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Think of the last time you felt captivated by or drawn to a destination or an experience. What pulled you in and rooted your desire to go? What pushed you to search for more information, find a way to get there, or book a place to stay?

Was it the name of a place? Was it a picture of a hotel? Was it a map? Or was it a more extended plot line, one which connected the place and the hotel and plotted your journey out on a map?

Destination storytelling is the most powerful marketing tool of a DMO. While the DMO itself supports the story by offering the places, opportunities, experiences, and support available, the story is told by the destination’s stakeholders. When told correctly, storytelling within a destination can create an emotional connection between the place and its target market. Ideally, your online marketing tools will sew the two together and create an experience that people remember and share with their networks in order to continue the cycle of storytelling.

The Preface of Travel Storytelling

Before collecting the stories, DMOs — or authors — must  first ask what content will be produced, and when. During Solimar’s DMO Development Course in the Republic of Georgia, one of the DMO’s in Georgia pointed out that now, due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, collecting content for those stories is more challenging than ever.

The travelers who were normally helping to create and share their own stories of their experiences within your destination may not be around to collect that content, but when normal travel begins to resume, DMOs should have a plan to share updated stories – especially if experiences have changed due to COVID-19. On this same wave, take some time to determine who will produce and edit this content. Find the right story tellers to drive home the value of the experiences in your destination.

Next, be sure to have a clear call to action for the content that will fill your stories. When leisure travelers first start planning a trip, 78% don’t know which airline they will be using for their trip, and 82% don’t know where they’ll stay. One in three leisure travelers planning a trip haven’t even decided on a specific destination for their trip (stats retrieved from ThinkWithGoogle). This is your opportunity to create and show the whole story, detailing the experience that your destination can offer. The DMO’s role here is to provide content to help narrow down choices, answer questions, inspire, and help decide on the story they want to write it themselves. When providing this content, remember to first identify and customize the content to the audience using the following categories:

  • location
  • age
  • gender
  • language
  • interests
  • behaviors
  • connections

Finally, representatives inside a destination can work collectively in deciding how the content will be distributed and amplified and answering questions of how the content will be distributed.

Storyboarding for Travel Marketing

How will you encourage visitors to choose your destination and support your DMO?

Answering this question before generating stories helps one to understand why content, communications, and social media plans are necessary. These plans strongly reinforce the destination’s brand and encourages its DMO to think strategically and creatively. Furthermore, DMOs should use storyboarding to think of ways to help their stories stand out from others that may take place in closer locations or for lower prices.

Outside of drawing in visitors, storytelling — especially on social media — can generate buzz and excitement with industry partners and stakeholders.  With a plan, DMOs will end up with a more focused message and more focused calls-to-action for both industry partners and their guests. A well thought-out plan will clearly define the goals and steps to reach them for all involved. And don’t forget, a fun contest is a proven way to engage and grow your audience!

Epilouge

To conclude this lesson, DMO leaders in Georgia were able to hear from Michael Fetter, the Director of Marketing for Louisville Tourism. Both parties in the discussion agreed on the importance of offering opportunities to your partners. If you can be successful in getting people interested in visiting a destination’s website, reading it’s print collateral, and ultimately visiting the place, then the story should be considered as being read. Michael’s final suggestion for DMOs was as follows, “Do research, read industry publications, and do anything out there – just get your knowledge base up. Have good relationships with [their] peer DMOs. You might see them as competition, but they know things and you know things; it’s good to play off of each other.”

This interview was an excellent conclusion and reminder that the work of a DMO to tell their story has many different layers and should involve collaboration with their partners and other DMOs doing the same as they are.

 

Solimar International welcomed its largest group of interns to its sustainable tourism team earlier this month. This diverse group of future travel leaders comes to Solimar from across the United States and will be instrumental in further developing current projects (Southern Tanzania Marketing Plan, The Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Experience & Georgia/Armenia DMO Development Programs) and the continued strategizing of Solimar’a DMMS program.

Meet the interns below:



Amelia Quarto is currently pursuing an MS in Global Tourism and Sustainable Economic Development through Johnson and Whales University. While completing her undergraduate degree in Hospitality Management, she embarked on a 105 day travel and educational journey that took her to over 12 countries through the Semester at Sea program. Amelia continued to gain knowledge and experience in hospitality management through an internship in Sydney, Australia. Later, it was a job she held in Glacier National Park that sparked her interest and showed her the importance and need of sustainable tourism. Amelia’s education, career, and solo travel adventures have taken her to over 25 countries.

