Festivals & Events Speaker

Great events don’t simply happen.

During Lynn’s presentations, she shares different aspects of event organization, promotion and management. Every component plays an essential role in the event’s overall success.

Below is a snippet from a recent state tourism conference for destination marketing organizations (DMOs), attractions and convention and visitors bureaus (CVBs). Events can be time-consuming, but they do have real value if done correctly.

DMOs need to recognize the subtle difference when consumers search for “Things to Do” versus “What’s Happening.”

When local DMOs and CVBs control what visitor-friendly events are added to the state tourism calendar and then don’t add any content, they are doing a major disservice to their destination and festival planners.

I am aware of one second-tier destination that did not add any festival listings to the state tourism calendar for at least nine months. Earlier today, we heard officials share how many visitors go to the state website specifically looking at the Calendar of Events. Those are missed opportunities to sell room nights.

Yes, we’re all busy, but event listings that are not strictly community or social events need to be prioritized. You are missing out on lost tourism tax revenue when events – designed to draw visitors with the sole purpose of driving them to stay overnight – leave hotel rooms empty.

Go ahead, take a moment to write yourself a quick note or send yourself a text to check during the next break.  Does your destination feature any events on this website? Then go look at your website. Is your event chock full of events, or is it pretty pitiful?

For those that do marketing for a living, we are familiar with the statement, “content is king.”

I will do you one better …  “If content is king, event listings are the queen. Anyone who plays chess knows she is the most vital piece in winning the tourism game.℠”

Past Speaking Engagements

  • NC Craft Brewers Annual Conference
  • South Carolina Nature-Based Tourism Association Annual Conference
  • North Carolina Association of Festivals and Events, ShowFest
  • North Carolina Main Street Conference
  • South Carolina Federation of Museums
  • Visit NC 365 Conference
  • American Trails
  • Ohio River Way

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