This past November, Domanico was hired by the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Governors and Premiers as the full-time tourism director, with an intended focus on passenger cruising. The organization’s mission is for U.S. governors and Canadian premiers to work as equal partners to grow the region’s nearly $8 trillion economy and protect the world’s largest system of fresh water.  

A Strategic Mission 

Through several initiatives—including Cruise the Great Lakes and Great Lakes USA—Domanico’s overarching mission is to create awareness of cruising opportunities by creating a regional marketing campaign, specifically targeting domestic and international travelers.  

Cruise the Great Lakes is a member-based organization, and, under that umbrella, Domanico wants to bring more people to the table and create awareness around this region. “What I’m finding is not everybody, even residents who don’t live in port cities, is aware of the cruising opportunities in the Great Lakes. I’ll be putting together a membership sales and retention strategy for Cruise the Great Lakes to help elevate the industry,” she said.  

Regarding Great Lakes USA, Domanico will be taking a regional approach to promote the area. “My goal is to reposition and market the Great Lakes as one region versus as individual states. I will be creating marketing pillars so I can create multistate itineraries under those pillars,” she said. For example, such pillars may include water sports, small lakeside village experiences, culinary, entertainment, American icons and cruising, all reasons why people should visit the Great Lakes region, with experiences marketed under these various umbrellas.  

Domanico further explained her reasoning for this regional approach. “I think it’s important that every state in the Great Lakes is promoted equally and equitably because they all have Great Lakes experiences to offer. When I create itineraries, to work and bring people to multi states is really important. They will understand more of what the experience is for the Great Lakes and how unique it is, to cruise around it and have these small village experiences, the relaxation it offers, the entertainment, the culinary experiences, even the sports. To promote the region, instead of individual states, is a bigger story,” she said. 

With eight member states and two member provinces, Great Lakes St. Lawrence Governors and Premiers also has offices in the UK, Germany, Switzerland and Austria, so another primary goal is to work with those offices to bring media focus—and tourism—to the area. One strategy she will employ is through ‘fam’ trips, or familiarization trips geared toward the media and tour operators. “Fam trips are one of the greatest sales tools we have, so this is an exciting prospect for me. We’ll be hosting a couple of those familiarization trips of the final leg of IPW, an international tourism conference that will be held in Chicago in June. It is the largest international trade show that is held domestically, and we are lucky enough to have it in Chicago,” she said. 

An Established Career 

A Chicago native, Domanico is no stranger to the Great Lakes, nor to marketing, having amassed more than 25 years of experience in the destination marketing arena, including a stint with Choose Chicago, Chicago’s tourism and marketing arm. “I was hired as their director of global development. I worked with the city of Chicago to market the destination, and collectively, we oversaw attracting tourism and tourists to the city. My role was to bring international tourists to Chicago,” she said. While at this job, she opened 10 international offices for the city, including four offices in China. 

She was then recruited by Brand USA, the nation’s destination marketing organization, to come aboard as the organization’s vice president of global development. “During my tenure there, I managed 22 international offices, putting together strategies for travel trade and trade media. It was the honor of my life to represent the U.S. around the globe,” she said. This job was in Washington, D.C., but family matters brought her back to the Chicago area in 2020. She recently served as the CEO of the La Grange Business Association outside Chicago, a village that she said is near and dear to her heart. “I used to have a home there; my family is there. It is a beautiful village, and to be able to represent the small businesses there, to see them thrive, was delightful,” Domanico said.  

In her new role, Domanico is hopeful about the future of the Great Lakes cruising industry and its ability to attract more of an international market, especially if recent numbers are indicative of a positive trend. “In 2025, Great Lakes cruises are projected to welcome over 22,000 individual passengers; this represents a 10 percent increase from 2024. We are anticipating that people will visit 700 ports, which is up 30 percent from last year, and that increases the total number of cruise passenger visits across the region to exceed 150,000 people. That equates to 150,000 visits to the different ports. That could really impact the economy of some of these small destinations, and more than that, it increases the awareness of what we have to offer in the Great Lakes,” she said. Plus, she added, once people come to these destinations via cruise, they are more inclined to come back on repeat visits.  

These projected numbers are in part a reflection of the additional cruise ships that will be sailing in the region this year, for a total of six different cruise lines. Another reason is that, as sailing the Great Lakes is a two-nation vacation, it is easier now to get through customs on the U.S. side of the border; she said that this easier transit between the United States and Canada is very attractive to visitors.  

Although international tourists from the UK and German-speaking countries have already ‘discovered’ this area, Domanico’s long-term goal is to expand to different countries.  

Though new to the position, she is eager to dive in. “I’ve worked hard to set some parameters and goals, and I’m very excited and ready to roll up my sleeves and get going. It is a great honor to represent the Great Lakes area. In my opinion, it is a gem of a region that offers so much to not only domestic travelers but also international travelers. The beauty of the Great Lakes is so overwhelming, and the different experiences in the Great Lakes make it truly something very, very unique. The experiences offered in the region are remarkable.” 

Viking Octantis image courtesy of Port Milwaukee