Meet our Founder: Alandra Swain

I didn’t fall into hospitality and tourism marketing. I built my career inside it.

I started in marketing 15 years ago, building my career through tourism, hospitality and regional marketing from the inside out.

Five years at Perisher taught me what it actually takes to market an experience - not just a product. Campaigns, digital, content, brand systems, guest experience, peak-season pressure. In the middle of winter, marketing can’t just “look good” - it has to work. From there, I moved into hotel group marketing, leading strategy across multiple venues, and rebrands post large-scale renovations. Over the years, I’ve rebuilt brands from the ground up, developed sub-brands, launched campaigns, managed major projects and helped venues reposition themselves within changing regional markets.

Along the way, the work became a two-time AHA Awards finalist for marketing excellence. But more than anything, those years taught me that good marketing isn’t generic - What we do has to reflect the business, the people behind it and the community around it.

That’s what led to MAIS.

After starting a family, I built the studio to continue doing the work I love, on my terms - strategically, creatively and closely connected to the industries I know best. 

I’ve spent years immersed in regional tourism, hospitality and events, living the same lifestyle we market every day.

I’m also a partner in Snowy Way Brewing Co., overseeing marketing across brand, digital, sales and venue activations. It means I understand the realities behind the work - budgets, operations, customer behaviour, trade relationships and what it takes to grow a regional brand long-term.

Mais isn’t a large agency, and it’s not a one-person freelancer model either. It’s senior marketing direction backed by a trusted network of creatives, designers, photographers and specialists who understand regional brands as deeply as I do.

Because the best marketing for hospitality, tourism and events doesn’t come from people watching from the outside. It comes from people who’ve live it.