Tourism leaders share thoughts on a social license for tourism, engagement & alignment

Around the world, there’s a new course to be plotted as destination organizations look inward at stakeholders and residents and begin to address the organizational changes needed to facilitate that shift: marketing must have a local voice, budgets need to address a wider scope of projects throughout the community with diverse partners, and alignment and a shared vision with multiple community partners is a rapidly growing priority. 

Sustainability and regeneration are everyone’s responsibility. In some cases, destination organizations are already leading that initiative.

When we talk about sustainability, we’re now talking about holistic sustainability: social, economic, and environmental. Equity, diversity, and inclusion, as well as the distribution of the benefits and proceeds of tourism and its contribution to civic life are all in play and being discussed worldwide. 

Jack Johnson is the chief advocacy officer at Destinations International. If you know him at all, you know he’s a passionate global advocate for destination organizations, a strategist, a problem solver, and a consensus builder. As for his work? Well, that speaks for itself!

Adam Burke is president and CEO of the Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board. In my humble opinion, he’s one of the most progressive thinkers and doers in the industry. To the challenge of unlocking all the potential of tourism to create long-term sustainable benefits for Los Angeles residents and for everyone, he brings 25 years of experience across hotels, destinations, the U.S. Travel Association, and Destinations International. 

Johnson and Burke are two respected friends and peers of the industry who have been pushing the boundaries of what tourism means — to cities, people, and the world — for more than two decades. Both are driven by the belief that tourism done well enriches, ennobles, and regenerates.