Leslie Walker Consulting

10/03/2026

Tourism friends, this one is personal.

TBEX North America is coming to Visit The Shoals November 3–6, 2027, and if you’ve ever heard me talk about TBEX (we both know you have) and wondered what all the fuss was about, this is your chance.

TBEX brings travel creators from around the world together with destinations and brands for education, networking and, most importantly, relationships.

I’ve been part of this community for years, and I can genuinely say it has changed my career and my life. I’ve made lifelong friends, built incredible professional relationships, traveled to places I might never have experienced otherwise and found opportunities I never could have planned for.

And now they’re coming back to Alabama!

If you work in tourism, come experience it. Register. Meet these people. Sit in the sessions. Make connections. You never know what can come from simply being in the room.

And if you’re a destination, attraction, business or brand that wants to get in front of these travel storytellers while they’re here, reach out to me.

We’re building partnerships and sponsorships now, and I’d love to find a creative way for you to be part of it.

Register: https://tbex.regfox.com/tbex-north-america-2027-the-shoals

Send a message to learn more

08/26/2026

Well, this was a pretty great surprise at 30,000 feet.

Flying home yesterday from a business trip in Kazakhstan, I turned on my United seatback screen and found something VERY familiar.

The TravelAbility award-winning accessible travel video I was lucky enough to work on with Wonders Within Reach, featuring Visit North Alabama and filmed by the talented team at The Library Of!

It was selected for United’s inflight entertainment for Disability Pride Month in July, and I was a little disappointed that I’d never actually gotten to see it onboard myself.

Apparently I hadn’t missed my chance after all.

There’s something incredibly satisfying about unexpectedly seeing work you helped create out there in the wild, especially when that work is showing travelers with disabilities what’s possible.

And somewhere between Kazakhstan and home, there it was on my seatback screen.

Pretty darn cool.

08/02/2026

Sunday Tourism Fix
Too many destinations try to be the whole book.

They want to be the reason someone plans the trip, stays another night, and never leaves.
But travelers don't experience places that way.
They collect chapters.

A scenic drive. A memorable meal. A festival. A conversation with a local. A small town they hadn't planned to stop in but now can't stop talking about.

No single chapter has to tell the whole story. It just has to make someone want to turn the page.
So here's this week's fix.

Ask your team one question:
If we're Chapter 7, what are Chapters 6 and 8?

Where does the story naturally lead into your destination? And where should it lead next?

The destinations that understand their place in the story stop competing with their neighbors and start creating journeys that are richer than anything they could have written alone.

Maybe the goal was never to be the whole book.
Maybe the goal was to become the chapter no one forgets.

07/26/2026

The intersection of content creation and destination marketing just underwent a massive shift.

At TBEX, the world's largest gathering for travel content creators and tourism industry professionals, accessibility took center stage. The opening keynote featured disabled creators Curb Free with Cory Lee, Penny Zibula , and Phoenyx Powell, reinforcing a message that echoed throughout the conference: accessible travel content is the future of destination marketing.

Beyond the stage, live transcription, sensory spaces, and accessible wayfinding demonstrated what it looks like when an industry event practices what it preaches.

The disability community is already spending $50 billion a year on travel in the U.S. alone. Destinations that aren't paying attention are missing the moment.

Read the full article here: https://www.travelabilityinsider.com/blog/2026/07/07/tbex-2026-shifts-the-foundation-for-both-destinations-and-travel-creators/

07/14/2026

All of my tourism worlds colliding in the best possible way. Honored to see our opening keynote featured by TravelAbility!

TBEX is the world’s largest gathering and networking event for travel content creators, including bloggers, podcasters, YouTubers, influencers, and tourism industry professionals. This is whe…

07/12/2026

Sunday Tourism Fix: Add One Sentence That Answers the Visitor's Biggest Question

Before Monday morning, choose one attraction, restaurant, trail, venue, or event page on your destination website and add one sentence that removes uncertainty.

"Wheelchairs can access every public area of the museum."
"The trail begins with a paved quarter-mile section before transitioning to packed gravel."
"The market is busiest between 10 a.m. and noon if you prefer a lively atmosphere."
"Sensory bags are available at the front desk at no charge."
"Free parking is located behind the visitor center."

Every destination has information it takes for granted. This Sunday, identify one thing your staff answers every week and put the answer on your website.

One sentence might save a visitor one phone call and give them the confidence to visit in the first place.

07/09/2026

If my job looks like I'm just hanging out with friends... that's because it kind of is.

This time, I got to share my hometown. Other times, it's another destination that's trusted me to help welcome content creators as if it were my own.

Isn't that what hospitality is all about? Making people feel less like visitors and more like friends.

And if we're lucky... by the end of it, we actually are.😉

07/08/2026

Sometimes the biggest lesson in destination marketing comes from the most unexpected places.

Living in Huntsville, it's easy to drive past a Saturn V rocket without a second thought. Yet visitors from around the world have been captivated by something as ordinary to us as... ranch dressing.

It's a reminder that what feels everyday to locals can be extraordinary to someone experiencing it for the first time.

My latest blog explores why destinations should stop overlooking the familiar and start seeing their communities through fresh eyes.

I'd love to hear what "ordinary" attraction in your hometown visitors can't seem to get enough of.

Read it here:

Living in Huntsville, Alabama has given me a strange superpower.

07/05/2026

Sometimes the best destinations don't just reach travelers... they fly right to them.

I'm incredibly proud to share that Episode 10 of the 2025 TravelAbility Film Festival, Under the Sun, Moon, & Stars, is currently available on United in-flight entertainment.

This beautiful project was made possible through an incredible partnership between Wonders Within Reach, Visit North Alabama, The Library Of, and Leslie Walker Consulting, with a shared goal of telling a story that proves accessible travel isn't a niche. It's simply great travel.

If you're flying United this month, I hope you'll take a few minutes to watch Under the Sun, Moon, & Stars. Knowing this story is now reaching travelers at 35,000 feet is a reminder of just how far meaningful collaboration can travel.

Congratulations to everyone who helped bring this project to life. Here's to creating travel experiences, and the stories that inspire them, for everyone.

https://www.unitedprivatescreening.com/details-page?id=24036270