Find Your MO

Here in Missouri, there's a MO adventure for every "M-O," outdoorsmen, art enthusiasts, history buffs, foodies, sports fanatics, and everyone in between. The Division of Tourism's "Find Your M-O" campaign is part of the state's marketing effort to attract visitors to Missouri. And those efforts are pretty important, considering they produce a 13.5 billion-dollar impact. As the Director of Tourism and a lifelong Missourian, Stephen Foutes quite literally lives, works, and plays in the Show-Me State. In this episode, I chat with Stephen about how his experience and state pride combine in his role, promoting Missouri as a premier tourist destination.  What you'll learn:  The purpose of the Missouri Division of Tourism and how important tourism is to the state's economy The role the division of tourism plays in the Missouri State Fair Stephen's typical day as the Director of Tourism and how the variety of marketing roles prepared him for his current role Stephen's favorite things to do around the state of Missouri Details behind the "Find your M-O" campaign, how it came to fruition, and the ultimate execution Insight on the behavior and interests of out-of-state visitors to Missouri, as well as trends Stephen is seeing within tourism, regionally and nationally How to find out more about Missouri tourism at VisitMO.com or at Welcome Centers across the state