Category: Essays
The New Era of Transformative and Sustainable Tourism
Author: Jeremy Wells – Longitude
While the future of travel and tourism is largely unknown, there are some travel trends and indicators that have remained. Traveler preferences related to wellness, sustainability, solitude, experiential travel, affordable luxury, and “off-the-beaten-path” travel are likely to expand over the coming years, and transformational travel may be a polestar that clues us in to what the future holds. …
Advocacy Through Partner Services
Author: Meagan McGuire, CDME – Seattle Southside Regional Tourism Authority
How does a destination marketing organization cultivate community advocates who will stand with us during times like these? I argue in this essay that, when it comes to the hospitality business community, this essential support is something that must be built up over time through an attentive focus on partner services. …
A Different Perspective on Understanding DMO Value
Authors: David Holder and Tina Valdecanas – Co-Founders, Clarity of Place
Spending and visitation metrics provide only a snapshot of the importance of a DMO’s impact. And that snapshot is largely focused only on the visitor and their interaction with the tourism vertical. Juxtaposed against this limited array is a growing recognition of the importance of a DMO’s work for the entire community. Their efforts toward destination development and branding impact the community beyond the annual number of visitors, lodging tax generated, or number of impressions on an ad. …
Collaboration & the “Other”
Author: Meagan McGuire, CDME – Seattle Southside Regional Tourism Authority
Many Destination Management Organizations (DMOs) recognize the importance of local leadership groups working together for a stronger, more coordinated economic development strategy. However, some DMOs might find the current COVID-19 crisis has made collaboration more difficult. Despite the best outward intentions, innate human behavior might be getting in the way. …
Human Nature vs. Virtual Meetings
Authors: Meagan McGuire, CDME – Seattle Southside Regional Tourism Authority & Judy Frankel – Tourism Richmond
Virtual meeting platforms have been around for years, but not until recently have they been utilized to such a degree. While we mourn the loss of our in-person meetings, we are becoming more adept at these platforms and more comfortable with meeting virtually. Despite this, 83% still report that they miss live meetings (Fazio 2020). …