Visit Fort Dodge received the 2023 Destination of the Year honor during the annual Midwest Travel Network Conference recently in Kansas City, Kansas.

“Each year the Midwest Travel Network gives out awards at the annual conference,” Lisa Trudell and Sara Broers, co-owners of the Midwest Travel Network, said in a written statement. “They recognize members that have gone the extra mile in doing the work that they do. The Destination of the Year award goes to the most recognizable destination within the network. There is an increase in interest and desire to visit, as well as enthusiasm when people start talking about this destination.”

Visit Fort Dodge Executive Director Kerrie Kuiper attributes the success of this honor to the quality experience travel writers, bloggers, and vloggers have when they are in the community, including the interaction they have with business owners, volunteer leaders, and Visit Fort Dodge staff.

“We competed with communities from 14 Midwestern states, many of which are larger or better-known destinations in the general public,” said Kuiper. “What makes this special is that our content creators nominated us for this award. They evaluate the community on what they see now and the experience they had here; they don’t judge by perception or past reputation. They also see the value Visit Fort Dodge brings to the community and they want to help us promote our destination. We see the content creators as partners; they come, they assess their experience, and they actively and authenticaly promote what they enjoy. We in turn help them with lining up experiences, making their visits possible, and sharing the online content created.”

Online content creators have experienced Fort Dodge tourism assets through several opportunities.

In 2015, staff worked with two Iowa content creators. In 2019, Fort Dodge hosted MTN co-owner Broers. By 2021, Kuiper was asked to present a session during the MTN virtual conference.

Later that year the CVB hosted an outdoor familiarization tour where five content creators and writers explored local outdoor assets as well as community-owned businesses.

By the end of 2022, Visit Fort Dodge had hosted another familiarization trip, more than 15 individual content creators participated in a MTN Writer’s Workshop, and hosted the MTN Pitching Workshop. Numerous Fort Dodge assets were also included in Broers’ travel books “100 Things To Do in Iowa Before You Die” and “Midwest State Park Adventures.” Each of these opportunities created original earned media content online positively showcasing Fort Dodge attractions, restaurants, and other businesses.

During the fall of 2022, Visit Fort Dodge unveiled an innovative Fort Dodge and Webster County Destination Guide opportunity. Content creators who had visited the community were asked to pitch what they enjoyed most about Fort Dodge in an article, which was then adapted as a showpiece in the guide. Thirteen articles from 11 different creators in four different states were published to highlight the assets of the area.

Aside from recognition in the industry, the four-day conference was organized to connect and educate destination ambassadors from 14 states, travel writers, and content creators. It included a tradeshow where Visit Fort Dodge was able to further promote Fort Dodge and its local attractions to new content creators.

“We are building interest in the area as a tourism destination and are creating a brand through the Midwest Travel Network,” said Kuiper. “As our brand strengthens through the network, content moves through the content creators to their niche audiences and keeps expanding from there. We connected with many writers and creators who expressed interest in visiting Fort Dodge. We have found that once we get them here, the content creators appreciate the diversity of our attractions, and activities, and are happy to share these with their audiences.”