Teamwork, Trails and Tech: Three Takeaways from the 2025 WV Governor’s Conference on Tourism

Over 400 tourism professionals gathered in Morgantown earlier this month to celebrate record-breaking growth and dig into what’s actually working in destination marketing. Here’s what stood out—and why it matters.

1. Tourism is Thriving in West Virginia—And It’s a Team Effort, Y’all

First, let’s just go through the numbers: For the first time ever, tourism brought in $9.1 billion in total economic impact to West Virginia in 2024. NINE. BILLION. DOLLARS.

But here’s the kicker: our visitor spending grew 28.2% compared to 2019, while the national average only grew 12.4%. West Virginia isn’t just beating the national average—we are doubling it.

This didn’t happen because of one viral campaign. This happened because thousands of people across the state are on a mission to show off the place we love to call home. The hotel staff who warmly call guests by their name when returning for the night. The new restaurant owner who is hustling to partner with local event producers in an effort to build business and strengthen community ties. The whitewater guide who acts like a local ambassador and sends you off with dinner recommendations. The volunteer who showed up for the first USA Cycling Pro-Road National Championships unsure of what they signed up for, and has already happily cleared their schedule for next year.

We had 77.2 million visitors who spent $6.6 billion directly, and when that money circulates through our economy, it creates that $9.1 billion total impact. Behind every dollar is someone who made a visitor feel welcome. And West Virginia has one of the highest return visitor rates in the country—people aren’t just visiting once, they’re coming back.

To all our tourism friends and partners—high five! This success is yours. You earned it.

2. Curated Trails Are Proving That Smart Strategy Beats Big Budgets

As a marketing agency working in tourism, we’re always looking for campaigns that actually move the needle. West Virginia’s digital passport trail system is a huge success that resonates with folks. 

The Waterfall Trail has attracted more than 35,000 participants from 49 states and 15 countries. The Culinary Trail features 23 restaurants hand-picked by Chef Ambassadors. The Paranormal Trail expanded to 21 locations in just three months last year, drawing participants from 45 states and four countries.

From a marketing perspective, this is brilliant:

It solves the “where do I go next?” problem. Visitors might come for the New River Gorge, but the trails give them curated paths to discover places they’d never have considered—spreading impact across the entire state.

The gamification creates organic engagement. Check in at three spots, get a sticker. Seven spots, get a keychain. Visit all locations, unlock a prize. Simple mechanics that keep people participating and sharing on social media equals free user-generated content.

Did we mention the data? Every check-in tells the tourism office exactly where visitors are going and what resonates. That’s actionable intelligence.

West Virginia is offering up authentic experiences and that’s why it works. 

3. AI is Here To Stay, But It Can’t Do Everything

AI was everywhere at this conference and showed up in just about half of the sessions I attended in one way or another.

At Digital Relativity, we use AI tools for deep data analysis, notetaking, to kick off brainstorming, and handling repetitive tasks. And more importantly, it lets us spend more time actively thinking strategically for our clients. 

But here’s the bottom line: AI cannot replace the emotional intelligence of a human, especially when it comes to good design and photography. And travelers are catching on—research shows they’re increasingly wary of AI-generated imagery in travel marketing, and for good reason.

What technology can do right now is mindblowing, but that AI-generated image can’t capture the moment a kid’s face lights up on their first trip down the zip line. It can’t recreate an image that shows the heart and soul of a restaurant full of locals beaming with pride. It can’t create something that’s uniquely yours. More importantly, when travelers sense that what they’re seeing isn’t real, it erodes the trust that’s essential to converting curious browsers into actual visitors.

The general takeaway I heard repeatedly was to hire professionals for your design work. Hire professionals for your photography. Use AI for efficiency, but don’t let it replace the people who can capture what makes your destination actually worth visiting. Authenticity isn’t just good marketing—it’s what travelers are actively looking for and what they’ll reward with their business.

Queue Up Country Roads

Over 400 tourism professionals in the same place at the same time—do you realize how rare that is? Huge thank you to Secretary Chelsea Ruby and the entire WV Tourism team for making this happen.

West Virginia’s tourism story is being written right now by all of us, one visitor experience at a time.