 


Mason Meadows is a graduate of West Virginia University with a degree in Public Relations. Prior to joining the Solimar International team, Mason lived in Australia where he spent his winters working alongside the indigenous Jawoyn People at Nitmiluk National Park, and his summers living in the city of Melbourne and backpacking Southeast Asia. Previously, Mason served as Sponsorship Coordinator for the international nonprofit Children of Uganda, and as an AmeriCorps NCCC Team Leader based in Denver, Colorado. Mason is a passionate thrifter, avid adventurer, and strong believer in the power of using sustainable practices to minimize negative environmental, economic and cultural impacts.

 


A native of the San Francisco Bay Area, Dominic Gialdini holds an Bachelor of Science in Recreation Administration with an Emphasis in Sustainable Tourism Management from San Diego State University, where he was selected as the outstanding graduate of his program after having worked as a teacher’s assistant for the L. Robert Payne School of Hospitality and Tourism Management. In September 2020, Dominic graduated from the Erasmus Mundus European Master in Tourism Management Program (through the University of Southern Denmark, University of Ljubljana, and University of Girona). He also interned for the Alliance for Innovators and Researchers in Tourism and Hospitality (AIRTH).

 


Stephanie Auslander is wrapping up her final class for her master’s degree from Johnson & Wales University and is scheduled to graduate in December 2020. Stephanie previously worked for Key Travel as a business travel consultant and has recently completed an internship with the Economic Transformation group highlighting ways in which the tourism industry can recover from Covid-19. Furthermore, Stephanie had an opportunity to complete a project with the World Bank focused on a cultural landscape approach for the great Lumbini region in Nepal. Through both her course work and internship, she has steadily focused on sustainable tourism practices for destination management.

 


Rebecca Morris is a recent graduate of the Master of Tourism Administration program at the George Washington University with a focus in Sustainable Tourism Management. She is excited to be interning with Solimar and is interested in learning about marketing, brand strategy, and website development with the local Inn at Meander project in Madison County, Virginia.

 

 


Hannah Garland is a recent graduate of the University of Pittsburgh. While studying at Pitt, Hannah earned a bachelor’s degree in Communication along with a minor in History and a certificate in Spanish. Hannah enjoys traveling and being outdoors. She has been to many National and State Parks within the US, as well as in Ireland, Italy, and Canada. While in Ireland, Hannah experienced her first taste of geotourism and is looking forward to furthering her knowledge of the intricacies of geotourism.

 


Lolya McWest recently graduated from Rutgers University with a BS in Environmental Science. She plans on perusing a master’s in environmental and sustainable development and management. She is excited to be a part of the Solimar International internship program as it combines the two topics she enjoys the most; sustainability and tourism. From a very young age, Lolya loved to travel. She wants to travel as much as possible to meet new faces and see places she has never seen before. Lolya is not sure what the future holds for her, but her end goal is to solve environmental problems and aid communities in striving toward a sustainable future, especially in developing countries.

 


With over 15 years of experience in hospitality public relations and marketing, Brigid Finley has worked with top travel and tourism brands, including Visit Telluride, Visit Sun Valley, Visit Tucson, Healdsburg Tourism Improvement District, Peru Trade Commission and Eleven Experience, as well as hotels and brands including Loews Hotels, 21c Museum Hotels, The St. Regis Aspen Resort and The Broadmoor. Brigid holds B.A. from Boston College in Political Science and Latin American Studies and is currently completing a Professional Certificate in Sustainable Tourism Destination Management from George Washington Univ. and a Professional Diploma in Digital Marketing from the Digital Marketing Institute.

 


Robert Carter grew up in Mount Vernon and has over 15 years on the operations side of the hospitality industry, from managing all aspects of free- standing restaurants to working for the Starwood Hotel Company. One of his strongest quality was educating his staff on anticipating the guest needs, then going above and beyond their satisfaction. Robert then took this knowledge of leading, managing and applied to his own business model. His passion for sports really came to life, while living in Chicago, Il, (from 2014-2018) where he started a sports training business for youth sports.  Through the success of his business, he was recognized and teamed with Chicago City Soccer Club as a volunteer trainer for their entire club. With great results on the youth side, Robert was then asked to train their WPSL team. (Women’s Professional Soccer League).


Raised in a small town in Northern California, Elizabeth Evans graduated from Arizona State University with a B.S. in Tourism Development and Management. Beginning her career in tourism and travel marketing at the Arizona Office of Tourism, MMGY Global, and Visit Huntington Beach. Elizabeth is passionate about the Tourism industry and hopes to continue her career in tourism marketing or consulting. She hopes to learn more about sustainable tourism and stakeholder engagement in order to create a tourism product that closely aligns with a community’s personal values and traditions, forming an accurate and authentic experience for tourists and future generations.

