Our first day was filled with sightseeing and new, interesting foods for dinner. Unfortunately, I couldn’t attend our sightseeing tour as I was traveling to Prague from Spain, but I can say that European architecture is very appealing in my book. From the masonry to the sculptures, carvings, and fixtures of each building giving them unique features that differ from the next. Miami is now filled with ultra-modern architecture competing with other popular city centers in the US like New York, Chicago, and San Francisco. In the suburbs, however, there is still architecture that pays homage to the original Spanish tile work used on some of the homes and buildings. I certainly like learning where these styles come from and how they are still a part of our culture even through change and modernization. As for the difference between Miami and Prague: Infrastructure I have never truly ridden in a tram that was this nice and so easy/convenient. Miami only has the Metromover in Brickell/downtown which is not the greatest but ok with what it provides but needs to be extended and encompass more of the city. This opens the door to a much bigger problem Miami is facing reliable public transportation. The Metrorail only goes through some of the suburbs and the Tri-Rail, Brightline, or Amtrack goes in/out of South Florida – not much intra-city travel in the metropolitan area. If Miami had a more connected and reliable public transit like the services that Prague provides, it could boost connectivity and overall reliability when traveling easing the traffic on our roads.
I learned a lot from CzechTourism and thoroughly enjoyed their presentation. Much like most city tourism marketing companies, CzechTourism promotes its locations by crafting compelling campaigns that highlight both the expected attractions and lesser-known experiences to appeal to a wide audience captivating both tourists and locals. The “unexpected” campaign is a push for activities and mind-blowing experiences one might not think about doing in the first place. Whether that may be hiking through nature trails while glamping becoming one with nature or even indulging in a holistic spa experience to rejuvenate the mind, body, and soul. During the presentation, we also learned more about DMOs (Destination Marketing Organizations), and how they play a pivotal role in positioning a destination. They do this by making the destination attractive to visitors by orchestrating marketing strategies, fostering partnerships, and ensuring brand consistency throughout their offices and services.