While the general sessions set the stage for the new realities in marketing and innovation, the 2010 MTS workshops do the heavy lifting, utilizing a faculty of “best of breed” presenters to interpret the situation and transition theories into the best practices and tools that will move the needle in 2011 and beyond. Perhaps more than ever before, the rules are changing and a toolkit for the “New Reality” will be a requisite to success. Thirteen workshops are laid out sequentially in five rounds of several workshops each during Wednesday afternoon April 14th and Thursday morning April 15th.
The workshops include:
- Three specialty tracks of two related workshops, from the “What You Need to Know” general session.
- Individual workshops on distribution, international marketing, hospitality, new media and the latest review/preview of mountain travel 2010 and its implications for 2011.
- A “New Media Showcase” in two parts providing live demonstrations of applications that are most prominent and representative of what’s to come.
Consumerism in Travel. Peter Yesawich, chairman/CEO of Ypartnership, will go “unplugged” to address the top new realities in mountain travel driven by the consumers his Leisure Travel Monitor focuses on. Having coined the phrase “New Normal” some years ago, Yesawich is ideally suited to help Symposium attendees extend the metaphor. He will focus on the most current consumer research and discuss pressing questions such as: Are frugal and thrifty the same thing? Who is what: are boomers still the drivers of the leisure travel engine or are “millennials” getting on board, and to what degree? And what, exactly, are these consumers buying?
Presenter: Peter Yesawich, Founder/Principal, Ypartnership
Sponsored by: 
What’s the Problem Mobile is Solving Anyway? Everybody is talking about how mobile technology presents a whole new world of opportunities for customer engagement, conversion and new and incremental revenue streams. Through case studies, this workshop will explore concrete examples of successful mobile applications and services within the travel industry. Learn how to develop an effective mobile marketing strategy based on the reality of current mobile technology and best practices.
Presenter: David Snell, EVP, Sales and Marketing, QuickMobile
Sponsored by: 
New Realities in New Media: Town Hall Format
Philip Wolf, founder and president of PhoCusWright, will use an interactive town hall format to present a global perspective of how technology has changed the way people communicate and how vacationers shop and buy travel. The related game-changing shift in traditional travel marketing will serve as an introduction to several new media workshops and a two-part “New Media Showcase” that he and his associates will be conducting for MTS, later in the MTS Forum Agenda (see below). Town hall format.
Presenters: Philip Wolf, President & CEO; Lorraine Sileo, VP, Research, PhoCusWright
Sponsored by: 
Pricing of Hospitality in a Buyer’s Market: Theory of the Practice. Following his opening overview, Jan Freitag, Vice President Global Development for Smith Travel, will continue his assessment of the paradox of pricing lodging in a fluctuating economy. Using (otherwise) proprietary data from Smith Travel and MTRiP, Freitag will demonstrate the effects of balancing occupancy vs. rate, when both supply and demand are fluctuating. Using data from several market segments, Freitag will first look back at what history has taught, then turn to STR market forecasts to layout the likely climate in which we’ll be operating in 2010 and 2011. This workshop is a “must attend” for anyone connected to the lodging side of the destination travel industry…
Presenter: Jan Freitag, Vice President Global Development, Smith Travel Research
Sponsored by: 
Distribution Channel Evolutionary Realities. Carl Ribaudo, President of Strategic Marketing Group, will moderate this insightful panel presentation that will compare and contrast traditional distribution channels with current and future emerging channel forces changing the way vacations will get packaged and promoted going forward. Joining Carl is a panel of several representative industry suppliers and channel technology providers who will identifying both market and technology forces that are driving the evolution (or is it revolution) providing attendees with requisite information from which their distribution strategies can be determined for 2010-11and beyond.
Presenter/Emcee: Carl Ribaudo, President, Strategic Marketing Group
International Shootout: Europe vs. North America. Carl Ribaudo, President of Strategic Marketing Group, will moderate this internationally focused session that will include a comparative and competitive assessment of the world's two principle ski markets: North America and Europe. A panel of experts who do business in both markets will define both the attributes of their product offerings and profile the markets that make up their destination guests. The result is intended to provide attendees with a comprehensive perspective from which to prioritize their international strategies for 2010-11 and beyond. Panel presentation format.
Moderator: Carl Ribaudo, President, Strategic Marketing Group
Mobile Marketing for Mountain Destinations. Chris Davidson, Chief Client Officer for Ypartnership, will discuss the ascent of mobile marketing as a relationship management tool, and how mountain destinations specifically can attract and retain visitors using this evolving medium. Using a case study approach, he will describe their approach in developing an innovative new mobile platform, VisitMobile, to redefine how visitors plan and experience a vacation destination. His presentation will examine the role mobile marketing is already playing in marketing mountain destinations, and will offer thoughts about where this exploding market will take us in the near future.
Presenter: Chris Davidson, Chief Client Officer for Ypartnership
Sponsor: 
Destination Mountain Travel Deep Dive: 2010 Seasonal Review – Preview. Ralf Garrison, Symposium partner, will change hats to MTRiP, the Mountain Travel Research Program, and use its research to analyze the 2009-2010 season performance. Ralf will then turn to a forward-looking assessment of the market conditions and emerging advanced reservation patterns for summer 2010, as well as the ensuing winter on the horizon. This workshop will be followed by a complementary one (see below) that will recap the key findings from the Forum, seeking to uncover the “New Realities” that represent the foundation for winning strategies going forward. Together, the two workshop tracks can help jumpstart the business and market plans for the 2010-11 season.
Presenters: Ralf Garrison, Director, MTRiP, Tom Foley, Analyst
Sponsored by: 
New Media Showcase – Two Part Workshop. New to MTS 2010, we will be showcasing a selection of new media applications, intended to demonstrate the kinds of tools coming to mountain resorts in 2010-11. A series of brief presentations by suppliers of the most promising applications will be presented by their respective sponsors in an advertorial format, designed to provide attendees with both a broad understanding of how this exciting new market will change the game, and to put forth a specific case engagement with the providers being featured.
This is a two-part workshop.
Mountain Travel 2010: New Realities Recap and Teach Back. Symposium Forum emcees Ralf Garrison and Carl Ribaudo will invite MTS workshop presenters to join them in an encore, recapping each of the Forum presentations and connecting the dots to create a picture of the key strategic components that accounted for the 2009-10 year’s performance, and are likely to become the foundation for the 2010-11 market plan. Combined with the “Deep Dive” Season Review – Preview (see above), the two workshop tracks can help catalyze the business and market plans for the 2010-11 season. Roundtable format
Emcee: Ralf Garrison,
Presenters: Select workshop presenters from previous workshops
Sponsored by: