In this episode of The Layover, we sit down with Daniella Middleton, partner and development counsel at Development Counsellors International (DCI), to unpack how destination marketing is changing in the creator economy. A self-described “digital traveler,” Daniella has spent two decades in travel marketing, leading high-impact digital strategies, multi-channel campaigns, international roadshows, and research into generational buying habits for meetings and event spaces.

Daniella shares how she first entered the travel industry through a Craigslist job post, later stepped away to sharpen her digital strategy perspective, and eventually returned to travel with a clearer view of how creators, social media, and digital platforms were reshaping the way destinations reach travelers.

Daniella breaks down how destination marketing is evolving through:

• The rise of travel creators as a hybrid of PR, advertising, social, and content
• Why creator partnerships need to be relationship-based, not purely transactional
• How destinations should vet creators based on objectives, audience, data, and brand fit
• The growing influence of Gen Alpha and younger audiences on family travel decisions
• Why TikTok search, shares, saves, and TikTok Go are changing the path from inspiration to booking
• How B2B destinations and meetings brands are beginning to work with thought leaders and LinkedIn creators
• Why print, guides, and physical media still have value when they serve a clear audience or stakeholder objective

The conversation also explores the difficulty of proving ROI in creator marketing, the blurred lines between journalists and influencers, the importance of qualitative signals like shares and saves, and why destinations need to move faster while still respecting public funding, transparency, and stakeholder accountability.

Whether you’re a destination marketer, travel creator, publisher, agency strategist, or tourism leader trying to understand where influence is headed next, this episode offers a sharp, practical look at how the travel industry can build smarter, more authentic, and more effective creator partnerships.

📍 Learn More Connect with Daniella Middleton on LinkedIn and learn more about DCI’s work in destination marketing, economic development, and talent attraction.

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