Research produced this week by MMGY Global suggests that more than 60% of travelers are open to seeing destination advertising right now, despite the shelter-in-place orders and social distancing required by the COVID crisis. In a Destinations International webinar this week, MMGY Global’s CEO, Craig Compagnone, shared this finding and suggested that consumers feel that destination marketing is appropriate so long as it strikes an empathetic tone.

A new video out from Visit Omaha has empathy in spades. It strikes a somber tone with shots featuring frontline tourism and hospitality staff; “the men, women, and families whose lives have been put on pause”. It has lingering and nostalgic shots of the things we took for granted: restaurants, concerts, baseball games, trips to the park.

But the video has a positive message, assuring us that what we are going through is just a pause in the action, just an intermission. It reminds Omahans that they are resilient. To the workers and residents of Omaha, the video reassures, “The show will go on.”