FREE EDUCATIONAL SEMINARS COMING TO YOUR AREA – FEB 2022
The Alabama Tourism Department is conducting seminars across the state to assist tourism organizations and their local tourist attractions and business improve the information visitors are seeing on public websites.
These Destination Optimization seminars are aimed at improving the quality of a local community’s organic representation across the major travel search and planning products, including Google, Yelp, Wikipedia, TripAdvisor and the state’s website, www.alabama.travel.
The Alabama Tourism Department believes that destinations should help local businesses inspire consumer confidence to push interest into action. As a result, ATD is holding seven educational seminars across the state that will be particularly relevant as a proactive approach in your community to enable tourism businesses to have their best foot forward, digitally, as travel resumes.
EACH SEMINAR HELD IN TWO PARTS
These seven seminars will each be held in two parts, each lasting just a single morning or afternoon.
Morning Session – DMOS
In the morning, the seminar is specifically for local DMOs, Chambers an CVBs and packed with useful information including how and why to become a Local Google Guide.
Afternoon Session – Local tourist business, attractions
That afternoon, businesses that you have invited from your area will join you for a session designed to help them claim and update their own listings on various websites, including Google and Alabama.Travel.
DMOs, CVBs and Chambers are welcome to stay and join their local tourism businesses in the afternoon session.
Comprehensive destination evaluations
During the sessions, you will see demonstrations of how visitors are searching for destinations and what they find when they do. More than 500 tourism points of interest were evaluated for completeness and quality on various tourism websites such as Google, Yelp and TripAdvisor. Come to the seminar and see the results of this study and what it means for your organization.
Who is teaching the seminars?
Miles Partnership is the instructor of the largest part of the seminar. They will provide up-to-date information and the support needed to optimize a designation’s presence. This includes information on improving the completeness of local business listings, adding missing POIs and creating branded, trackable distribution of DMO’s high-quality photos. For six months, those that attend the seminar will be able to schedule telephone time with Miles Partnership for follow up help.
Intermark Group and ATD will instruct on the best practices on the use of the Alabama Tourism Partner Portal, the tool destinations and tourism businesses use to supply information to the Alabama Tourism Department.
Who should come?
On the DMO Level:
These free educational seminars will yield important information for any DMO, CVB or Chamber official who is involved in crafting and presenting the image of their destination in a digital manor. In larger DMOs and CVBs this may be the person in charge of marketing and/or your website. In smaller organizations it may be appropriate for the tourism manager or executive director.
Local Tourism Businesses
For a DMO, CVB or Chamber member attraction, tourism business or other point of interest entity, the person in charge of marketing and/or the tourism entity website should attend. At smaller organizations, this may be the office manager or CEO.
Comprehensive destination evaluations
During the sessions, you will see demonstrations of how visitors are searching for your destination and what they find when they do. More than 500 tourism points of interest were evaluated for completeness and quality on various tourism websites such as Google, Yelp and TripAdvisor. Come to the seminar and see the results of this study.
IMPORTANT
Pick you session and let us know you are coming
Pick the time and date that fits your schedule and register for one of the free seminars by giving us your name and contact information.
Wiregrass area of Alabama – Hilton Garden Inn, 171 Hospitality Ln, Dothan
- Feb 8th morning session for DMOS starting at 8am
- Feb 8th afternoon session for attractions and tourist attractions starting at 1pm
Mobile and Gulf Coast area – Daphne Civic Center, Willow Room, 2603 US-98, Daphne
- Feb 9th morning session for DMOs starting at 8am
- Feb 9th afternoon session for attractions and tourist attractions starting at 1pm
North Alabama area of Alabama – Hampton Inn Downtown, 313 Clinton Ave W, Huntsville
- Feb 11th morning session for DMOs starting at 8 am
- Feb 11th afternoon session for attractions and tourist attractions starting at 1pm
Birmingham area of Alabama – Vulcan Park, 1701 Valley View Dr, Birmingham
- Feb 22nd morning session for DMOs starting at 8 am
- Feb 22nd afternoon session for attractions and tourist attractions starting at 1pm
West Alabama area of Alabama – Embassy Suites, 2410 University Blvd, Tuscaloosa
- Feb 23rd morning session for DMOs starting at 8 am
- Feb 23rd afternoon session for attractions and tourist attractions starting at 1pm
East Alabama area of Alabama – Auburn/Opelika Tourism office, 714 E Glenn Ave, Auburn
- Feb 24th morning session for starting at 8 am
- Feb 24th afternoon session for attractions and tourist attractions starting at 1pm
Montgomery area of Alabama, Alabama Tourism Department building room 342, 401 Adams Ave, Montgomery, AL
- Feb 25th morning session for DMOs starting at 8 am
- Feb 25th afternoon session for attractions and tourist attractions starting at 1pm
Link to register for a free session