain Your Brand using Instagram and Food
By Courtney Jacobs, Account Intern Brands are constantly looking for ways to engage with consumers on social media. However, one challenge is noticing the trends occurring on various platforms and capitalizing on them successfully before the competition. One such trend that is growing in popularity centers around food. It’s hard to find someone who doesn’t…
Read moreCultural Creative: Historic Biltmore Village
By Jeff Goss, CEO/Creative Director Not many people know Historic Biltmore Village was originally known as a little town in Western North Carolina called “Best.” Best was acquired by George Vanderbilt to create a community with homes, shops, a school, and even its own church for the 1,100-plus craftspeople and their families who were hired…
Read moreSpace: The Final Frontier of Tourism
Space tourism. Not in my lifetime, right? Not according to Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, who believes his space exploration company Blue Origin will have thrill-seeking tourists in space as soon as 2018. Read more about this exciting development here. Learn more about this exciting project here.
Read moreCreative History: Qualla Arts Basket Ad
[mp_row] [mp_span col="12"] Here is how we, “Turn Facts Into Visitation” in an actual campaign. In researching the history of the Cherokee and their culture in preparation of an ad campaign to be designed to transcend all media, we came across a simple fact that might be overlooked by many. After all, the fact was…
Read more7 Benefits of Building a Microsite for Your Destination
By Gabrielle Diepenbrock and Dari Mullins Microsites are rising in popularity for destination marketing organizations (DMO’s) as these organizations reach out to niche affinity groups. Microsites enable DMO’s to promote their destinations to specific interest groups (like nature enthusiasts, foodies, music lovers, etc.) without having to overwhelm the main homepage with content about every single…
Read moreConclusions about Cultural Tourism by World Tourism Organization
Excerpt from our Cultural Tourism whitepaper. If you're interested in receiving this white paper, sign up for our newsletter from our homepage or our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/thegossagency/app/100265896690345/. A set of conclusions has been offered by the World Tourism Organization with respect to planning for cultural tourism. DEFINE TOURISM PRODUCTS The process above is one way to take the sometimes historic,…
Read moreThe Cultural Tourism Discovery Process
Excerpt from our Cultural Tourism Whitepaper, available via newsletter sign-up: http://eepurl.com/bM3KBX Our Cultural Tourism Discover Process is called Culture Context™ and it depends on a thorough understanding of the local culture and the context in which a particular destination competes. That context is defined by three domains: 1) the place 2) the people 3) the peer group. We sometimes…
Read moreWorld Trade Organization’s 6 Categories of Cultural Tourism
The most comprehensive view of cultural tourism comes from the World Trade Organization. Based on 2012 global survey, they identified six cultural heritage categories: Handicrafts and visual arts
Gastronomy and culinary
Social practices, rituals, and festive events
Music and performing arts
Oral traditions and expressions
Knowledge and practices concerning nature
Read moreThe Real Impact of a Cultural Tourism Strategy
By John Heenan, Cultural Tourism Relations Destination marketing is thriving in the US and around the world. One significant trend is emerging and is proving to be a real economic driver that DMOs and tourism offices can easily embrace and deploy today by embracing a cultural tourism strategy. Recent data from Visit Florida shows that…
Read moreCultural Traveler Demographics
Insights from our Cultural Tourism whitepaper. Read the full report by signing up for our newsletter. From our experience with destination marketing, we’ve developed a sophisticated and nuanced understanding of the cultural traveler that we use to develop cultural tourism strategies. Below are a few generalizations which transcend specific places and population groups. The market…
Read moreWhat is Dark Tourism?
By Dari Mullins, Senior Account Manager While in Savannah at the Coastal Nature, Coastal Culture: Environmental Histories of the Georgia Coast symposium last week I encountered a new tourism term–-Dark Tourism. Ironically, I had participated in this form of tourism without even knowing it by visiting two cemeteries while on a work trip. I walked through…
Read moreCultural Tourism Whitepaper Introduction
Introduction to our recently released Cultural Tourism Whitepaper: Cultural tourism. It sounds like a niche. In reality it is something different. Cultural tourism is a huge opportunity and a growing trend. According to the Travel Industry Association of America, roughly eighty percent of the 150,000,000+ adults who travel more than fifty miles from their homes can…
Read moreCultural Tourism Insights from Our Cultural Tourism Whitepaper
by Brady Rothschild, Account Coordinator and Mars Hill University student Here we break down five important takeaways from our Cultural Tourism whitepaper to help benefit your destination. If you're interested in receiving this white paper, sign up for our newsletter from our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/thegossagency/app/100265896690345/ or on our homepage. What is cultural tourism? The World Tourism Organization…
Read moreTourism Notes: Millennial Travel
Millennials are the rising generation, entering the workforce and demanding control of their travel experiences. Many have very specific needs and wants and love to travel. The Millennial generation wants to explore, but they do not want to be told what to do.
Read moreWhat Is Cultural Tourism?
There are many exciting new trends in travel and tourism marketing to look forward to in 2016. Mobile, virtual reality, personalization, content, and so many more. Of all the predictions, the one that is most exciting and holds the greatest potential impact for destination marketing executives is the rise of Cultural Tourism.
Read moreCultural Tourism Destinations
Cultural tourism isn’t a brand new term, but the concept isn’t quite as simple to grasp as promoting, for example, a striking mountain range in your area or a Michelin rated restaurant
Read moreNew Cultural Tourism Facts Series
We've started a new Cultural Tourism Facts series on Instagram and Twitter to help raise awareness of how "We Turn Facts into Visitation" for our cultural tourism clients. Be sure to follow along at https://www.instagram.com/thegossagency/, handle @thegossagency, or on Twitter at https://twitter.com/thegossagency, handle again @thegossagency. People love these factoids that are perfect for sharing at a cocktail…
Read moreNew Cultural Tourism Division
Driving travel and tourism success is getting increasingly hard as more destination marketers search for ways to increase awareness and differentiate their offerings. At the same time, more travelers, from boomers to millennials are searching for new adventures, forgoing the traditional list of destinations to find unique, authentic, and culturally enriching experiences. I know you have many challenges that keep you…
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