Cassandra Harrington's guest appearances

Cassandra Harrington

Destination On The Left

Drew McLellan

Rick Antonson

Paula White

Mike Rea

Sarah Morris

David Gilbert

Eric Patrick

Stacy Jones

Joe Pulizzi

Richard Arnold

Dalene Heck

Gary Murphy

Jay Smith

David Holder

Larry Broughton

OwlTail

Cassandra Harrington has served as the director of Destination Marketing Corporation for Otsego County for over a year. Prior to that, she was the director of the Cayuga Lake Wine Trail and she started her marketing career as the membership development manager at the Seneca County Chamber of Commerce. In her own words she is “learning the inner workings of the group travel industry as well as the intricacies of New York state matching funds, and who’s who in the igloo of the county, regional, and state tourism efforts.” On this episode of Destination on the Left, I talk with Cassandra Harrington of the Otsego County Tourism board about sharing the tourism love beyond America’s pastime at Cooperstown. How is the role of DMOs changing? How best can you help visitors and locals alike embrace those changes and reap the benefits of visiting or living in a given region? That’s the conversation we’re having, join in!  What You Will Learn in this Episode:  How local, regional and state DMOs can coordinate efforts and all win How to encourage group tours to your region that are more than “party busses” Using shoulder seasons to encourage savings on people’s travel budget Ways to highlight both a “big draw” attraction as well as the “hidden treasures” in your region How to encourage locals to embrace the economic engine of travel and tourism Helping communities see the benefits of non-traditional lodging like AirBnB  #NextGenDMO Cassandra is part of a growing trend of people who are coming into Destination Marketing Organizations from the attraction side of the travel industry. These newcomers have noticed the trend themselves and jokingly refer to the hashtag #NextGenDMO as they collaborate and experience their new roles together. It’s safe to say the passion and sense of innovation they bring to their roles is welcome. As technology and the ways visitors experience a region change – for instance, not necessarily from a hotel room removed from town, but right in town, in your neighbor’s short term rental property – DMOs are challenged with drawing in these visitors and finding ways to extend their stay and make it as memorable as possible. Attracting the Visitors and Engaging the Locals Another trend we’re seeing is how DMOs are more and more filling the role, not just of attracting visitors, but getting locals excited about the economic opportunity and vitality that tourism brings to their home region. This is happening in Otsego County, home of the Baseball Hall of Fame and many more hidden gems that visitors have come to love and locals have treasured for years. The rise in popularity of short term rentals means that visitors are living side-by-side with locals during their stay. Highlighting the long-term benefits in infrastructure improvements and other ways occupancy taxes of those visitors help the local economy has become part of the DMOs job description. Resources:  Website: otsegocounty.com/depts/tor/ 

Cassandra Harrington has served as the director of Destination Marketing Corporation for <a href="http://www.otsegocounty.com/depts/tor/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Otsego County</a> for over a year. Prior to that, she was the director of the <a href="https://breaktheicemedia.com/podcasts/cassandra-harrington/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Cayuga Lake Wine Trail</a> and she started her marketing career as the membership development manager at the Seneca County Chamber of Commerce. In her own words she is “learning the inner workings of the group travel industry as well as the intricacies of New York state matching funds, and who’s who in the igloo of the county, regional, and state tourism efforts.” On this episode of Destination on the Left, I talk with Cassandra Harrington of the Otsego County Tourism board about sharing the tourism love beyond America’s pastime at Cooperstown. How is the role of DMOs changing? How best can you help visitors and locals alike embrace those changes and reap the benefits of visiting or living in a given region? That’s the conversation we’re having, join in! What You Will Learn in this Episode: <ul> <li>How local, regional and state DMOs can coordinate efforts and all win</li> <li>How to encourage group tours to your region that are more than “party busses”</li> <li>Using shoulder seasons to encourage savings on people’s travel budget</li> <li>Ways to highlight both a “big draw” attraction as well as the “hidden treasures” in your region</li> <li>How to encourage locals to embrace the economic engine of travel and tourism</li> <li>Helping communities see the benefits of non-traditional lodging like AirBnB</li> </ul> #NextGenDMO Cassandra is part of a growing trend of people who are coming into Destination Marketing Organizations from the attraction side of the travel industry. These newcomers have noticed the trend themselves and jokingly refer to the hashtag #NextGenDMO as they collaborate and experience their new roles together. It’s safe to say the passion and sense of innovation they bring to their roles is welcome. As technology and the ways visitors experience a region change – for instance, not necessarily from a hotel room removed from town, but right in town, in your neighbor’s short term rental property – DMOs are challenged with drawing in these visitors and finding ways to extend their stay and make it as memorable as possible. Attracting the Visitors and Engaging the Locals Another trend we’re seeing is how DMOs are more and more filling the role, not just of attracting visitors, but getting locals excited about the economic opportunity and vitality that tourism brings to their home region. This is happening in Otsego County, home of the <a href="https://baseballhall.org/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Baseball Hall of Fame</a> and many more hidden gems that visitors have come to love and locals have treasured for years. The rise in popularity of short term rentals means that visitors are living side-by-side with locals during their stay. Highlighting the long-term benefits in infrastructure improvements and other ways occupancy taxes of those visitors help the local economy has become part of the DMOs job description. Resources: <ul> <li>Website: <a href="http://www.otsegocounty.com/depts/tor/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">otsegocounty.com/depts/tor/</a></li> </ul>

Episode 114: The Next Generation of DMOs, with Cassandra Harrington

In this episode, you will learn about America’s first wine trail from Cassandra Harrington, Executive Director of the Cayuga Lake Wine Trail. Cassandra has been director of the CLWT since December of 2014. In her time with the Trail, she and her coworker Kathy have completely rebranded the organization, have increased event attendance and have generated a solid social media presence. Cassandra has years of experience working in the tourism industry, having held positions at various wineries as well as the local Chamber of Commerce. When not working, she like likes to remain active by working out and traveling whenever and wherever possible. A transcript of this episode is available here: destinationontheleft.com/cassandra-harrington

In this episode, you will learn about America’s first wine trail from Cassandra Harrington, Executive Director of the Cayuga Lake Wine Trail. Cassandra has been director of the CLWT since December of 2014. In her time with the Trail, she and her coworker Kathy have completely rebranded the organization, have increased event attendance and have generated a solid social media presence. Cassandra has years of experience working in the tourism industry, having held positions at various wineries as well as the local Chamber of Commerce. When not working, she like likes to remain active by working out and traveling whenever and wherever possible. A transcript of this episode is available here: <a href="http://destinationontheleft.com/cassandra-harrington/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">destinationontheleft.com/cassandra-harrington</a>

Episode 32: Give Your Customers the Tools They Need, with Cassandra Harrington