Registration has now been closed. Additional workshops for the transformational strategy will be taking place this fall across the state.
How does tourism contribute to a better life for all Oregonians? How can travel better enhance communities and contribute to equitable livability? How do we create more economic resilience for our diverse workforce? How can we grow Oregonians understanding of and support for the value of tourism? How can we restore and manage the balance between environments and visitor pressures? How do we direct tourism impacts to preserve natural resources and cultures?
As we launch into the development of our transformational four-year strategic plan, it is vital we hear from you: Oregon’s tourism industry. We would love to gain diverse perspectives that have the potential to drive change and help inform the foundation of our transformational strategic plan. Your participation is crucial and valuable to help transform the future of tourism in Oregon.
The information collected from this workshop will be utilized by Destination Think in drafting Travel Oregon’s transformational strategy and to inform the fall 2021 stakeholder engagement sessions.
Facilitators
William Bakker, Chief Strategist
William has been a key member of the global tourism industry for over twenty years and is considered an innovator in the world of destination marketing. He has an enormous depth of experience in leading his team to deliver world-class destination marketing strategies. William has eleven years of client-side experience at Destination British Columbia, where he was formerly the Director of e-Marketing. He has experience with a wide range of international destination brands, including Destination British Columbia, Innovation Norway, Visit England, Tourisme Montréal, Tourism and Events Queensland, Destination New South Wales, Palau Visitors Authority and Visit Flanders, to name a few.
Frank Cuypers, Senior Strategist
Frank is a visiting professor of city making and marketing at the University of Antwerp and guest lecturer in many places in Europe and the US. Before that he worked for the French company Möbius, specializing in business processes and change management. He is a thought-leader in global destination management, having joined Destination Think after an extensive career working for a variety of large consulting groups. Frank has transformed and led the organizational change over a four-year period at Visit Flanders in Belgium and currently works closely with Ottawa Tourism to do the same. At Destination Think, Frank has brought his experience to become an integral advisor to destinations all over the world: European Travel Commission, Ottawa Tourism, Tourisme Montréal, Tourism Calgary, Wonderful Copenhagen, Visit Holland, South Norway, Visit Big Sky, Elkhart County Convention Visitors Bureau, Destination Gold Coast and many others.
Matt Stiker, Managing Director
Having moved around multiple times as a child and then as an adult, Matt considers Oregon to be his “second home,” and counts Garrison Keillor’s “Ode to Oregon” as one of his favorite poems of all time. He formerly ran the Travel Oregon account for 7 years while at the ad agency Wieden & Kennedy, and subsequently ran the State of Washington Travel account at an agency in Seattle. Following that, he became the first-ever Chief Marketing Officer at San Francisco Travel where he helped lead the DMO through a dramatic organizational and brand transformation. After leaving SF Travel, Matt became Chief Marketing Officer for CityPASS, working alongside 19 of North America’s biggest DMOs, understanding their different processes and cultures. Matt has worked closely with Visit California for several years, having sat on their Marketing Advisory Council. He has also been published multiple times on the premier travel industry website Skift, and spoken at numerous travel conferences.
Tyler Robinson, Senior Strategist
Tyler is a sustainability and business professional who is passionate about developing resilient places that can thrive in the face of climate change and other environmental challenges. He has extensive experience in impact measurement/ management, strategy development, marketing strategy/digital marketing and project management. His approach is informed by the Sustainable Development Goals, the Impact Management Project, and science-based climate change targets. Employing a systems-thinking mindset and leveraging an interdisciplinary background allows him to effectively plan and execute complex sustainable development initiatives. Furthermore, experience in stakeholder engagement enhances his ability to find creative methods of alignment and buy-in from key decision makers.