Pamela Brooks Williams is a Huntsville native who is passionate about her city and sharing its highlights with anyone she can. She has been with the Huntsville/Madison County CVB for 16 years. As Tourism Sales Manager, she works to bring groups of all types and leisure travelers to our community and especially enjoys working with student groups taking advantage of the unique offerings available exclusively through the Educational Escapes program, which she coordinates.

Pam is responsible for implementing new products and events in Huntsville, such as Huntsville Restaurant Week, the Lucky Duck Scavenger Hunt, and Trains on Main Scavenger Hunt. In addition, she currently serves on the board for the Alabama Restaurant and Hospitality Association. Before joining the Bureau, Pam worked at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, serving in various roles and was active in the local hospitality industry.

She graduated magna cum laude from the University of Alabama Huntsville with a degree in history and political science. Pam enjoys travel and is frequently on the go. She has three talented, intelligent, and very busy children.

On this episode of Destination on the Left, I talk with Pam Williams about her love of the diversity, the variety, and the incredible experiences that working with the DMO offers, and she shares why she is so passionate about the travel industry. We discuss why Huntsville is perfectly positioned as Rocket City, USA, and Pam describes some of the amazing attractions on offer, including their Space and Aviation Camps. Pam also gives her expert advice on creating successful collaborations, including details of Huntsville’s new initiative. Finally, she shares the new messaging that they are using as we head towards recovery.

What You Will Learn:

• How Pam and her team manage the growth and the infrastructure of their expanding destination to ensure that visitors have a great experience in Huntsville
• What the Huntsville CVB has done to help it stand out in the crowd.
• The Attractions Week initiative — how it works, similarities and differences from Restaurant Week, and how they are promoting it
• Unexpected opportunities that the COVID-19 pandemic has given them to be creative when evolving to meet whatever the future brings
• How Pam has been able to leverage ‘coop-etition’ to join with competitors to collaborate on projects over the last 12 months

Keeping It Fresh

We discuss the pivots that the CVB has made over the last year to showcase its range of attractions, and Pam outlines how Huntsville creatively shines a light on each sector with the new initiative Attractions Week. Reimagining annual events to ensure they stay fresh and exciting for repeat visitors is a priority for the destination, and Pam also describes how they let people know what’s going on in the area using social media and their website.

Supporting the Community

Huntsville has been encouraging people to support local businesses more than ever, and in addition to inviting in visitors, they have focused on promotions that help local residents shop locally. Pam describes the I Heart Huntsville campaign, how inviting visitors, influencers, and locals to share what they love about the community works, and why they’re showing their love and appreciation for their hospitality heroes this year.

• Website: https://www.huntsville.org/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pam-williams-tmp-ctp-6270b67/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HuntsvilleCVB
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/go2huntsvilleal

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