The Alabama Tourism Department and Travel South USA have launched “This is Alabama,” a campaign built with Australian travel-tech platform BYRDLI that lets Australian and U.S. audiences book the road trip they are watching, not just admire it.

According to a Karryon report, the campaign is running across Australia and the U.S. throughout September 2026 and centers on a self-drive corridor from Huntsville to Mobile, spanning Huntsville’s space and science history in the north to the Gulf Coast landscapes around Mobile in the south. Along the route, the campaign frames stops shaped by American music, civil-rights history, and Southern food traditions, positioning Alabama as an alternative to the coastal gateways Australian travelers typically choose.

Two creators are covering the route in opposite directions. Australian photographer and videographer Ashley Dobson travels from Huntsville to Mobile between September 7 and 17, while U.S. photographer and filmmaker Terry McLauchlin covers the reverse route, Mobile to Huntsville, from September 18 to 25. Both are building bookable versions of the stays, experiences and routes they find in Alabama into itineraries their own audiences can book directly through their Travel Clubs business profiles on BYRDLI.

Travel South USA President and CEO Liz Bittner said the structure is designed to close the distance between a viewer’s interest and an actual trip. “Technology is increasingly important in shortening the distance between inspiration and visitation. This collaboration brings creator storytelling together with BYRDLI’s technology, giving audiences a direct pathway from discovering a destination through someone they trust to exploring and booking those experiences for themselves,” she said.

Alabama Tourism Department International Sales Manager Laura Hicks framed the campaign around the state’s range of attractions. “Alabama has such a diverse tourism story to tell, from our music and culture to our food, cities, landscapes and Gulf Coast,” she said. “Through Ashley and Terry’s Travel Clubs, travellers will be able to discover the places they experience in Alabama and then take the next step towards planning and booking those trips for themselves.”

A Direct Answer to Travel Marketing’s Attribution Problem

The campaign lands inside a sector actively wrestling with how to connect influencer content to actual travel revenue. A March 2026 survey of 200 destination marketing organizations and convention and visitors bureau professionals by travel martech company Steller found that 92% are maintaining or increasing influencer budgets this year, even as 76% named tracking attribution and impact their single greatest challenge. Just 12% of the DMOs surveyed reported successfully tracking hotel bookings that originated from social content.

By routing creator content through bookable Travel Club profiles rather than standalone posts, Alabama and Travel South USA are structuring the campaign to produce the booking data that the wider DMO sector has struggled to capture. The timing also aligns with the Steller report’s usage findings: 32% of DMOs surveyed said they do not use influencer content beyond social channels at all, a gap the “This is Alabama” model sidesteps by making the content itself the transaction point.

The campaign follows Travel South USA’s recent ANZ roadshow and runs alongside Brand USA’s separate “More to Love” campaign targeting Australian travelers, part of a broader push by U.S. tourism bodies to court the Australian outbound market during the September to October shoulder season, when driving conditions across the South are milder than peak summer.

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