View From Afar

Welcome to a special IPW 2026 series of View From Afar. In this episode, recorded live from the conference floor, Visit Phoenix president and CEO Ron Price sits down with Afar deputy editor Michelle Baran to talk about a city that's been quietly reinventing itself—and why so many first-time visitors leave saying, "I had no idea."

Ron has worked in tourism for 30 years, with a career that spans Marriott, Visit San Antonio, and the Arlington Texas Convention and Visitors Bureau. He joined Visit Phoenix in 2021, and under his leadership the city has hosted the Super Bowl, the Women's Final Four, and—next year—the NBA All-Star Game.

In 2024 he launched the Phoenix Sports and Events Commission, finally giving the country's fifth-largest city a coordinated way to compete for major events. He's also helping the destination navigate a rapidly diversifying economy, a softening Canadian market, and the perception problem that comes with being a desert city most travelers think they already understand.

In this conversation, Ron and Michelle discuss

Why the Sonoran is the wettest desert in the world, and how the lushness keeps surprising visitors who arrived expecting Wile E. Coyote

The launch of the Phoenix Sports and Events Commission, the return of the Viva PHX culture festival, and the strategy of growing youth and amateur sports alongside championship events

The TSMC effect—the largest international investment in American history—and what $165 billion in semiconductor manufacturing means for international flights, including two new direct routes from Taiwan

How Waymo turned Phoenix into the only American city where an autonomous vehicle will pick you up at the airport, and what other proving-ground tech is rolling out next

The Canadian snowbird market's stabilization, the long-term Canadian business relationships that anchor it, and what doubling down on a hesitant market looks like in practice

The honest conversation about summer heat—the city's investments in heat mitigation, the no-daylight-savings advantage that makes early-morning hikes possible, and how staying-the-clock changes the visitor day

Plus: a Pan Am-themed speakeasy where the LED windows simulate a flight to San Francisco, the 22 Indigenous nations within the valley, and a passionate endorsement of Phoenix's Michelin-bound culinary scene.

Chapters

00:00:00 Welcome to View From Afar

00:01:30 Playing Tourist at the Biltmore

00:03:00 What Surprises Visitors

00:04:30 Building a Sports and Events Engine

00:07:30 The TSMC Effect

00:10:00 Why Canadians Still Matter

00:13:00 New Markets, New Stories

00:15:30 Reframing the Heat

00:18:30 Speakeasies and Indigenous Nations

Stay Connected

Subscribe to View From Afar to catch all our IPW 2026 episodes this week.

Follow @AfarMedia on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠TikTok⁠ for behind-the-scenes IPW content.


⁠Sign up⁠ for our travel industry newsletter, Afar Advisor.

Rate and review the show to help other travel professionals discover these insights.

Explore our other podcasts, ⁠Travel Tales⁠ and ⁠Unpacked⁠.

This IPW 2026 special series was recorded live. View From Afar is a production of Afar Media and a part of Airwave Media's podcast network (email ⁠advertising@airwavemedia.com⁠ if you would like to advertise on our podcast). The podcast is produced by Aislyn Greene and Nikki Galteland, with assistance from Michelle Baran and Billie Cohen. Music composition from Epidemic Sound.
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Welcome to a special IPW 2026 series of View From Afar. In this episode, recorded live from the conference floor, Visit Austin president and CEO Tom Noonan sits down with Afar editorial director Billie Cohen to talk about a city that's in the middle of one of the most ambitious reinventions of any major American destination—and how it's keeping momentum without its biggest meeting venue.

Tom has led Visit Austin since 2016, though his career in destination marketing spans nearly four decades. Under his leadership, Austin has more than doubled its downtown hotel inventory, hit record convention bookings, and launched the Visit Austin Foundation.

But he's also navigating the $1.6 billion Unconventional ATX project—a complete tear-down and rebuild of the Austin Convention Center. The old building came down in April 2025; the new one opens in 2029. In the meantime, Austin is competing for major events without its largest meeting venue, even as it adds 36 airport gates, three new arenas, a stadium expansion, light rail to the airport, and a redesigned downtown.

In this conversation, Tom and Billie discuss

How Austin is filling the 40-month convention center gap with "miniwides"—campus-style events that split a single convention across two or three hotels, taking inspiration from how South by Southwest already operates

The new Tourism Public Improvement District (TPID), which is generating $20 million a year in additional marketing budget and earmarking a portion of new revenue to help end homelessness in the city

Why Austin's international markets are holding steady (and in some cases growing), including a new daily British Airways flight from London and a new Porter flight from Toronto

The arrival of the Michelin Guide in Texas and what it's done for Austin's culinary reputation—including the first three barbecue restaurants in the world to receive a Michelin star

The city's full 2031 transformation, including the new Waterloo Greenway, a rebuilt 6th Street, a new convention center designed as part of a park, and an old historic home—belonging to Austin's first female teacher—that will be incorporated into the convention center plaza

How Visit Austin is approaching the World Cup year (Austin isn't a host city, but it'll host Saudi Arabia for training) and what's planned for America 250

Resources

Afar guide to Austin

Stay Connected

Subscribe to View From Afar to catch all our IPW 2026 episodes this week.

