As an educator committed to building a better world, I spend a lot of time thinking about how we can equip the new generation to tackle the challenges they will face ( or should I say - the challenges we leave them...
Is this a good brand ? An important question but almost always asked in the wrong context. "Is this a good brand" almost always asks for a judgement on a logo or a tagline or a creative execution. Brand is far more than a logo or a tagline. Destinations need to focus on what creates their brand image...
We all have blind spots. Things that just aren't on our radar...
Seth Godin nailed it (again) with this short post. In a couple of words he describes the reason for massive changes in destination marketing and management. Marketing used to be ...
Companies wishing to be socially responsible face a world of good and important causes. Over the last few months I have been looking at Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the tourism industry and I have been amazed at the wide number of issues that fall under the topic of CSR. Clearly, no company can address every issue - we simply can't be everything to everyone. Choosing "the fights' that are important to the company and its stakeholders is critical in managing this process. A recent article on adding discipline to...
At a recent conference one of the speakers reminded the audience that tourism takes place at the acquiescence of the community. I thought the statement was eloquent and expressed an important idea...
So often, tourism is a "bit player" in the health of a community. In the traditional models of tourism, tour operators come and - at best - the visitors they bring spend money that contributes to the local economy. While the tourism income helps, there is a lot of what economists call "leakage". Imagine a new type of tourism company - a company founded for the purpose of enhancing the cultural and economic benefit of the host community. Imagine a social enterprise - like Tom's Shoes or Ethos Water...
While I am committed to promoting sustainability in tourism, I am sure that we can do better. Sure - I know many destinations are struggling just to ensure that tourism is not a destructive force in their communities.But just not being bad isn't good enough...
Surf City USA really gets sustainable tourism. The folks at Visit Huntington Beach realized that their long term success meant protecting the environment, and celebrating the culture of the iconic SoCal Surf City while ensuring the visitor economy remained vibrant. In other words - they recognized the importance of sustainable tourism and took an active role in promoting within the destination. To support industry and community adoption of sustainable tourism they produced some great materials that explain sustainability and provide action tips to visitors, business owners and the community. To get the...
One of the real challenges in creating change for sustainable tourism is creating meaningful support for practitioners. We know what needs to be done - but it is hard to do. Seth Godin's Blog "How to Draw an Owl" captures the problem perfectly. Its easy to draw the two circles that form the basic structure of the owl - but the challenge is in drawing the rest of the damn owl...