 


Kylie Schultz is a senior studying environmental studies at the University of Pittsburgh. She is originally from the Pittsburgh area as well. In the future I hope to work with the National Park Service or similar organizations to promote sustainability and conservation. I am interested in learning more about the ways that eco-tourism can create a more sustainable world and educate people about the environment around them.

 

 


Lindsey Neuwirth is currently a junior at Stony Brook University pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies with a concentration in Environmental Law, Public Policy and Waste Management, minoring in Marine Science. She is passionate about bridging the worlds of tourism and sustainability, as well as ocean conservation.  She had the privilege to volunteer in Costa Rica at a child care center and saw how differently they live. After experiencing first hand how greatly they value sustainability and wildlife in their country, it is very clear how all destinations must practice the same methods. She has taken multiple trips to Mexico and has traveled to Germany, Ireland and Puerto Rico.

 


Emily Binder is currently a sophomore at Creighton University studying history. She is from small town Nebraska and is passionate about promoting local history.

 

 

 

Through Solimar’s work with the USAID Economic Security Program, we recently provided assistance to Caucasus University in obtaining TedQual International Accreditation by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). This distinguished designation for excellence in tourism education was awarded on September 17th, 2020 for the Bachelor’s Degree program in the School of Tourism at Caucasus University in Georgia.

To date, no university or college level program in the region has achieved UNWTO TedQual Certification. The UNWTO Certification will significantly increase the performance and competitiveness of the Caucasus University School of Tourism through upgrading the quality of the tourism education programs in compliance with the TedQual standards.

It is noteworthy that Caucasus School of Tourism is the first school in the region to have started the accreditation process of its programs in tourism. This accreditation program will significantly increase the competitiveness of its graduates and raise the program’s international awareness.

More information on the TedQual Certification can be found at https://www.unwto.org/UNWTO-ted-qual.

 

 

Destination Management Organizations are often funded by a combination of sources–including lodging taxes and membership dues. As a result of COVID-19, tax collections have decreased in destinations around the world. Now, membership plans are as important as ever for the economic sustainability of DMOs. There’s plenty of room to develop relationships between DMOs and local businesses – and if your DMO does it right, it could benefit both parties.

For a DMO to successfully attract members, they must ask the following question: how do you market, sell, and deliver benefits in a way that both attracts and retains members? To begin, DMOs must take time to identify the main benefits that they can offer private sector organizations with a membership plan.

Benefits of a DMO Membership

While the details of your membership plan will depend on your DMO’s resources and choice of direction for those members, the list of possible benefits members may be offered is extensive and can be tweaked to suit your needs, as well as those of your members. This is when pricing and fees must be decided upon as well.

As part of Solimar’s Virtual DMO Development Course, Solimar interviewed Bill Malone, President and CEO of the Park City Chamber Association. For the past 20 years, Bill has worked in Park City, Utah, where he has managed the Park City Chamber/Bureau, a beautiful and popular ski destination. Bill’s suggestions for deciding on the benefits to offer included looking at other similar benefits in similar locations, surveying members or potential members to find out what exactly they would like to have as benefits, and choosing specific benefits that allow these private sector businesses to really connect with the community’s DMO.

Below are some of those many benefits your DMO may choose to offer:

  • Marketing 
    • Exposure on DMO website
    • Inclusion in DMO’s coupons/deal pass
    • Promotion of member’s events
    • Distribution of member’s brochures in visitor center
    • Highlighting in DMO visitor guide
    • Being featured on DMO destination map
    • Promotion on DMO’s social media, newsletters and DMO’s blog articles
    • Introduction to media/travel trade
    • Wayfinding destination signage
    • Referrals from Visitor Information Centers, call centers, online inquiries
  • Communications
    • Members only research and intelligence
    • DMO annual report and plans
  • Networking
    • Member only events and conferences
    • Establishment of communications channels  
  • Advocacy Support
    • Local and national government advocacy
  • DMO Governance
    • Apply to be on the board of directors
    • Join an advisory committee
  • Professional/ Business Development
    • Member only training events 
    • Education seminars

After considering these possible benefits, it is vital to listen to what your potential members have to say. Do they see the value in a DMO? What do they feel should be the priorities of the DMO? Which benefit options do they find most attractive, and what do they think about the proposed price structure? Each of these questions show interested businesses that the DMO is taking the time to listen and work in unison with their partners. 

Recruiting Members

When you begin to form the base of your membership plan, you can further organize how you will recruit, sign up, and communicate with members. There are a few important considerations here:

  1. Make sure you have an internal on-boarding process — Who will process and approve new member applications, and how will new members be welcomed?
  2. Conduct door to door membership drive — Reach out to businesses you are already familiar with and set up in-person meetings to discuss the benefits of your DMO, as well as the benefits that come with membership. If businesses are unsure about joining, do your best to be persuasive but also schedule a follow-up call and put them on your mailing list to allow them to continue to see the great work of your DMO
  3. Organize an event to unite the industry — Use an event to unveil something the DMO has been working on, like a new tourism brand, marketing strategy, destination management plan, etc. During the event, make the case for membership and benefits. Some examples of member-events include: after-hours networking events, breakfast networking events, advocacy-focused events, training seminars, holiday events, open board meetings, and annual membership meetings.

Finally, it is important to keep your members engaged through effective communication. You may choose to do this with any or multiple of the following:

Offering a membership plan helps strengthen your work as a DMO while giving you freedom to customize your relationship with a variety of local businesses and organizations within your destination or region. Even better, a well-developed membership plan is likely to be mutually beneficial to both your DMO and its members. As Bill Malone suggested, a DMO membership program allows us to “celebrate the industry that you’re in.” 

Tourism itself is an experience economy. Social media content and visitor guides are two elements of this experience economy that must work together.

It is important for DMOs to use their social media strategy and visitor guides as a way to give potential visitors a way to imagine an experience in the region. Through the use of social media, a DMO can create content and share information that brings more traffic to their area. 

Social Media Practices

The changes in tourism as a result of COVID-19 have demonstrated the importance of the use of social media in tourism marketing. Social media allows DMOs to have conversations and share information with both their potential visitors and their local constituents. Through the use of social media channels, a DMO can:

  • build and maintain communities of interest,
  • collect user-generated content (UGC),
  • display photography and videos,
  • distribute topical news stories,
  • emphasize current events and campaigns,
  • encourage word-of-mouth recommendations, and
  • get feedback

These goals are best realized by a DMO when the organization has a presence on all major social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram). 

Social Media Content Strategy

A social media content strategy is designed so that DMOs can plan posts and content over a specific period of time. This helps the organization think strategically about its monthly, quarterly, and annual goals. DMOs should be scheduling 2-4 posts a week with at least one blog post per month (when applicable). Hashtags and tags should be used in posts to make the region’s DMO page more accessible and bring about a central message. Additionally, a unified voice should be maintained to create a consistent flow of content, all with the oversight of a peer review system to ensure all posts are kept professional and approachable. The DMO should also periodically check its analytics on their posts to see what performs well and what doesn’t, and adjust accordingly. 

In the social media module of the DMO Development Course, Anne Robertshaw spoke on the importance of this relatively new form of marketing. She emphasized that no DMO is “too late to start social media platforms.” Her interview gave insight into how DMOs should use social media to promote their diverse regions while also highlighting of its product offerings.

Visitor Guides

Visitor guides are complementary — and essential — tools for communicating with a destination’s audience and appealing to potential visitors. Think of it as the ultimate advertising booklet for your destination: a good or bad visitor guide can make or break your marketing efforts.  

When creating a concept for the optimal visitor guide for your region, consider having a compelling cover that will draw the eye of visitors — one that tells a story about your destination. In coming up with potential content to add, be sure to interview important people in the service community (i.e. chefs, artists, historians) to not only highlight the amazing people in the region, but also indirectly advertise their businesses.

It is also critical to include a map in the guide. With a well-detailed and visually appealing map, the visitor guide will create a sense of place and orientation to those who read it. This map can also be used by the DMO to highlight attractions, businesses, trails, art districts, and any other sites in the region. Map making is a great tool to bring tourism stakeholders together to create a tangible project

In Solimar’s Week 12 Module on Visitor Guides through our virtual DMO Development Course, Ronda Thiem and Katy Spining of Madden Media spoke on the importance of visitor guides. Spinning stated that to make a good visitor guide, there should be extra pages that allow for the publication of “authentic experiences of your destination with potential visitors.” Additionally, Theim recommended interviewing local community members about their favorite attractions in the destination. For instance, an interview with a chef from the community will entice visitors to visit the local restaurants that have been recommended. 

Much like social media marketing, visitor guides have to be authentic and represent the core message of the DMO — and the destination itself. Be consistent and use a unified voice through the messaging sent along via social media and visitor guides so that visitors can set their expectations. After that, trust that the destination’s attractions and stakeholders will offer products and services that help these expectations to be exceeded.

“We rely confidently on Solimar's deep technical experience and professionalism as tourism consultants. You always are exceeding our expectations.”
Leila Calnan, Senior Manager, Tourism Services Cardno Emerging Markets

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