Follow @AfarMedia on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠TikTok⁠ for behind-the-scenes IPW content.


⁠Sign up⁠ for our travel industry newsletter, Afar Advisor.

Rate and review the show to help other travel professionals discover these insights.

Explore our other podcasts, ⁠Travel Tales⁠ and ⁠Unpacked⁠.

This IPW 2026 special series was recorded live. View From Afar is a production of Afar Media and a part of Airwave Media's podcast network (email ⁠advertising@airwavemedia.com⁠ if you would like to advertise on our podcast). The podcast is produced by Aislyn Greene and Nikki Galteland, with assistance from Michelle Baran and Billie Cohen. Music composition from Epidemic Sound.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to a special IPW 2026 series of View From Afar. In this episode, recorded live from the conference floor, Colorado Tourism Office director Timothy Wolfe sits down with Afar deputy editor Michelle Baran to talk about a state that's been ahead of the curve on managing tourism, not just marketing it—and what that's getting them.

Tim took the director role in 2021 after a long career in Colorado hospitality, including a run at the legendary Brown Palace Hotel in Denver. He arrived as the state was reckoning with the pandemic-era boom on its mountain towns, and made destination stewardship a centerpiece of the office's work.

In 2024, Colorado welcomed 95.4 million visitors, and 2025 is tracking similarly. Tim is also a commissioner for Colorado's 2026 celebration, which marks both America's 250th anniversary and Colorado's 150th year of statehood.

In this conversation, Tim and Michelle discuss

How Colorado is bucking the international-arrivals decline, with steady Canadian and Mexican visitation and a growing list of direct international flights into Denver

The Do Colorado Right framework—a non-finger-wagging approach to destination stewardship that partners with everyone from the Colorado Department of Transportation to individual mountain communities

How Colorado's destination stewardship strategic plan, built with thousands of resident inputs across regions, gives even the smallest cities a five-to-ten-year tourism growth roadmap

The state's growing rail story: light rail from Denver airport to Union Station, Amtrak, the Winter Park ski train, and rail expansion along the Front Range and to the western slope

A 150-stop digital passport program with United Airlines, 150 drone shows scored to John Denver, and the rest of the sesquisemiquincentennial calendar

A new dedicated women's soccer stadium in Denver—the first of its kind—and what it means for Colorado as a sports destination heading into the World Cup year

Resources

The Afar guide to Colorado

Stay Connected

Subscribe to View From Afar to catch all our IPW 2026 episodes this week.

Follow @AfarMedia on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠TikTok⁠ for behind-the-scenes IPW content.


⁠Sign up⁠ for our travel industry newsletter, Afar Advisor.

Rate and review the show to help other travel professionals discover these insights.

Explore our other podcasts, ⁠Travel Tales⁠ and ⁠Unpacked⁠.

This IPW 2026 special series was recorded live. View From Afar is a production of Afar Media and a part of Airwave Media's podcast network (email ⁠advertising@airwavemedia.com⁠ if you would like to advertise on our podcast). The podcast is produced by Aislyn Greene and Nikki Galteland, with assistance from Michelle Baran and Billie Cohen. Music composition from Epidemic Sound.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to a special IPW 2026 series of View From Afar. In this episode, recorded live from the conference floor, Louisiana Office of Tourism Assistant Secretary Doug Bourgeois sits down with Afar editorial director Billie Cohen to talk about a state whose pitch to travelers is built on joie de vivre—and what that actually looks like on the ground.

Doug has led tourism for the state since 2018, but his roots go deeper: he grew up in Thibodaux, an authentically Cajun city an hour from New Orleans, and started his career as a riverboat shore-excursion guide giving a Cajun heritage tour.

In 2025, Louisiana welcomed 45 million visitors and generated 19 billion dollars in spending, finally returning to pre-pandemic levels. New Orleans alone hosted 19 million visitors, the second-highest figure in the city's history. But the state is also navigating real headwinds, including a steep drop in Canadian visitation, and Doug is thinking carefully about how to keep momentum going.

