Visitor Magazine
Plan Your Adventure Today
A great visit is just the beginning. This year's SLO CAL Summit looks beyond the moment guests arrive to explore the lasting impact tourism creates for our businesses, our communities, and the travelers who keep coming back.
We'll unpack what our new meetings research tells us about who's choosing SLO CAL and why. We'll make the case for why SLO CAL is a turn well taken and examine how AI is helping our industry work smarter without losing the human touch that defines destination marketing. And we'll explore what FIFA and the Olympic Games mean for international travel and how Highway 1 can stake its claim on the world stage.
Because here's the thing: everyone has a customer. Whether you're shaping strategy or shaping an experience, you play a role in what visitors remember and whether they return. This Summit is about turning that shared responsibility into a shared opportunity — to build stronger demand, a more resilient destination, and connections that bring people back to SLO CAL again and again.
Thursday, October 29, 2026
Alex Madonna Expo Center
120 Madonna Rd, San Luis Obispo, CA
Doors & Lunch: 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM
Program: 12:30 PM – 4:00 PM
Networking Reception: 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Ticket Information
SOLD OUT
To join the waitlist, click the ticket purchase link below and complete the waitlist form.
General Pricing
General Admission: $85
Reserved Table of 10: $850
Each ticket includes program, plated lunch, refreshments and reception food and beverages.
Featured Speakers
Matt Clement
Executive Vice President
Karsh Hagan Madden
For 16 years, Matt Clement has helped destinations and the organizations that market them get honest about who they are, what they're worth and where they're going. As EVP at KHM and founder of KHM Shift, he works at the point where strategy, organizational change, and Al come together—translating complex frameworks into practical tools teams can actually put to work, not just admire.
Chris Kneeland
Co-Founder
CULT Collective
Chris Kneeland is the co-founder of CULT Collective, a marketing advisory firm headquartered in Calgary, Alberta. He also co-founded The Gathering, a Forbes-rated business conference held annually in Banff, AB. Chris specializes in delivering profitable growth through the smarter deployment of discretionary resources, improving elements of the customer journey that matter most, and increasing internal and external engagement via the application of eight proven ‘cult brand’ principles.
Tammy Haughey
Managing Partner
The Shipyard
Tammy is a veteran advertising executive with a blend of grit and grace. In her enterprise role overseeing client leadership, she is responsible for elevating how the agency builds and sustains its most important client partnerships, connecting strategy, creativity, media, and experience into integrated solutions that drive real business growth. With a keen understanding of client needs and market dynamics, Tammy has spent her career cultivating enduring partnerships founded on trust, innovation, and mutual success. She has deep roots in travel, tourism, and hospitality and was at the helm of Visit California’s global account for nearly two decades.
Leona Reed
Vice President of Global Marketing
Visit California
Leona Reed serves as the Vice President of Global Marketing for Visit California. She leads the international marketing team and oversees brand advertising, cooperative marketing, digital content, travel trade and public relations initiatives for Visit California’s 13 target international markets: China, United Kingdom, Canada, Mexico, Australia, Middle East, Japan, Germany, France, South Korea, Italy, Nordics and India. California welcomes over 17 million international visitors annually who infuse more than $25 billion into the state’s economy through direct spending.
Angie Briggs
Senior Vice President, Industry Partnerships and Engagement & Chief Development Officer
Brand USA
Angie Briggs serves as senior vice president of industry partnerships and engagement and chief development officer at Brand USA. In this role, she leads the partner engagement team with a focus on providing value to new and existing partners and expanding our relationships with industry stakeholders. Throughout her career, Briggs has demonstrated expertise in fostering collaborations, driving organizational growth, and leading through change, with a consistent focus on professionalism, inclusivity, and attention to detail.
Molly Cano
Chief Marketing Officer
Visit SLO CAL
As Chief Marketing Officer, Molly provides executive oversight for VSC’s comprehensive marketing efforts, encompassing marketing strategy, sales and events. She leads the VSC Marketing Committee, bringing together community and industry stakeholders to develop collaborative, inclusive and effective marketing programs that elevate SLO CAL as a premier travel destination.
Cathy Cartier
President & CEO
Visit SLO CAL
Cathy Cartier is President & CEO of Visit SLO CAL, the destination marketing and management organization for San Luis Obispo County. She provides executive oversight of the organization’s operations and carries out the direction set by its Board of Directors. She built her career in travel and tourism on brand strategy, audience engagement and crisis communication, leading marketing for a major U.S. destination and heading an international marketing firm with affiliates in the US, Canada and Europe.
Speaker Sessions
Beyond the Visit: Building What Lasts
Cathy Cartier, Visit SLO CAL
A record 7.7 million visitors made 2025 our strongest year yet, but a great visit is just the beginning. Cathy Cartier looks beyond the moment guests arrive to the lasting impact tourism creates, sharing new visitor research and a first look at the priorities shaping FY27 and Strategic Direction 2029. From driving demand in a growing destination to AI innovation and the renewal of the Tourism Marketing District, she'll explore how we turn first impressions into enduring relationships, because everyone has a customer, and each of us helps build what lasts.
Marketing That Builds Demand: From Insights to Impact
Molly Cano, Visit SLO CAL
Building demand takes more than great creative—it starts with understanding what motivates today's travelers. Molly Cano shares how visitor research has shaped Visit SLO CAL's marketing strategy, influenced the Turns Well Taken campaign, and informed new opportunities to reach future visitors. Through campaign results, the debut of the new family brand spot, strategic partnerships, and a first look at meetings research, attendees will see how marketing is evolving to build lasting demand for SLO CAL.
The AI Cheat Code: Start With Your Work, Not the Tool
Matt Clement, Karsh Hagan Madden
AI is only as useful as the thinking behind it. In this hands-on session, Matt Clement cuts through the noise to show how tourism and marketing professionals can harness AI as a true force multiplier, not by chasing the latest tools, but by starting with the work that already matters. Walk away with a practical framework for integrating AI in ways that save time, sharpen output, and keep your strategy firmly in the driver's seat.
Reaping the Benefits of Brand Devotion
Chris Kneeland, CULT Collective
What factors play a role in making a destination a place people visit versus one they can’t stop talking about? Chris Kneeland, co-founder of CULT Collective, explores the psychology of brand devotion and what it takes to move travelers from satisfied customers to genuine advocates. Drawing on some of the world's most loyalty-inspiring brands, this session offers a fresh lens on how SLO CAL can deepen the connections that drive repeat visitation and word-of-mouth demand.
Going Global: FIFA, the Olympics, and What International Momentum Means for SLO CAL
Angie Briggs, Brand USA
Leona Reed, Visit California
Moderated by Tammy Haughey, The Shipyard
The world's biggest sporting events are coming to the U.S. and they're bringing an unprecedented wave of international travelers with them. In this panel conversation, leaders from Brand USA and Visit California share lessons from FIFA and a forward look at LA28 Olympic preparation, exploring how destinations like SLO CAL can position Highway 1 to capture global attention and turn international interest into lasting visitation.
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2025 Recap Video
