W ACVB - Western Association of Convention & Visitors Bureaus

People on the Go At
Michael Blakley, has been appointed
executive director of Discover Klamath
Visitor & Convention Bureau in
Klamath Falls, Oregon. Blakley is a
native Oregonian with a background in
merchandising, communications and
marketing. Most recently he worked
for Columbia Forest Products—three
years in the Klamath mill sales office
and eight years in the corporate
marketing department.
The Utah Valley
CVB has
promoted Julia
Currey to senior
sales manager
for corporate,
association and
group-tour
business. In her
new position,
Currey will
develop and
implement business strategies to increase
tourism in Utah Valley and will actively
supervise sales activity and reporting.
Before joining the Bureau, she served as
events director for the Provo/Orem
Chamber of Commerce, now the Utah
Valley Chamber of Commerce, where
she increased revenue for all events
under her supervision. Currey also
worked with the Expedition Company to
promote international adventure excursions
and traveled to Argentina and
Chile to develop recreational properties
for the Patagonia Land Company.
Spirit of Leadership Award
Continued from page 3
10 n December 2009 n WACVB NewsNotes
Eric Kingstad has been named the new
CEO at Corvallis Tourism. He replaces
John Hope-Johnstone who retired from
the Bureau.
Scott Moriyama
has been named
director of
human resources
and administration
for the
San Francisco
CVB. In his
new position,
Moriyama will
manage all
aspects of
employee relations providing administration
services support to the Bureau
departments and staff, and developing
and managing overall human resources
services, policies and programs for the
SFCVB. Prior to joining the Bureau,
Moriyama worked as the vice president/senior
human resources consultant
for Wells Fargo Bank. He has also
worked for Quicknet Technologies,
Field Research Corporation, and City
Bank, Honolulu, as director of human
resources.
Association of Lane County Oregon is now Travel Lane County, promoting their
destination as Eugene, Cascades & Coast, with the slogan “Real Adventures.
Real Close.”
Westlund is also a past president of the Oregon Destination Marketing Organizations
(formerly Oregon Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus). She
currently serves as chair of the Oregon Tourism Commission, and is an active
member of many commissions and committees at the regional, state, and local
level.
From 1992 to 1996, she was the president & CEO at the Juneau CVB. Westlund
moved to Oregon in 1996 with her husband and two sons, and began as president
& CEO of the Convention and Visitors Association of Lane County Oregon (now
Travel Lane County) in November of that year.
Previous recipients of the award include Rick Davis, Carol Lentz, Cami Mattson,
and Jonathan Walker.
Annual Meeting
Continued from page 2
Friday morning’s general session,
Lorraine Sileo, vice president, research,
at PhoCusWright, presented a session
on understanding the role and impact
of destination marketers. She noted
that destination marketers play a
unique role in the leisure travel marketplace,
positioned at the intersection of
travelers and travel suppliers. At the
heart of leisure travel is the destination,
which drives the itinerary and all
of the components purchased along the
way, and at the heart of each destination
are destination marketers. For
destination marketers, the explosion of
online consumer tools and technologies
provides unprecedented potential to
connect with travelers and promote
their destinations in new and effective
ways. At the same time, Sileo noted
that destination marketers face challenges—ranging
from funding constraints
to navigating social media—
that are forcing many to take a close
look at what they need to do to remain
competitive and relevant.
Workshop panelists Scott Beck,
president & CEO, Salt Lake CVB;
Brad Burlingame, president & CEO,
West Hollywood MVB; and Amy
Long, vice president, marketing &
membership, Colorado Springs CVB,
shared ideas and strategies they have
implemented to address the changing
market conditions—ranging from
cost-saving deals and attention-getting
promotions to programs engaging local
residents.
Ken McGill, managing director at
Rockport Analytics and former
executive managing director, travel &
tourism services at IHS Global Insight,
presented an overview of a study by
IHS Global Insight and D.K. Shifflet &
Associates that focused on helping
their public tourism clients tell the
story of the numerous benefits of
public tourism promotion. During the
session, “Public Tourism Promotion
ROI,” attendees learned about the case
for or against reducing public tourism
spending.
Lorraine Sileo from PhoCusWright also
presented a consumer travel trends
workshop focusing on the traveling
U.S. consumer, including preferences
and sentiments in relation to the
current state of the travel industry. The
information included trip behaviors of
the U.S. traveler in terms of trip
frequency, duration and spend; the key
differences by demographic segments
such as age, gender and employment;
and the impact of psychographic
attitudes and values on traveler priorities
and experiences.