We are super excited to have one of our four pre-conference workshops focused solely on associations: Excelling as a Wine or Wine Tourism Association.
Wine Associations and Destination Management Organizations are not the majority of attendees but they are a significant component of the conference. In past years, we have had a two-hour open discussion among these attendees that served as a means of sharing ideas and creating new initiatives. Wine Tourism Day came out of that process.
Now, we have expanded this session to three hours and instead of just making it an open discussion, have brought in four experts to provide insights into their successes as an association. Our panelists include:
- Miles Prodan from the British Columbia Wine Institute
- Camron King from Lodi Wine
- Jackie Saunders from Visit Loudoun County
- Wendy van Diver from Touring & Tasting Marketing and Media, who will serve as workshop moderator
Topics will include funding, growing membership, partnering with other associations and area businesses, gaining public exposure, working with the press, national wine tourism initiatives, and more. Please be prepared to leave with plenty of ideas to further your own association’s goals but also to contribute your successes and challenges to the general discussion!