Visitors Don't See County Lines: Indiana's Case for Working Together

How does a small Midwestern state compete for today's traveler? This week on We, Plural., Lisa sits down with Amy Howell, CEO of the Indiana Destination Development Corporation — better known as Visit Indiana — for a conversation about what it takes to sell a state, and why the people who live here are the hardest audience to convince. Amy spent 20 years as a TV news producer before landing at the state tourism office while working on Indiana's bicentennial. Ten years and all 92 counties later, she has a clear view of what separates a thriving community from a struggling one, and it comes down to two things: building something worth the trip, and getting locals to talk about it. She and Lisa dig into the "Humble Hoosier" problem, the four-seasons-plus-holiday marketing calendar, why Gen Con and meeting planners keep choosing Indianapolis, and how a visitor's dollars ripple through a town's restaurants, shops, and jobs. Amy also lays out the free resources — earned-media tours, a newsletter reaching 133,000+ subscribers, and travel guides — that any county, big or small, can tap into. In this episode: Why Indiana markets by five seasons instead of four What thriving counties do differently: destination development and affordability "Humble Hoosiers" — the perception problem inside our own borders "Other people's money": how a visitor from 50+ miles away fuels the local economy Collaboration across county and state lines, from the Great Lakes USA Consortium to Arts Road 46 Free tools from Visit Indiana that small and rural communities can use right now Amy's We Plural Promise: put on your cheerleader outfit, grab your megaphone, and never say "there's nothing to do here" Connect with We, Plural.: Facebook (facebook.com/wepluralpodcast), Instagram (@wepluralpodcast), and LinkedIn (linkedin.com/company/we-plural-podcast), and catch full episodes on YouTube. Learn more at weplural.com. This episode is brought to you by the Brown County Community Foundation and Pickle on Penn in Carmel, Indiana.