Industry News
Industry News provides weekly news and tips for the people who market Minnesota and its destinations.
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June 8, 2026 |
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| 2022 Minneapolis Pride Festival / Photo Credit: James Perovich @MNCommunity - Courtesy Of Meet Minneapolis |
Stock up on 2026 Explore Minnesota Travel Guides for Summer
Consumers can order free guides on exploreminnesota.com and interested businesses or DMOs can order bulk quantities for their own customers and guests. We encourage you to order a box and share it; each box contains 25 guides.
Last Chance to Add Your July 4 Celebrations and Fireworks Displays to ExploreMinnesota.com
Summer celebrations are here, and we want to help promote them on ExploreMinnesota.com
To have your July 4 events and firework displays considered for inclusion in various Explore Minnesota communications, log into the Explore Minnesota extranet to update or create new listings for by June 12.
Please note that submitting an image with your event listing increases the likelihood that your event will be featured in an upcoming newsletter or social media post. For technical assistance, contact our extranet team at tourism@state.mn.us.
Update your listing on the Explore Minnesota extranet.
America 250: Share Your Community Events for Minnesota’s Celebration
On July 4, 2026, the United States will commemorate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, a historic milestone that reflects on our nation’s past, honors contributions from all Americans, and envisions the future we want to create.
Explore Minnesota is working to elevate celebrations happening across the state. This is an opportunity for Minnesota communities to showcase their unique history, culture, and creativity during this once-in-a-generation event.
How You Can Participate:
If your community is planning an America 250 event, we want to help share it with travelers and residents alike. Here’s how to submit your event:
- Log in to your Extranet account and add your event details, or
- Use the Submit an Event form on ExploreMinnesota.com.
Events will be tagged as part of America 250 and featured on this dedicated landing page, making it easy for visitors to find and join your celebration.
Help us Refresh the Explore Minnesota Film Locations Database
Does your community have a location listing in our database? From historic downtowns to lakes, cabins, farms and even empty warehouses, these new additions help our team guide location scouts to find their perfect shot.
- Search your community by city or zip code. Stand apart from the crowd by updating your photos and description.
- Do you have a hidden gem to share? Upload your community’s unique filming spots to get on the radar of major productions.
- See an old, out-of-date listing? Email your updates to luke.heikkila@state.mn.us.
Add your location or login to make updates.
New Products Available in the Star of the North Shop
We’ve introduced more styles and designs to the Explore Minnesota Star of the North Shop. From the Driftless Area to Voyageurs National Park and all of your Star of the North essentials, check out new merch and watch for new additions throughout the year.
All profits earned from the shop go back into our mission to help promote Minnesota as the best state for travel, quality of life and economic opportunity.
Tourism Center Offers Generative AI Learning Materials for Community Tourism Development
During the past six months, the Tourism Center has worked with colleagues at the University of Minnesota to create a series of byte-sized learning materials on Generative AI and community tourism development.
Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) refers to a class of artificial intelligence tools — such as ChatGPT and DALL·E — that can generate new content, including text, images, audio, and video, in response to human prompts. Rather than replacing people, GenAI is designed to assist them by making content creation faster, lower cost, and more accessible — even for small teams without technical backgrounds.
For rural and small tourism businesses, GenAI matters for the following reasons:
- Automate routine tasks — handle guest questions and scheduling automatically.
- Reduce marketing costs — generate content and visuals in-house instead of outsourcing.
- Extend engagement — enhance online presence and provide timely response to visitor inquiries.
- Preserve local stories — capture oral histories and community assets in digital storytelling formats.
- Enhance the human touch — free up time to customize guest engagement.
Upcoming Free National Parks Days in 2026
US national parks will see significant changes in 2026 to commemorate the country's 250th anniversary, including more fee-free days for residents on holidays such as Presidents' Day and Independence Day.
All National Park Service sites that charge an entrance fee will offer free admission to everyone (other fees, including timed entry or reservation fees, may apply). Mark your calendar for these entrance fee-free dates:
- June 14: Flag Day
- July 3–5: Independence Day weekend
- August 25: 110th Birthday of the National Park Service
- September 17: Constitution Day
- October 27: Theodore Roosevelt's birthday
- November 11: Veterans Day
Share your Community’s Transportation Needs
The National Association of Development Organizations (NADO) Research Foundation is seeking input from rural communities, Tribal nations, regional development organizations, transit agencies, and other partners serving populations of fewer than 50,000. NADO applies annually for federal funding to provide transportation-related technical assistance and is gathering information about local needs to help guide future support efforts.
Organizations interested in exploring transportation assistance opportunities are encouraged to submit their transportation-related needs to NADO at www.surveymonkey.com/r/NADOrequest.
Upcoming Industry Webinars
- CVENT and ON24, Keys to Driving Webinar Registration, June 9, 1 p.m. CST
- AdRoll, Building and AI Sales Coach That Closes the Deal, June 10, 11 a.m. CST
- Future Partners, The State of the American Traveler, June 10, 2 p.m. CST
- MarketingProfs, Campaign Management Friday Forum, June 12, 10:30 a.m. CST
- Stran Promotional Solutions, You’re Not Asking Enough of Your Merch, June 18, 1 p.m. CST
- MarketingProfs, Training AI on Your Brand, June 26, 10 a.m. CST