In this conversation, Doug and Billie discuss

The 2026 Year of Outdoors campaign and the broader strategy of building annual "Year of" themes (Music, Food, and now Outdoors) to give travelers a fresh reason to come back

How the Michelin Guide arrived in Louisiana this year, awarding two stars in New Orleans and additional stars elsewhere—and why Doug says it enhanced rather than changed the state's visitor demographic

The Gas Station Eats trail, the hot sauce ice cream made with raspberry chipotle, and the case for Louisiana as a culinary destination far beyond New Orleans

The Acadian cultural ties to Canada, the "Louisiana olive branch" of roux spoons Doug's team mailed to Canadians who'd requested travel guides, and what cross-border outreach actually looks like

The Mississippi River Parkway Commission and the case for the river as a single 10-state destination

Where Doug is investing internationally now—the UK direct flight from London, growing momentum in Australia, and a long-game bet on India

Resources

The Afar guide to Louisiana

Chapters

00:00:00 Welcome to View From Afar

00:02:00 The Tabasco Test

00:03:00 Growing Up on the Bayou

00:05:00 A Culinary State

00:07:00 Year of the Outdoors

00:09:00 The Roux Spoon Olive Branch

00:11:00 Where Louisiana Is Going Next

00:12:00 The Mississippi as Destination

00:13:30 Beyond New Orleans

00:15:00 Where Joy Begins

00:18:30 Becoming Part of the Story

Stay Connected

Subscribe to View From Afar to catch all our IPW 2026 episodes this week.

Follow @AfarMedia on ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠ for behind-the-scenes IPW content.


⁠⁠Sign up⁠⁠ for our travel industry newsletter, Afar Advisor.

Rate and review the show to help other travel professionals discover these insights.

Explore our other podcasts, ⁠⁠Travel Tales⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠Unpacked⁠⁠.

This IPW 2026 special series was recorded live. View From Afar is a production of Afar Media and a part of Airwave Media's podcast network (email ⁠⁠advertising@airwavemedia.com⁠⁠ if you would like to advertise on our podcast). The podcast is produced by Aislyn Greene and Nikki Galteland, with assistance from Michelle Baran and Billie Cohen. Music composition from Epidemic Sound.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to a special IPW 2026 series of View From Afar. In this episode, recorded live from the conference floor, Discover Puerto Rico CEO Jorge Perez sits down with Afar editorial director Billie Cohen to talk about what happens after a residency that brought 400,000 people from 108 countries to a single island.

Jorge came to Discover Puerto Rico with deep ties to the moment: as the former general manager of the Coliseo de Puerto Rico, he was in the room when Bad Bunny's manager called two years before the residency to block out 31 nights. The result was a $200 million economic impact in two months, a 245 percent spike in Puerto Rico searches after the Super Bowl halftime show, and a tourism story that has only accelerated since.

In this conversation, Jorge and Billie discuss

How the Bad Bunny residency was strategically built around July, August, and September (Puerto Rico's traditional low season) and what that meant for the island's overall tourism arc

The 2025 numbers: 8.5 million visitors, 154 million dollars in room tax revenue, and 9 billion dollars in visitor spending—roughly double the 2019 figures

Why Q1 2026 became the best quarter in Puerto Rican tourism history (and how the World Baseball Classic, the Puerto Rico Open, and the FIBA Women's World Cup qualifying tournament helped)

The 17 percent jump in European visitors and the 28 percent jump from South America, and what's driving Discover Puerto Rico's expanded international strategy


"Return the Love," the long-running campaign that asks visitors to treat the island and its people with respect—and how Jorge made a version for residency visitors before he took the CEO role

The case for a Puerto Rico destination festival on the scale of Coachella or South by Southwest and why 2028 looks like the earliest realistic launch window

Plus: a viral AI-generated song called "My First Time in Puerto Rico" that's reshaping cultural tourism in real time, the three bioluminescent bays you can only experience here, and a reminder that the island is the rum capital of the world.

Resources

The Afar guide to Puerto Rico

Our Unpacked episode about exploring music on the island

Stay Connected

Subscribe to View From Afar to catch all our IPW 2026 episodes this week.

Follow @AfarMedia on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠TikTok⁠ for behind-the-scenes IPW content.


⁠Sign up⁠ for our travel industry newsletter, Afar Advisor.

Rate and review the show to help other travel professionals discover these insights.

Explore our other podcasts, ⁠Travel Tales⁠ and ⁠Unpacked⁠.

This IPW 2026 special series was recorded live. View From Afar is a production of Afar Media and a part of Airwave Media's podcast network (email ⁠advertising@airwavemedia.com⁠ if you would like to advertise on our podcast). The podcast is produced by Aislyn Greene and Nikki Galteland, with assistance from Michelle Baran and Billie Cohen. Music composition from Epidemic Sound.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices