Timeline and Agenda

Pre-Event Timeline

  • April 1 - Registration opens for Go West Summit 2023
  • January 26 - Appointment selection opens. Click here for more details.
  • January 26 - Room Reservation Cut-off date
  • January 28 - Deadline to modify profile. Changes to your online profile made after this date will not be reflected in the resource manual.
  • January 31 - Deadline for all advertising artwork.
  • February 24 - Deadline to modify appointment schedules
  • February 27 - Education Day
  • February 28-March 1 - Marketplace - Two days of face to face pre-scheduled appointments
  • March 2 - Adventure Day

On-Site Event Agenda

Sunday, February 26, 2023

1:00pm – 5:30pm Go West Summit Registration
Pick up your event credentials and meet the staff.
5:30pm – 7:30pm Buyer Welcome Reception
Sponsored by Travel Oregon. (Buyers and Media only, please)

Monday, February 27 - Education Day

7:00am – 5:30pm Go West Summit Registration
8:30am – 4:45pm

Buyer Site Tour

Visit Anchorage will showcase their destination and hotel properties to buyers and journalists.
8:00am – 9:10am State Caucus Sessions—Meet with suppliers from your state to discuss the latest news and programs and plan your Go West Summit strategy. Every state sponsor is given the opportunity to present a session but not all states participate. Confirmed sessions and their locations will be posted here.
9:15am – 10:30am International Tourism Forecast- NTTO / Brand USA Data and Insights
10:40am – 11:50am Transformation is Knocking at Our Door...Can We Do it This Time?
12:00pm – 1:15pm Lunch - Sponsored by Brand USA
1:30pm – 2:30pm National Parks Update 
Managing Visitation in the Midst of the Pandemic
In Partnership with IITA 
1:30pm – 2:30pm Bureau of Land Management Tourism
2:40pm – 3:30pm Why Inbound Travel Requires a Hybrid Distribution Model
In Partnership with IITA 
2:40pm – 3:30pm Ask the Tour Operator- Contracting Tips, Dynamic and Static Rate Plans
In Partnership with IITA 
3:40pm – 4:30pm

State of International Air Travel
In Partnership with IITA 
3:40pm – 4:30pm Building Your Tourism Recovery Plan
4:30pm – 5:15pm How-To-Summit
6:00pm – 9:00pm

Opening Event at 49th State Brewing Company – Monday, Feb. 27
Drink the best and biggest beer in the biggest city in the biggest state in the USA as Visit Anchorage welcomes Go West Summit with an opening event at 49th State Brewing Company. Indoor and out you will find Alaskan seafood while jamming to Anchorage’s musical artists! This premier microbrewery has stunning views of the Cook Inlet and the six mountain ranges surrounding Anchorage including North America’s highest peak Denali “The Great One”! Stuff yourself like a local with beer-battered halibut, mini crab cakes, and locally raised Alaska Yak sliders and wash it down with Craft beer, premium wines and locally distilled liquors. 

Tuesday, February 28

7:00am – 5:30pm Go West Summit Registration
7:00am – 8:00am Buyer Breakfast - Buyers and Media (along with invited guests) are invited. Sponsored by the state departments of tourism for Arizona, Colorado, and Utah.
8:00am – 12:00pm Marketplace I - Summit Pavilion — This is the first of four Marketplace sessions featuring 12-minute, one-on-one, pre-scheduled appointments.
12:00pm – 1:00pm Lunch - Sponsored by BWH Hotel Group
1:00pm – 5:30pm Marketplace II - Sponsored by GetYourGuide
Evening On Your Own

Use this free night to establish a relationship with a potential client or customer—ask them to join you for dinner! Visit the on-site information desk for ideas before exploring local cafés and restaurants.

Wednesday, March 1

7:00am – 5:30pm Go West Summit Registration
7:45am – 8:50am The BIG REVEAL Breakfast — Presented by our 2024 Go West Summit destination host. Don't miss the excitement as our host is revealed!
9:00am – 5:30pm Supplier Lounge
9:00am – 12:00pm Marketplace III
12:00pm – 1:10pm Lunch
1:15pm – 2:15pm Speed Appointment Session — Meet with buyers at their tables for one full hour of unscheduled 5-minute appointments. 
2:15pm – 5:30pm Marketplace IV
6:00pm – 9:00pm Closing Event at Anchorage Museum – Wednesday, March 1
See the exotic culture of Alaska through the eyes of Anchorage’s multidimensional artists community at the Anchorage Museum. Explore the rich and diverse exhibits of Alaska’s first peoples from the frozen Arctic to the lush coastal communities. Dance to the band or just tap your toe and savor our Alaskan foods located throughout the museum during this exclusively private event.  This is the state’s largest museum and is a Smithsonian affiliate with more than 600 Alaska Native cultural heritage pieces on exhibit! In addition to artifacts from around Alaska and the world, the Anchorage Museum tells the story of Alaska through historic and contemporary voices via ultra-modern vision.
Bring your credit card to shop in one of the ten best museum shops in the world.

Thursday, March 2 - Adventure Day

All Attendees Welcome!

FAM TRIPS

Buyers and journalists are invited to explore destinations and hotels across the American West before and after the show. Several multi-day excursions will be offered.