Global Influencer Advisory Board explores Sonoma County and Highway 1

Visit California’s Global Influencer Advisory Board (GIAB) convened in Sonoma County this May for a multi-day gathering filled with strategy sessions and immersive experiences that highlighted the county’s diversity, abundance and farm-to-fork culture.

Established in 2017, the GIAB serves as both a sounding board and strategic partner, helping Visit California stay ahead of digital trends while building long-term ambassador relationships with leading global creators. Since its inception, the board has become a hallmark of Visit California’s influencer program, setting it apart in the destination marketing space.

This spring’s agenda included timely conversations around international and domestic travel sentiment, the future of TikTok, emerging content formats, family content laws and shifting perceptions of influencer marketing. Members offered valuable insights across markets and platforms, shedding light on both challenges and opportunities.

A recurring theme throughout the sessions was the intersection of politics, pricing and perception. International members noted a rise in negative sentiment around U.S. travel broadly, though not California specifically. Domestically, creators expressed sensitivity around promoting leisure travel during economic uncertainty, with concerns that tighter brand budgets could impact future influencer collaborations.

Insights from the board included a growing desire for more TikTok-specific deliverables, as the platform continues to dominate content discovery, and more flexible contracts that allow creators to choose between high-performing formats like carousels and Reels. Influencers also emphasized the value of blogs and noted that limiting Instagram stories to one or two per day is currently leading to better performance. Across the board, creators signaled a shift away from gifting and unboxing content in favor of meaningful, experience-driven storytelling that resonates with their audiences.

Outside of meetings, the group spent two days exploring Sonoma County, from wine tasting at Bartholomew Winery and hiking through Armstrong Redwoods to meditation at Timber Cove, foraging along the Pacific coastline and a sunset gathering at Sea Ranch Lodge. These immersive experiences showcased the region’s rich offerings and reinforced the power of authentic storytelling, informing the next chapter of Visit California’s influencer strategy.