Maine Governor's Conference Early Bird Pricing Ends Friday

Conference will be held 16-17 April 2025 at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor.

Go here for attendee registration and exhibitor and sponsorship opportunities.

Individual tickets are $95 through Friday, $125 after that.

Keynote speaker Joe Diaz of Afar Magazine will talk on "The Future of Tourism: Leaning into High-Value Visitation".

Agenda:

Wednesday 16 April

• Maine Scenic Byways Summit
• Explore Bangor Welcome Excursions
• Educational Workshops 1
  • Frances Perkins Center Heritage Tourism PLan
  • Working with Influencers and Travel Media
• Educational Workshops 2
  • Marketing to Outdoor Enthusiasts
  • ChatGPT for Curious Beginners
  • Data Informed Marketing
• Refreshments
• Keynote by Joe Diaz
• Maine Tourism Awards
• Welcome reception

Thursday 17 April

• Breakfast and expo
• Panel: Cultural Heritage Tourism Trends and Opportunities
• Coffee break and expo
• Breakout sessions 1
  • Wabanaki Cultural Tourism Strategic Plan
  • How AMC Leverages Land Conservation
  • Employee Training and Retention
  • Generating Your Own Media
  • ChatGBT for Marketing
• Breakout Sessions 2
  • Cultivating Real Maine Tourism
  • Downtowns: Opportunities for Collaboration
  • Developing Collaborative Outdoor Experiences
  • Tracking the ROI of Your Advertising
  • Attracting International Travelers
• Lunch + Panel: Transforming MAine Through Sports Tourism
• MOT Report
• Q&A with MOT
• Closing

Portland ME 2025 Destination Summit registration now open

The Visit Portland Annual Meeting - now rebranded as Destination Summit - will be held 0830-1430 on Wednesday, 30 April 2025, in Hannaford Hall at the Abromson Community Education Center at USM in Portland.

From Visit Portland:

"Join 250+ industry professionals for a day packed with insights, connections, and inspiration. This is more than just a conference—it’s a chance to network with leaders, uncover the latest trends, and gain valuable strategies to elevate your impact in our tourism industry. From a marketing deep dive and regional statistics to expert speakers and interactive networking, this event is designed to inform, engage, and spark fresh ideas."

Summit will feature:

• Marketing update
• Regional visitation statistics
• Awards
• Exhibits
• Networking
• Marketing workshop

Registration priced at $75 for members, $90 for others, is here.

MA Governor's Conference on Tourism - Agenda and Registration

The 2025 Massachusetts Governor's Conference will be held 18-19 March at the Mass Mutual Center in Springfield.

Sessions (tentative) will include:

• 2025 Campaigns
  • Made Possible
  • Massachusetts 250
• 2026 and beyond
  • ​​​​​​​FIFA
  • Massachusetts 250
  • Sail Boston
• ​​​​​​​Marketing and Growth
  • ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​AI in Travel Marketing
  • International Markets Update
  • Agri-Experiences
  • Travel Influencing
  • The Power of Film Tourism
• ​​​​​​​Visitor Experience
  • ​​​​​​​Best Practices for Hotels, Restaurants, Attractions
  • Culinary Creatives
• Greater Springfield Region: Howdy Awards as a tool for engagement
• Reception at the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame

Awards:

• Larry D. Meehan Lifetime Achievement Award
• Film Industry Achievement Award
• Revolutionary Achievement Award
• Award of Appreciation

Go here for Attendee Registration at $00 through 30 January, $250 after that.

Go here for Sponsorships and Exhibitors

More information is here: massgovernorsconference@conventures.com.

Hotel: A block of $149/night rooms will be available for booking through 19 February at the Sheraton Springfield Monarch Place Hotel.

DNE 2025 Summit Early-Bird Pricing Ends Tomorrow

The Discover New England 2025 Tourism Summit & International Marketplace will take place 7-9 April in Newport, RI. Event is expected to draw more than 300 tourism professionals and host more than 4,000 meetings between representatives of New England tourism businesses and international tour operators.

Unfortunately, the early-bird pricing for suppliers can only be found by engaging with DNE by email. But the early-bird rate for domestic receptive operators and OTAs is $395 vs. regular price of $495. So discount for suppliers is probably of similar magnitude.

You can begin the registration process here:

https://discovernewengland.org/registration/

TTRA 2025 International Conference to be held in Galway, Ireland 24-26 June

Conference theme is:

"EXPLORE, INNOVATE, TRANSFORM: Influencing the Future of Global Travel and Tourism Research"

Conference venue will be the Galmont Hotel in Galway which is offering conference participants single-occupancy accommodations at the rate of 251 euro per night B&B.

The Galway Visitors Bureau and Galway Chamber of Commerce will host an opening reception.

Registration rates:

• TTRA members: $1049
• Non-members: $1449
• Student members: $399
• Non-member students: $499
• Guests: $499

For participants traveling from outside Ireland, TTRA recommends flying into either Shannon Airport or Dublin Airport and proceeding to Galway by car or bus. In Galway, the bus station is less than a 5-minute walk from the Galmont Hotel.

Agenda has not yet been set, but for further information as it develops, email TTRA at info@ttra.com, call 1-248-708-8872, or visit ttra.com.