Committed to advocating and advancing Minnesota's destination marketing industry.
Greetings Friends!

MACVB welcomes members, non-members and vendors to the Education Summit in Alexandria on June 5-6! Hosted by Explore Alexandria, this year’s Summit is designed to be interactive, educational and fun! Don’t be left out!  
CHAIR'S CORNER
A big “thank you” to everyone who has contributed in any way, shape or form to the education summit in Alexandria June 5-6. The venue is set with a myriad of great speakers, special guests and fun networking opportunities amongst the beautiful lakes and woods in the Alexandria area.
Joe Henry, 2018 Board Chair
Lake of the Woods Tourism
EVENTS
MACVB ANNUAL MEETING: 
OCTOBER 2-3, 2018

Save the date for the 2018 Annual Meeting. 
Location: Metro-Area (TBA). If you are interested in hosting, email Dee@MinnesotaCVBS.com or call 651.300.6594.
October 2-3, 2018
CALL FOR PRESENTERS!

Do you want to share your expertise with other destination/tourism professionals? Do you like speaking to groups? Want to make more connections and build credibility? Then we want to hear from you!

Apply to be a presenter at the Annual Meeting by completing this form.
ADVOCACY
A LEGISLATIVE UPDATE FROM TODD HILL AND TONY KWILAS

May 31, 2018

Each year, as we approach the end of the legislative session, comparisons are made between successfully landing a plane and the successful completion of the session. Is the runway too short, is the runway too long? Are the three co-pilots who speak different languages able to communicate? Is there too much turbulence or a smooth glide path? The end of the 2018 Session appeared to more like an impending meteor – with last week’s veto by Governor Dayton of both the Federal Conformity/Tax Bill and the Omnibus Supplemental Budget, the meteor made a direct hit on virtually every Minnesotan.  
Todd Hill, Hill Capitol Strategies
Todd Hill
Tony Kwilas
MEMBER NEWS

Thinking of Minnesota roadways, superlatives do not normally come to mind. Riding Minnesota’s Otter Trail Scenic Byway can change that. The route includes many “largest,” “highest” and “most” spots along the way, making for an interesting ride. Plan carefully and you will cross three continental divides!

More than 33 million tourists visited the region and spent $7.8 billion. The numbers do not include visitors who came to the Twin Cities for the Super Bowl since it happened in February. Meet Minneapolis, the nonprofit that promotes tourism and hospitality in Minnesota’s largest city, released the results of a survey conducted by Virginia-based DK Shifflet, which tracks travel patterns nationwide.

Minnesota is known as the "Land of 10,000 Lakes," so a big part of the tourism industry is fishing. For the first time in its more than 70 year history, the Governor's Fishing Opener will be held in the Albert Lea Lakes Area in 2019. At Bubba's Bait Shop in Albert Lea, you can get just about anything you need for a day of fishing. The shop's owner and avid angler Danny Lugo says when it comes to fishing, the Albert Lea Lakes Area is the place to be.
INDUSTRY NEWS
Hospitality Minnesota is pleased to announce the hiring of Liz Rammer (pronounced ray-mer) as its next President and CEO.
She will also serve as executive vice president of the Minnesota Restaurant Association, Minnesota Lodging Association and Minnesota Resort & Campground Association, as well as CEO of the Hospitality Minnesota Education Foundation. 

Liz has held leadership positions in both corporate and nonprofit organizations. Most recently, she served as Vice President of Marketing and a member of the executive management team at Life Link III, a nonprofit air medical transport company headquartered in Minneapolis.

Previously, she held three different leadership roles at the Medical Alley (LifeScience Alley) trade association, concluding her service as Chief Operations Officer during her 11-year tenure. She was instrumental in growing the organization to become the largest state-based trade group for healthcare and life sciences companies in the United States.

Minnesota will get an annual PGA Tour event starting in 2019 if Houston can’t come up with new sponsorship by June 1, said longtime 3M Championship tournament director Hollis Cavner, confirming reporting from John Feinstein of Golf Digest.

More and more tourism industry professionals realize that the travel business is actually a technological business. Even the simplest trip generates large amounts of data. Gathering, indexing and understanding that information and how we apply that understanding to improve upon the experience of each traveler is what will inspire true innovation and the future of travel.
GOLD PARTNERS
SILVER PARTNERS
Joe Henry - Chair
Lake of the Woods Tourism Bureau
Stephanie Busiahn - Vice Chair
Fairmont Convention & Visitors Bureau
Nort Johnson - Secretary/Treasurer
Faribault Area Chamber of Commerce and Tourism
Dave Looby, Past Chair
Minneapolis Northwest CVB
Becky Bakken
Discover St. Louis Park
Brent Cory
Eagan Convention & Tourism Bureau
Tracy Shimek
Visit Inver Grove Heights
Anna Tanski
Visit Duluth
Anna Thill
Visit Mankato
Lisa Peterson
Northfield Convention & Visitors Bureau
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