The Wyoming Tourism Playbook Beyond Yellowstone | Live From IPW 2026

Welcome to a special IPW 2026 series of View From Afar. In this episode, recorded live from the conference floor, Domenic Bravo⁠, executive director of the ⁠Wyoming Office of Tourism⁠, sits down with Afar deputy editor Michelle Baran for one of our most grounded travel industry interviews yet: a look at Wyoming tourism beyond its world-famous icons, from a leader who started his career as a park ranger. Domenic moved to Wyoming in 2008 to become the state park director and stepped into the top tourism role about six months ago. He leads a state that leans on Yellowstone and Grand Teton as hooks, then works to send visitors toward the lesser-known jewels most people never find. In this episode, Domenic and Michelle discuss: How Wyoming tourism disperses crowds beyond the icons, from timing park visits to spotlighting overlooked corners of the state Why the market is still mostly domestic, how Canada has been the biggest drop, and why summer bookings remain solid Dark skies clear enough to see the Milky Way, Devil's Tower marking 120 years as the first national monument, and a food scene that surprises How the state hands the mic to Indigenous communities to tell their own stories The case for tourism as an economic engine, and why advocating for it takes constant repetition A hypothetical family road trip, from Fossil Butte to a working dude ranch, plus the pitchfork fondue you have to see to believe Why the country's highest concentration of dude ranches still draws locals on a Friday night, not just tourists Why winter, from snowmobiling near bison to the Buffalo Bill Center in Cody, is the season Wyoming wants you to rediscover This is one in a series of travel industry interviews and tourism experts interviews recorded live at IPW 2026, part of View From Afar's ongoing look at travel trends 2026, sustainable tourism, and the destination management ideas neighboring states are sharing. For a fresh read on Wyoming tourism in a milestone year for a state of firsts, it is a front-row conversation with one of the hospitality industry leaders shaping what comes next. Chapters 00:00:00 Welcome From the Floor of IPW 00:01:30 Beyond Yellowstone's Front Door 00:06:30 Devils Tower, Dark Skies, and Surprises 00:08:00 The Wind River Story 00:14:00 A Road Trip for the Bay Area Family 00:17:30 Real Dude Ranches and Pitchfork Fondue 00:20:30 What's Coming, From Sheridan to Snow Resources Visit Travel Wyoming Find the Wyoming Office of Tourism on Instagram and Facebook Explore Afar's Wyoming travel guide Stay Connected Subscribe to View From Afar to catch all our IPW 2026 episodes this week. Follow @AfarMedia on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠TikTok⁠ for behind-the-scenes IPW content. ⁠Sign up⁠ for our travel industry newsletter, Afar Advisor. Rate and review the show to help other travel professionals discover these insights. Explore our other podcasts, ⁠Travel Tales⁠ and ⁠Unpacked⁠. This IPW 2026 special series was recorded live. View From Afar is a production of Afar Media and a part of Airwave Media's podcast network (email ⁠[email protected]⁠ if you would like to advertise on our podcast). The podcast is produced by Aislyn Greene and Nikki Galteland, with assistance from Michelle Baran and Billie Cohen. Music composition from Epidemic Sound. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices