16 May Why promote tourism?

It is always smart to start with Why.

Simon Sinek says that to ensure our work is meaningful, it is critical we understand our purpose. We must be able to answer the “why” of our work. The answer to why we do something is far more important than what we do or how we do things.

This is true for destination marketing organizations. While many DMO managers are very effective at promoting tourism to their destinations, it is less common to embed the purpose of our work in what we do.

Of course, getting the true purpose of our work isn’t always immediately obvious. Zig Ziglar, the sales guru, reminds us that is important to find the why behind the why to really understand the situation. How does this apply to tourism and destination marketers?

Consider the following discussion that could easily happen in many DMOs today.

Why do you promote tourism?

To increase visitors to our destination.

Why?

To increase spending by visitors in our community.

Why?

To generate taxes to support our community, create economic opportunities, and generate jobs for our residents.

Why?

To improve the quality of life for our community.

It may sound a little like being interrogated by a three-year-old, but it provides an important insight.

In fact, understanding the why helps guide other decisions around tourism development and marketing. With an understanding of the why – we can judge decisions based on their ability to improve the quality of life of our residents.

Skift notes that an emerging trend in tourism is that communities are taking a more active role in tourism development. They are working to ensure that tourism development not only creates great experiences for visitors but improves the quality of life of destination community members.  They understand the why.