BYRDLI launches creator-led travel commerce campaign with Alabama Tourism and Travel South USA
Partner content – Australian-founded travel technology company BYRDLI has launched THIS IS ALABAMA in partnership with the Alabama Tourism Department and Travel South USA, marking its first campaign with both organisations.
Rolling out across Australia and the United States, the campaign will see Australian photographer and videographer Ashley Dobson and acclaimed US photographer and videographer Terry McLauchlin travel through Alabama in opposite directions, each showcasing the state through their own perspective.
Through BYRDLI, the hotels, experiences, routes and itineraries they discover will become part of their own Travel Clubs, allowing audiences to move from seeing Alabama through someone they trust to exploring and booking travel inspired by the journey.
Dobson will travel from Huntsville to Mobile, experiencing Alabama for the first time and introducing the state to her Australian community.
McLauchlin will take the reverse route, travelling from Mobile to Huntsville and sharing Alabama with his US audience through the lens of one of the country’s highly regarded travel photographers.
Together, the journeys reveal a state where American music, Southern food, history, innovation and landscape intersect.
From Huntsville’s space and science story to communities shaped by music and civil rights history, local food traditions, Southern culture and the landscapes of Alabama’s south, the campaign is designed to showcase an America beyond the traditional gateways.
For Australian travellers in particular, Alabama offers many of the experiences they travel to the United States seeking, road trips, live music, culture, history, food and a genuine sense of place.
For Vanessa Richards, Co-Founder and CEO of BYRDLI, the campaign also demonstrates how creator-led destination marketing can move beyond awareness: “Travel creators have always been incredibly powerful at creating demand. They influence the destination someone chooses, the hotel they stay in and the experiences they want to have.
“What historically hasn’t existed is the infrastructure for that creator to remain part of the traveller’s journey when they’re ready to actually book.
“Ashley and Terry aren’t simply travelling through Alabama and creating content. They’re building bookable Alabama travel inside their own Travel Clubs, allowing their communities to move from inspiration to purchase. That is creator-led travel distribution and BYRDLI enabled that globally.”
Dobson said discovering a lesser-known part of the United States was central to the appeal: “I’m so excited to explore a different part of the USA and experience Alabama for the first time. I love uncovering destinations that people might not have considered before, and Alabama feels like one of those places full of unexpected stories, beautiful landscapes and genuine local experiences.
“I can’t wait to explore it firsthand and create a trip that inspires others to experience it for themselves through my Travel Club.”
Terry brings a different perspective. Known for distinctive destination photography and visual storytelling, he has built a highly engaged community around the places he captures.
Through his BYRDLI Travel Club, the hotels, routes and experiences behind his Alabama imagery can become bookable travel curated by Terry himself, allowing followers to move from saving a photograph to experiencing the destination.
Says Laura Hicks, International Sales Manager at Alabama Tourism Department: “Alabama has such a diverse tourism story to tell, from our music and culture to our food, cities, landscapes and Gulf Coast. 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.”
Says Liz Bittner, President & CEO of Travel South USA: “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.”
BYRDLI was built around a gap in the travel industry.
Creators can generate the desire to travel, influence where someone stays and shape how destinations are perceived, but traditionally disappear from the commercial journey once a traveller decides to purchase.
BYRDLI provides the infrastructure for that relationship to continue.
Through the platform, creators and independent travel advisors operate their own Travel Clubs, personalised travel businesses where they can curate and sell hotels, itineraries, packages and travel experiences directly to their communities.
BYRDLI provides the underlying travel commerce infrastructure, including global travel inventory, booking technology, payments and fulfilment support.
For tourism partners, that creates a measurable pathway between creator storytelling and actual travel outcomes.
Adds Richards: “The revolution isn’t that creators influence travel. They already do.
“The change is that they can now participate in distributing the travel they inspire.
“For us, the end point isn’t a like or a view. It is a traveller arriving in destination, a hotel room occupied and an experience actually booked.”
THIS IS ALABAMA will roll out across Australia and the United States throughout September 2026.
Ashley Dobson will travel from Huntsville to Mobile from 7–17 September, followed by Terry McLauchlin travelling from Mobile to Huntsville from 18–25 September.
See Alabama through them. Then experience it for yourself.
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