How do you tell your state's tourism story when the national headlines aren't telling it for you? Lauren Bennett McGinty, executive director of Explore Minnesota, has spent the past year doing exactly that: leaning into authenticity, neighborliness, and the everyday people who make Minnesota, Minnesota. In this IPW 2026 episode, recorded live from the conference floor in Fort Lauderdale, Bennett McGinty sits down with Afar editorial director Billie Cohen to talk about leading a state tourism agency through a year of federal enforcement activity, tensions with Canada, and the Boundary Waters mining ruling. She walks through the Come Visit Your Neighbors campaign — Explore Minnesota's "love letter" to the state — how it came together in a matter of weeks, and why grounding tourism marketing in real people and real stories has become her playbook for navigating crisis. Episode highlights Why Bennett McGinty calls Come Visit Your Neighbors a "love letter to Minnesota" — and how it came together as a rapid-response bridge campaign How the Star of the North campaign laid the authenticity groundwork that made the neighbors pivot possible The numbers behind the campaign: 900,000 people reached, nearly 30,000 clicks, and a 9.5 percent engagement rate in just two weeks Why Explore Minnesota markets relocation alongside tourism — and how the halo effect helped flip the state's net migration positive for the first time in six years How the team responded to Google Gemini cutting click-through rates by 40 percent, and what they're learning about AI as a moving target Chapters 00:00:00 Welcome to View From Afar 00:01:50 The Tough Year Behind the Headlines 00:05:30 Defining Neighborism 00:07:30 A Love Letter to Minnesota 00:11:30 Why People Are Moving There 00:14:40 Small Towns, Big Nutcrackers 00:17:20 Lessons for Other Destinations Resources Visit Explore Minnesota Find Explore Minnesota on Instagram and Facebook Explore Afar's Minnesota travel guide ✨ Joy & Connection: Bennett McGinty's pitch for joyful Minnesota travel runs from the giant trolls in Detroit Lakes to a 20-foot nutcracker being built in Luverne (yes, it will actually crack nuts), plus small-town charm, big-city amenities, and a state full of James Beard winners now that Michelin is heading to the Great Lakes. 🌍 Welcoming the World: At a moment when international travelers are looking for safety, nature, and genuine experience, Bennett McGinty says Minnesota's authenticity-first approach is doing the work. 🤝 Neighborism: Adam Serwer coined "neighborism" in The Atlantic to describe what Minnesotans were doing for each other during a difficult winter. Bennett McGinty's team built a campaign around it — featuring Chef Yia Vang, Olympian Jessie Diggins, and former Minneapolis mayor R.T. Rybak — to remind travelers that "Minnesota nice" isn't passive, it's vehement. They'll push you out of the snowbank even if they think it's ridiculous how you got into it. Episode Navigation Previous Episode: Domenic Bravo, Director of the Wyoming Office of Tourism Up Next: John Urdi, President and CEO of Visit Huntington Beach 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

Live From IPW: Lauren Bennett McGinty on Why Minnesota's Tourism Strategy Starts With "Neighborism"

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How do you tell your state's tourism story when the national headlines aren't telling it for you? Lauren Bennett McGinty, executive director of Explore Minnesota, has spent the past year doing exactly that: leaning into authenticity, neighborliness, and the everyday people who make Minnesota, Minnesota.  In this IPW 2026 episode, recorded live from the conference floor in Fort Lauderdale, Bennett McGinty sits down with Afar editorial director Billie Cohen to talk about leading a state tourism agency through a year of federal enforcement activity, tensions with Canada, and the Boundary Waters mining ruling.   She walks through the Come Visit Your Neighbors campaign — Explore Minnesota's "love letter" to the state — how it came together in a matter of weeks, and why grounding tourism marketing in real people and real stories has become her playbook for navigating crisis.  Episode highlights     Why Bennett McGinty calls Come Visit Your Neighbors a "love letter to Minnesota" — and how it came together as a rapid-response bridge campaign    How the Star of the North campaign laid the authenticity groundwork that made the neighbors pivot possible    The numbers behind the campaign: 900,000 people reached, nearly 30,000 clicks, and a 9.5 percent engagement rate in just two weeks    Why Explore Minnesota markets relocation alongside tourism — and how the halo effect helped flip the state's net migration positive for the first time in six years    How the team responded to Google Gemini cutting click-through rates by 40 percent, and what they're learning about AI as a moving target   Chapters  00:00:00 Welcome to View From Afar  00:01:50 The Tough Year Behind the Headlines  00:05:30 Defining Neighborism  00:07:30 A Love Letter to Minnesota  00:11:30 Why People Are Moving There  00:14:40 Small Towns, Big Nutcrackers  00:17:20 Lessons for Other Destinations  Resources     Visit Explore Minnesota     Find Explore Minnesota on Instagram and Facebook     Explore Afar's Minnesota travel guide    ✨ Joy & Connection: Bennett McGinty's pitch for joyful Minnesota travel runs from the giant trolls in Detroit Lakes to a 20-foot nutcracker being built in Luverne (yes, it will actually crack nuts), plus small-town charm, big-city amenities, and a state full of James Beard winners now that Michelin is heading to the Great Lakes.  🌍 Welcoming the World: At a moment when international travelers are looking for safety, nature, and genuine experience, Bennett McGinty says Minnesota's authenticity-first approach is doing the work.  🤝 Neighborism: Adam Serwer coined "neighborism" in The Atlantic to describe what Minnesotans were doing for each other during a difficult winter. Bennett McGinty's team built a campaign around it — featuring Chef Yia Vang, Olympian Jessie Diggins, and former Minneapolis mayor R.T. Rybak — to remind travelers that "Minnesota nice" isn't passive, it's vehement. They'll push you out of the snowbank even if they think it's ridiculous how you got into it.  Episode Navigation  Previous Episode: Domenic Bravo, Director of the Wyoming Office of Tourism  Up Next: John Urdi, President and CEO of Visit Huntington Beach    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

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