Solimar Launches Strategic Roadmap Project With Destination Waco
Solimar International is pleased to announce the launch of a new strategic planning engagement with the City of Waco and Destination Waco to support the organization’s transition from a traditional Convention and Visitors Bureau into a modern Destination Management Organization.
The project will result in a 3–5 year Destination Waco Strategic Roadmap, as well as an internal DMO Organizational Development Plan that will help define the structure, partnerships, systems, and priorities needed to guide Waco’s visitor economy into its next chapter. The work will align with major city planning efforts, including the Waco 2040 Comprehensive Plan, the Economic Development Strategic Plan, Imagine Waco, and the 25th Street Corridor Plan.
Solimar President Chris Seek was recently in Waco to lead the project kickoff and first round of stakeholder engagement. Over the course of four days, the Solimar team facilitated 30 stakeholder sessions with more than 115 participants, including Destination Waco staff, city leadership, elected officials, chambers of commerce, local businesses, restaurants, hotels, attractions, Baylor University, Magnolia, McLennan County, Parks & Recreation, Legends Global, the creative arts community, and the CVB Board. The visit also included a Tourism Stakeholder Workshop with more than 40 participants and the launch of a new Steering Committee to help guide the planning process.
Early conversations made one thing clear: Waco has strong momentum, committed partners, and major opportunities ahead. Stakeholders consistently pointed to the need for stronger coordination, clearer shared priorities, and a destination identity that extends beyond any single attraction or anchor institution. As one early finding captured it, Waco’s biggest gaps are not a lack of ideas or resources, but a need for stronger partnerships and systems to connect them.
Several themes are already emerging from the work. Stakeholders see opportunities to strengthen Waco’s identity beyond Magnolia, increase visitor dispersal and dwell time, activate downtown, the riverfront, parks, and Lake Waco, elevate neighborhood stories, improve transportation and mobility, grow sports and group business, and position workforce development as part of the visitor economy strategy. Just as importantly, the process is exploring how Destination Waco can serve as a stronger convener for partners across the city and county.
The Strategic Roadmap will be developed through an inclusive, evidence-based process that includes resident, visitor, and tourism stakeholder surveys; continued interviews; destination assessment; peer benchmarking; thematic working groups; and community validation. The final roadmap will include clear priorities, implementation steps, partner roles, funding recommendations, and performance measures.
For Solimar, the Waco project reflects a broader shift happening across the tourism industry: destinations are moving beyond marketing alone and taking a more active role in shaping places that work for residents, businesses, and visitors. Destination Waco is embracing that shift by using this process not simply to create another plan, but to build shared ownership around the future of Waco’s visitor economy.
The final Strategic Roadmap and DMO Organizational Development Plan are expected to be completed in early 2027.