Tourism Skillshop
The Tourism Skillshop webinar series is one of many educational programs from State of Washington Tourism (SWT). The Tourism Skillshop launched in April 2022 and was created to engage with colleagues across the tourism sector and broaden their industry knowledge, skills, and network.
Each webinar highlights a specific issue or skill for tourism professionals to discuss with industry experts. SWT hosts these live webinars on the third or fourth Thursday of every month from 10 – 11 a.m.
These webinars are moderated by SWT’s Matthew Ozuna and are free and open to all tourism stakeholders. All Skillshops are recorded and shared with registrants as well as made available to view on the SWT YouTube channel.
Upcoming Tourism Skillshops
Thursday, July 25, 2024: Best Practices for Family Travel
This month’s Tourism Skillshop will be held on Thursday, July 25, at 10 a.m. and focus on best practices for family travel. Vacationers traveling with children continue to be a thriving travel segment. Tourism stakeholders that place a high value on welcoming families are poised to capture this market segment. However, efforts to attract visitors traveling with kids must be genuine, age-appropriate, and consistent.
Industry veteran Erin Kirkland will present best practices for family travel that will encourage repeat visitation. Through comprehensive how-to strategies and real-world case studies, this webinar will provide attendees with a toolkit and timeline for successfully adapting and creating kid-friendly activities regardless of location, budget, or product.
Guest speaker Mandy Garica will share ways to attract and manage family travel as a small tour operator in Alaska. Mandy is the co-owner of Salmon Berry Travel & Tours, a year-round, woman-owned enterprise providing daily guided tours in southcentral Alaska.
>> Register for the webinar here
Contact Matthew Ozuna for inquiries about the Tourism Skillshop. Sign up for the Industry Update newsletter and follow SWT on LinkedIn to register for upcoming Skillshops.
Past Tourism Skillshops
In 2022, SWT hosted eight webinars with a combined 504 registrants. Topics covered everything from familiarization tours to grant writing and website design. The Tourism Skillshop series kicked off with a webinar about familiarization tours. Other topics covered in 2022 were:
- Festivals and Events
- SEO
- Trails and Passports
- Sustainable Businesses and The Responsible Traveler
- Grant Writing
- Website Design
An example of a Skillshop can be viewed below.