What if being nice paid off?

Not pretend nice. Not “smile for the tourism campaign” nice. I’m talking about the kind of welcome that’s felt in your bones. The kind that says: “You’re safe here. You’re seen here. Let me show you around.”

Now imagine this:

What if residents got tax incentives for that? For being part of a welcoming destination.

Not for tolerating tourists. Not for slapping on a fake grin when the visitor center rolls by. But for creating a place people actually want to come back to—and a place they leave better for having been there.

Because here’s the quiet truth no one wants to say out loud:

Most residents don’t hate tourists. They just hate feeling left out of the equation.

They’re tired of being sidelined while someone else collects the heads-in-beds data. They’re exhausted from traffic, rising costs, and policies that prioritize short-term gains over community well-being. They see marketing dollars flowing, but don’t see where it lands. (Hi Florida)

So what if we flipped it?

What if instead of trying to convince residents to “embrace” tourism, we paid them to be part of it?

Thought Experiment: The “Welcoming Dividend”

Picture a local or global scorecard—the Welcoming Index—where destinations are rated not by visitor volume, but by vibe. And residents are rewarded for making their city more inclusive, accessible, and inviting.

• Help run a cultural event? Tax break.

• Host travelers through STRs with verified great experiences? Annual rebate.

• Offer a walking tour of your own neighborhood? Resident perk.

• Share a meal, story, or skill with someone new to your city? That’s wealth redistribution, babe.

This isn’t fantasy. It’s strategy.

We already reward citizens for energy conservation, clean driving, and recycling. Why not reward the act of hospitality, when it’s done right?

Because the future of tourism isn’t traveler-first.

It’s not stakeholder-first, either.

It’s neighbor-first.

And if that sounds radical, maybe it’s because we’ve spent decades building an industry that treats residents like a background prop in their own home.

The people who live in a place are the soul of the experience. They deserve more than platitudes and press releases.

They deserve a cut.

So no, being nice shouldn’t be performative. But maybe it should be policy.

Food for thought. Or maybe legislation.

—JB