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...

26 January, 2014 /

Most destinations marketers are familiar with the principles of target marketing. Targeting the right message to move a specific group of consumers through the buying process is standard operating practice at most DMOs. It is surprising how few DMOs use the same principles of targeting their message to specific groups within the destination. Often the communication with these stakeholder groups is “one size fits all”. Of course, “one size fits all” normally means that no one is getting what they need. This point was made clear to me during a...

12 August, 2013 /

The Global Sustainable Tourism Council is currently seeking public input on a set of criteria for destinations aiming for sustainability. The criteria - designed to be the "minimum" set of activities  - will challenge many destinations and hopefully spur them on to greater efforts. The criteria presented by GSTC create a great - and comprehensive - list of things every destination should be thinking about to ensure that the long-term benefits of tourism are realised. With so many of us so busy on the challenges of the "small stuff" in the  inbox this list...

01 June, 2012 /

To many, tourism is an economic savior that can bring jobs and opportunity. Indeed there are tourism opportunities everywhere and markets for most any type of experience. But not all markets are the same and not all destinations have the ability to service the markets they want to attract. I have been thinking a lot about the  "human traffic jam" on Everest this week and the tourists who undertake this type of travel. The market for this type of experience is somewhat limited by all sorts of factors - money, health, access,...

28 May, 2012 /

Deadwood, South Dakota is dealing with many of the challenges inherent in tourism today. A recent USA Today article - Ghost Town or Gambling Haven outlines the issues of  balancing growth, fuelled by gaming, while maintaining the character of the destination. Heritage Tourism "lives" on a continuum from Disney's Main Street to the most faithful recreations of historical locations and events. As each destination struggles to balance the "here and now" with "what we were" and "what we want to be", they need to find their place on that continuum. And...

21 May, 2012 /

The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC)  is currently developing criteria for destinations. These criteria are important because they represent a baseline for destinations to undertake to ensure destination sustainability - the very minimum that place managers should consider when developing tourism for the long term...

15 May, 2012 /