Tourism Matters! Wait… Who Are You Again?

I've been subscribed to Google Alerts for “destination marketing” since its inception. They've rarely changed.

They all read roughly like this:

So-and-so destination launches new campaign. DMO budget in question. Tourism matters. Tourism drives jobs. Tourism supports local businesses. Tourism brings billions to the economy.

And every time I see them, I sigh heavily and wonder:

Why are we still explaining this?

Tourism is a $2-trillion global industry. It survived wars, recessions, pandemics, and the invention of Spirit Airlines.

At this point, the economic case is… pretty well established.

When an industry keeps publishing articles defending its existence, it usually means one thing:

Someone still isn’t sure what you do.

Tourism Matters.

But Who’s Actually In Charge Here?

Wanna know a strange little secret of the destination marketing world?:

There's no real "right way" to DMO. Sure, they copy each other. But the money is local, so the framework can vary wildly.

Seriously.

• In one city it’s a nonprofit with a contract.

• In another it’s a city department.

• In another it’s inside the chamber.

• In another it’s funded by hotels but expected to solve housing, workforce, and resident sentiment.

Which means the same organization can be expected to act like:

• a marketing agency • an economic development office • a political diplomat • a community mediator • a hotel co-op • and occasionally… a punching bag

All while running media, content, and sentiment.

This is why every few years, the same question pops back up at a city council meeting/state budget meeting somewhere:

“Wait… what does the tourism bureau actually do?”

And then the industry responds with another round of:

Tourism matters!, and maybe that's not landing the way you think it is.

Meanwhile, In Washington…

The national tourism associations spend a lot of time advocating in Washington.

Yes, Federal issues matter. But mostly to the big boys. I've yet to see anyone fighting for "the little guy" en masse, on issues like - what the hell do they do??

The existential fights for DMOs are almost never happening in Washington.

They’re happening in:

• state senate hearings • city council meetings • county budget hearings • hotel association boardrooms • neighborhood Facebook groups • and the occasional very spicy stakeholder email

No one argues: Tourism matters. But they'll forget next budget cycle.

National Associations have their place. But not in a small DMO budget. Which is also damaging to Tier One destinations, without context and data from, idk, most of America, they end up in an echo chamber. Making Tier One destinations the most vulnerable.

DMOs have incredible marketing talent.

And, people are taking their talent...elsewhere

As a multi-decade ad exec, I can confidently say DMO marketing professionals are on par, if not notably better, than the average agency SME.

But creativity and politics do not play well together. So, what do you think happens when the "unicorn" media maven has to hear that she doesn't matter, that the world keeps turning, that she can do it with 60% of the budget and...a prayer?

She leaves.

And then, so does the social media director, the videographer, and probably an admin.

The first workforce problem we have to solve is ours. Since leading a session at ESTO on this issue last August, I could not have predicted how quickly this would escalate.

There are about 3,000 DMOs in America, and judging by the job boards, a lot of them are trying to refill chairs that someone just sprinted out of.

The Insanity of Doing the Same Thing

Every time tourism hits turbulence, the industry runs the same play:

“Tourism matters!”

We really think chanting this like a crazed sports fan is going to appease the HOA ladies, keep a special interest group from a money-grab, back off the "you work for me" stakeholders?

Actually bless your heart. (read that how you like)

It seems like a good idea, it does not last. And it never addresses the fringe voices that already know tourism matters because it pays their mortgage, sends their kids to college, employs half a dozen front-lines.

And, dear Very Poised PR professionals, a press release on that campaign spend is giving "please don't yell at us."

Time to Thump your Chest a little.

Maybe we try something different - grab em by the lapels and say, lookit: "here's what happens without tourism, no ...tourism doesn't just happen, we don't fund that."

Protection doesn't have to look like an apology.

Sometimes it looks like saying:

This is the system. This is who runs it. And this is what happens if you decide not to fund it.

I’m Jenn Barbee. Tourism matters. The real question is: who exactly did you think was running the place this whole time? 😏