3 Lessons from an Unlicensed Anthropologist

Most tourism professionals are amateur anthropologists. We observe human behavior, decode rituals, and design for the chaos of community. But me? I’ve spent the better part of 35 years listening at their water coolers, peeking from the sidelines of industry happy hours, and sitting silently in the private groups where they let loose—but never, ever, on stage.

Until now.

So here are three truths I’ve learned from studying this wild species we call “the industry”:

1. People don’t resist change. They resist being irrelevant.

The second a strategy makes someone feel obsolete, they’ll sabotage it—publicly or privately. I’ve seen it happen a hundred times (and twice yesterday!). Innovation doesn’t fail because it’s bad. It fails because it bruised an ego that was used to being the smartest one in the room.

2. Tourism marketing is cultural storytelling. Period.

We are not selling hotel beds. We are shaping identity. Selling belonging. Turning a sense of place into a feeling. And the second we reduce that to “clicks and conversions,” we lose the plot—and the people.

3. The loudest people at the table are often the most afraid.

When someone overcompensates with jargon, slides, or shade? Nine times out of ten, they’re terrified you’ll see what’s actually going on. Don’t let volume fool you. Wisdom rarely yells.

And if you think I’m done digging? Oh honey.

We’re cracking it wide open at DestiCon 2025: Honest Voices. Better Tourism., streaming September 18–19. The real talk is coming, and this time, it’s not just about strategy—it’s about the survival of the industry as we know it.

Tickets go live soon. But today? Consider this your invitation to be early. To be ready. To be brave.

The future belongs to the ones who can see the shift and move before the crowd.