International Interest in Kentucky is Undeniable

Mike Mangeot, Commissioner of Kentucky Department of Tourism, shares his vision for elevating Kentucky as a brand internationally, his thoughts on the importance of investing internationally, and his belief that partnerships, both large and small, are the key to growth. 

Q: Mike, I know Kentucky has always had strong domestic visitation, how has the international inbound evolved over the past few years?  
A: International is a long-term commitment, especially for a smaller state like Kentucky.  It takes time to develop relationships with buyers and consumers, and we’ve been able to do that over the last 8-10 years.  When we first started, we would open most meetings with “What do you know about Kentucky?” and the response was usually the Kentucky Derby or Kentucky Fried Chicken!  We would spend all our time simply educating and informing them on the basics – where Kentucky was in the US, how to get here, and the attractions and opportunities we have for visitors.  Now, there is much more knowledge of what we have to offer with our bourbon experiences, horses, music and the outdoors, to name just a few.  While we still have work to do, the awareness of Kentucky as a travel destination has increased significantly.  I think a very positive indicator of how our brand has grown is that British Airways just launched a new non-stop from London Heathrow to the Northern Kentucky/Cincinnati International airport.

Q: Partnership is a huge key to success for state tourism organizations. What different partnerships have you created to involve your local/regional DMOs?  
A: We wouldn’t be where we are today without our partners.  Years ago, we established a group called VisitKYUSA, a cooperative marketing program between KDT and our three largest DMOs in Louisville, Lexington and Northern Kentucky.  We would work collaboratively on marketing and advertising, in-market sales missions, media FAMs, etc., to create an overall marketing strategy for the international market.  For some of our smaller DMOs who might not be able to invest a lot of money but had the product that international visitors are looking for – communities like Bardstown, Paducah and Bowling Green – we created some buy-in opportunities in trade pubs or offered matching funds for participation in international travel shows, like TSI.  We are always looking for opportunities to partner with our local DMOs.  We just returned from IPW in San Antonio, and we had four DMO partners in our booth. 

Q: Bourbon is certainly a draw for Kentucky, give us some details on your partnership with Brand USA and the many distilleries that are included?  
A: I approached Chris Thompson, President & CEO of Brand USA, at a US Travel Board meeting in 2021 and asked about the possibility of making Kentucky bourbon the official spirit of BUSA.  My reasoning was selfish – I was looking for a way to elevate Kentucky’s brand internationally.  After all, we make 95% of all bourbon in the world (I like to say the other 5% is counterfeit) and not many destinations can make a claim on an iconic product like that.  As I looked at what was happening here with bourbon tourism – dramatic growth in visitation, huge investments by the distilleries in their visitor experiences – and combined that with the research that international visitors were looking for smaller, lesser-known destinations, I thought the timing was right to explore the concept.  It also didn’t hurt that in 1964 Congress officially designated bourbon as “America’s Native Spirit” so what was a natural tie-in, and the fact that many of our distilleries are looking to grow internationally.  I had a number of discussions with individual distilleries and the Kentucky Distillers Association (who owns the Kentucky Bourbon Trail trademark), and they all said the same thing, “What do you need?”  With more than 70 distillery experiences around the state, we have tried to “spread the wealth” of the program with as many as possible.

It took a while for us to finalize the deal, but it has been a great win for us and BUSA.  We started with storytelling – bringing in journalists and influencers to learn the stories of our distilleries, the people behind the brands, and the communities where they reside – and then moved into content development and trade education.  The amount of media coverage we have gotten has already far surpassed our investment.  We are just now starting to engage with BUSA in some B2C marketing in our key markets of the UK, Germany, France, Canada and Australia. 

Q: Another event watched on the world stage occurred in early May. How does the Kentucky Department  of Tourism utilize the Kentucky Derby to host international journalists and/or tour operators?  
A: The Kentucky Derby is the oldest, continuously held sporting event in the United States – next year will mark the 150th Run for the Roses!  It’s almost impossible to put a value on the exposure it generates for us annually – it is truly one of the few internationally iconic events in the world.  Each year we identify journalists along with trade and industry partners to come and experience a true bucket list event.  While here, we try to show them true Kentucky hospitality and what makes Kentucky such a special place.  The media placements and social media engagements they provide are very valuable, as you can imagine.  This year we were joined by three domestic journalists and two industry partners.

Q: How will the Kentucky Department of Tourism leverage its partnership with Travel South over the coming year to impact international markets?  
A: The Global Partner Programs are a great way for us to stay active in key markets in an affordable way.  It also allows us to dip our toes in the water of certain markets that we may be interested in without having to make a significant investment in each market.  The research that is provided on each market is very valuable as well.  Of course, Travel South International Showcase in Memphis will be an emphasis for us, especially following up on the incredible success of the 2022 show in Louisville. 

A big focus for me, however, will be the implementation of the Tourism Exchange Program.  As long as I’ve been in the industry, our biggest challenge in Kentucky has been getting our product into the hands of operators and travel agents so they can book business.  We’ve tried and tried to recruit receptive hotels and operators without much success.  I believe Tourism Exchange is way to make our product available and, as importantly, show our DMO partners the international business that has been booked in their community.

Q:  How has hosting International Showcase inspired attendance for your industry at the upcoming IPW in San Antonio? 
A:  Hosting Travel South International Showcase in Louisville last year really helped many of our smaller DMOs understand the opportunity the international market holds.  While IPW is still a bit expensive for many of them, we did have two new partners join us in San Antonio, Bardstown and Paducah.  Both have great international products – Bardstown is the “Bourbon Capital of the World”, and Paducah is a UNESCO Creative City.  I hope more of our DMOs will look at IPW in the future.  I expect a number of our partners who attended Travel South International Showcase in Louisville to also attend the 2023 event in Memphis.  As I tell them, international is a long-term commitment but well worth the investment.