It’s no longer a point of discussion — there’s an obvious necessity for tourism to create legacy value improvements and assets for the places and people that choose to play host to visitors. As we re-organize and rationalize our destination organizations to serve citizens and visitors alike, we…
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“The DMO got out of the way, and we let the passion of the resident talk to the passion of the visitor, and where that passion meets is where the transformation happens.” — Kristin Dunne, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand If you've been paying attention to the sustainability discussion in tourism for…
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Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, destination organizations were midstream in dealing with digital disruption. Marketing for most destinations had shifted from predominantly paid media placement to earned media and intelligent social content. However, there was still a long way to go for destination…
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More and more, we see destination organizations worldwide launching innovative programs to engage local stakeholders in developing long-term strategies for regenerative tourism that serve both local citizens and travelers. And, yes, specifically in that order — local citizens first! Citizens must…
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Episode guest: Greg Takehara, CEO of Tourism Cares Taleb Rifai, then secretary-general of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), wrote this in the introduction to the 2016 United Nations Global Report on the Transformative Power of Tourism: “Tourism is much more than a leisure…
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Over the last three years on the Future of Tourism, we’ve talked a lot about destination development, stakeholder engagement, and the regenerative power of tourism when it's done well. But as my friend Petra Stušek, president at ECM and CEO of Ljubljana Tourism, likes to say — as of today, August…
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In Spring 2022, in Hamburg, Germany, the CityDNA International Conference & General Assembly convened its first in-person international conference and general assembly in two years. The theme was reunited destinations. It was a momentous event. Not only was it an opportunity for European Cities…
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Cultural heritage — is it a catalytic force for authentic destination development or a double-edged sword that must be wielded with skill and attention? The European Capitals of Culture (ECOC) initiative is an annual designation awarded to chosen European cities and designed to highlight the…
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I had the honor to attend the annual IMPACT Sustainability Travel & Tourism summit last month in Victoria, British Columbia. Listening to some of the best minds in the business articulate the challenges we face over the next decade, it struck me just how very many things we need to do well and get…
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As we power forward, a look in the rearview is warranted. As the French say, “plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose!” The more it changes, the more it’s the same thing. Two years ago now, in March 2020, the travel industry was hit by a crisis the likes of which we have never seen before. In…
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