Strong leaders hate ‘em. Less strong leaders lean on them. And, pretty much everyone has had a committee overrule them. Committees are cumbersome. They consume precious staff time, often with a questionable ROI. A handful of committee members are actively working against the best interests of the organization. Indeed, why do we continue this madness? Last year, we urged you to "Do Epic Shit" (if you never got the lapel button, e-mail us). This year...we encourage you to be bold and fearless. The bold and fearless slay sacred cows. And, we have one in our sights for you.

You’ll learn that it is the word “community” that has been found to be one of the most resonant words in communicating what we do in Destination Marketing. Not “area” or “region.” Not “destination.” Just “community.” And, when you think about it…it is a powerful word, conjuring up a sense of belonging to the collective; being a part of a greater neighborhood. And, for those that don’t understand (or have chosen to ignore) the power of the Visitor Economy, using the word “community” in our communications is like Kryptonite. It’s easy to dismiss “destination.” Not so easy to dismiss “community.”

In the past year or so, I’ve seen the following in our news feeds: An Economic Development Director that uses misdirection to suggest that a merger with the CVB and Chamber is the “new normal.” We’ve seen a small town City Council almost get bamboozled by a resort owner into altogether eliminating their Room Tax. A small Airport Authority that wants to use Room Tax money to subsidize commercial flights recently announced that they were going to establish an Air Service Convention and Visitors Bureau (an ASCVB, if you will). A City Council puts its DMO contract up for bid to see if they can garner a higher ROI. But there is so much more...

Seems like I've been saying this for years. Am I banging my head against a wall? Work with me here, people. I’ve been inspired by your destination marketing. I’ve decided to try you out. I’m starting to plan my stay. Now what? Does your website enable such a search? Or is it just a set of lists that doesn’t help me in making the most critical of decisions prior to my visit. What’s happening on the days I plan to be in town? Is it easy to access? And, more importantly, do you have it all? Because, I’ve searched other sites…and they have a deeper club calendar than you do.

Since the first set of data from Longwoods International’s “Halo Effect” Study was released three years ago, we’ve been sharing the findings with clients and audiences with the simple suggestion that “Tourism is the First Date for Economic Development.” That, without a coherent and effective Destination Marketing effort, communities can’t compete as successfully for the attention and appreciation of entrepreneurs and investors as those cities, counties and states with creative and competitive marketing programs....