August 2022 Industry Newsletter

Your newsletter for things that are happening in the tourism and hospitality industry throughout the state.

WOT Wins Mercury Award at 2022 ESTO Conference

The Wyoming Office of Tourism won the Mercury Award for Community Building at this year’s ESTO conference. The award was rewarded to WOT for building the WY Responsibly campaign as a vital resource for distributing information related to COVID-19, supporting local communities and businesses and spreading sustainable travel messaging. This campaign, which was started in early 2020 as a COVID-19 resource, has evolved over the past two years to continue acting as the go-to resource for information important to all who visit and live in the Cowboy State. Join us in celebrating this achievement!

International Roundup early registration opens September 21, 2022

Set your calendar reminders! Early registration opens September 21, 2022, for the 2023 International Roundup event in Boise, Idaho. We anticipate high demand for the show with travel coming back with a bang, so you'll want to reserve your spot at this discounted rate!

Registration information here.

Be a Part of the 2023 Wyoming Travel Guide

Wyoming partners,
Time is running out to be part of the upcoming 2023 Wyoming Official Travel Guide. Get your message in front of over 800,000 active travel planners looking to plan their vacation to Wyoming.

The opportunity to reach travelers throughout 2023 closes on September 2nd. Don’t miss your chance to be a part of WOT’s multi-million-dollar marketing efforts aimed at bringing more visitors to Wyoming.

Non-Premium Rates include:
• Full Page - $8,700
• Half Page - $6,500
• Quarter Page - $3,200
• Eighth Page - $1,700
• Other Premium placements (we have the Inside Back Cover and a Rollfold spot still open)
• Enhanced Listings and other Specialty Co-op opportunities are also available. Please ask for more details on these options

We also have a Fall Promotion – 50,000 banner ads on TravelWyoming.com and a Fall eNews - $1,000

Please contact Mitch Knothe at mitch.knothe@milespartnership.com or (208) 869-5178 to discuss possibilities.

Request for Information: 2023 New & Notable

As we head into fall and winter planning, the PR team is searching for notable fall and winter activities to include in upcoming news releases and pitches:
Fall & Winter in Wyoming: Please submit a 150-word description of new and notable fall and winter activities that showcases fall foliage and creative ways to experience the season, such as: including scenic drives, farms/harvest/agri-tourism, fall/winter festivals, wildlife experiences, haunted history and more. Please send the description, links, photos and any related b-roll to Lexi Mitchell at lexi.mitchell@wyo.gov as soon as possible.

2023 New & Notable: We know it seems like an eternity away, but we already have journalists asking us what major news items and what is new for early 2023. If you have items like major anniversaries, new lodging offerings, new attractions, new adventure experiences, new culinary offerings, exciting travel packages, or new events, Please send a 150-word description, links, photos and any related b-roll to Lexi Mitchell at lexi.mitchell@wyo.gov by September 9.

Media & Press Summary: July 2022

Please note the ‘Top Media Placements’ and ‘Earned Media’ include coverage that is a direct result of the Wyoming Office of Tourism’s (WOT) efforts, while “Wyoming in the News” is coverage that cannot be directly tracked back to the PR program.

July 2022

*This includes domestic media coverage only

Reach: 2,273,429,686

Placements: 94

International Year-to-Date Coverage

Reach: 466,728,828

Total Placement: 76

Fiscal Year-to-Date

*Domestic media coverage through Month YYYY and international media coverage through Month YYYY

Reach: 2,273,429,686

Placements: 94

Top Media Placements

True West Magazine ranked Casper's National Historic Trails Interpretive Center third among its list of Top Western Museums of 2022, mentioning the museum's 20th anniversary this year and calling out the new “The Battle of Red Buttes” exhibit. Other Wyoming museums mentioned in this article include Museum of the Mountain Man (Pinedale), Little Snake River Museum (Savery), Campbell County Rockpile Museum (Gillette), Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum (Cheyenne), Nelson Museum of Western Art (Cheyenne), and Cody Firearms Museum (Cody).

Lovell was among the destinations featured in Tribune News Services’ syndicated article "Can’t decide on your next family vacation? Start here," The article was syndicated in 28 news outlets, including MSN.com.

Lonely Planet included a treasure trove of Wyoming gems in its July 3rd "Pack up and set out on these wild Wyoming Road Trips" article including: Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton National Park, Jackson (National Elk Refuge, Guided Sleigh Ride Tours), Dubois (National Bighorn Sheep Center), Pilot Butte Wild Horse Scenic Tour, Fort Laramie-Fort Bridger State Historic Site, Casper (National Historic Trails Interpretive Center), Bessemer Bend National Historic Site, Independence Rock, Fort Bridger State Historic Site, Astoria Hot Springs, Thermopolis (Hot Springs State Park, Star Plunge, Wyoming Dinosaur Center), Saratoga (Hot Springs Resort), Kemmerer (Fossil Butte National Monument, Fossil Lake, American Fossil, Greybull (Bighorn Basin Geoscience Center), Red Gulch Dinosaur Tracksite, and more.

July also showcased a robust proactive media relations effort to stent cancellations within and around Yellowstone as a result of the torrent of flood-related media coverage. Results from that campaign included among others: an Outside Magazine article "If you want to see Yellowstone Without the Crowds This is the Summer To Do It," National Parks Traveler feature "Lodges, Campgrounds Reopening in Yellowstone National Park,” Fatherly's "Yellowstone is now open. Time to Book a Last-Minute Getaway," and a video news release that was picked up throughout the month by 31 broadcast news stations throughout the country in markets such as Chicago, Dallas, Atlanta, Houston, Phoenix, Seattle, Denver, Portland, San Diego, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Austin, Omaha, and Salt Lake City.

Full Media Report

WYOMING OFFICE OF TOURISM MILESTONES

Thank You Anita!

Thank you Anita Benton for 21 Years of Service to the Wyoming Office of Tourism! Our Best Wishes for a Fabulous Retirement.

Welcome Sarah Reed.

We are pleased to share that Sarah Reed has joined the Wyoming Office of Tourism team as Global Partnerships Senior Coordinator. Sarah is a recent graduate of University of Wyoming with a degree in Outdoor Recreation and Tourism Management with a Minor in Hospitality Business Management. Sarah’s senior year capstone project included a collaboration with our team and industry partners to assess and aggregate tourism assets in four Wyoming counties. Sarah also served as an undergraduate intern at the Walt Disney Resort. She has a passion for Wyoming, for our tourism industry and will be a great addition to our team.

Sarah's main responsibilities at the office will include familiarization tour planning, assisting with planning the Governor's Hospitality and Tourism Conference, working with partners to build monthly itinerary suggestions for travel trade partners, and assisting in the coordination of the day-to-day projects on the Global Partnerships Team.

WOT Is Hiring – Public Relations Manager

WOT is seeking a Public Relations Manager to support and implement WOT’s media and public relations strategy through media relationships, story mining, PR campaigns, content planning and editorial calendars.

Learn More and Apply Here.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT

Amy Larsen

Industry Relation Manager

Phone: (307) 777-6706

Email Amy