Explore St. Louis Marks Milestone 2024

Success ranges from America’s Center expansion to best-ever advertising reach

ST. LOUIS: From the debut of Hall 4X to P!nk’s packed concert to record-breaking marketing reach, 2024 was a banner year for Explore St. Louis and its efforts to promote and position St. Louis as a top-tier destination for leisure travel as well as meetings and events.

The organization welcomed Ed Skapinok as its Chief Commercial Officer in July, a new position for the organization that is unique in the travel and tourism industry. Skapinok relocated to St. Louis to take the position, which combines the consumer-facing functions of Explore St. Louis for a unified and comprehensive approach to selling the region.

Explore St. Louis’ public relations outreach netted 1.34 billion positive media impressions for the St. Louis region as the organization hosted more than 120 journalists throughout the year. Additionally, Explore’s half-hour film, The Flavor of St. Louis, received national recognition with a Silver Adrian Award from Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International, along with a Skift Award nomination.

SMARInsights’ annual advertising effectiveness study reported that Explore St. Louis’ marketing campaign effectively influenced leisure travel to St. Louis, achieving an incremental travel rate of 7.2%, which translated to 934,651 additional trips. This resulted in an ad-influenced trip spending of $933 million, representing a 53% increase over last year. In addition, the 2024 spring and summer campaigns achieved 49% awareness, reaching approximately 13 million households ─ the highest awareness since 2017 and the largest volume of aware households to date.

This year, the America’s Center expansion project marked significant progress with the debut of the 72,000-square-foot Hall 4X as well as 23 upgraded, fully-enclosed loading docks, while The Dome rolled out new turf and energy-efficient LED lighting in time for the 2025 Battlehawks season. In the new year, America’s Center will see a new lobby come online as well as the Center’s 40-bed culinary garden and enhancement of the Washington Avenue facade.

Looking ahead to 2025, America’s Center Convention Complex will have one of its biggest and busiest years yet. In addition to a full slate of meetings and conventions, St. Louis will welcome Meeting Professionals International for its annual World Education Conference in June, bringing meeting planners from across the globe to the Gateway City. On the event side, in January, car lovers and monster truck enthusiasts can check out the St. Louis Auto Show and Monster Jam. The St. Louis Battlehawks will break in The Dome’s brand-new turf when the season starts in spring 2025, and Kendrick Lamar & SZA will perform on June 4 as a part of their Grand National Tour.

As the organization looks toward 2025, Explore St. Louis is poised for further expansion and growth, capitalizing on the momentum and economic achievements in 2024.

Photos courtesy of Explore St. Louis are available here:

• America’s Center Expansion
• St. Louis Battlehawks
• New turf in The Dome
• P!nk concert