Exciting opportunity for the Tourism Awards: Supporting destination development
Tilma Group is a tourism consultancy that supports regional, rural and remote destinations to maximise the benefits they receive from the visitor economy (tourism). We do this via a number of services, such as developing destination management plans.
We also help destinations, operators and events apply for tourism awards.
In reviewing the award categories for 2021 we noticed a gap, and an exciting opportunity: there is currently no award for destination management (or better, destination development).
Such an award would recognise and support those in our industry who bring all the pieces together into a complete destination package for visitors:
- product and experience development
- industry training and upskilling
- environmental and social sustainability
- brand and marketing
- visitor servicing
These pillars of the tourism industry are like the legs of a table for a destination – if one pillar is not managed well, the table will wobble and might fall over.
This overview destination development role is often played by local governments and local tourism organisations, or sometimes the regional tourism organisation.
An award submission would have applicants articulate how all of the different kinds of tourism products in their destination (accommodation, attractions, etc – the categories that the tourism awards focus on) are strategically tied together into a cohesive whole destination product that meets the needs of target markets.
Destination managers
- bring products and experiences together in journeys, trails and packaging
- support collaboration within the destination and with neighbouring destinations
- identify gaps in meeting visitors’ needs
- secure funding for development
- encourage sustainability
- and so much more.
They are an essential part of the tourism industry that the awards are not currently supporting or celebrating.
One of the Tilma Group team was inspired to undertake education to become a destination manager through the example of implementing effective destination development in a rural destination where they were living.
Wisconsin Dells is a town of a few thousand that hosts a couple of million visitors each year. This team member lived through a transition from having no destination management to the implementation of a number of strategies by a new destination management organisation that transformed visitation to that destination over a very short time, such as
- targeted attraction of new business types to increase off-season (autumn to spring) visitation, such as conferencing, youth sports competitions, a winter festival, day spas and indoor attractions – this supported year round visitation for a destination that previously received almost all its visitation within a few months and was dead the rest of the year making staff retention impossible and annual new staff attraction and training expensive and time consuming
- replacing screaming advertising from each individual tourism business with the introduction of a brand and collaborative, contemporary destination marketing, including a quality coffee table magazine, website and newsletter.
- encouraging collaboration such as packages promoted through the destination website had to be a collaboration of two or more local businesses such as an accommodation and attraction package
- savvy visitor servicing, using a passport for tourism staff to experience all local attractions for free and eat everywhere at a discount. This supported extended length of stay and increased visitor expenditure by supporting all locals to become experts at making recommendations to visitors
Good destination development makes a huge difference, and supports the viability of individual tourism operators.
In our job of supporting regional and rural destination development, we often see a need for mentoring and upskilling of those whose responsibility is destination management.
The tourism awards do a fantastic job of helping operators with their business planning. Could the awards be extended to support effective destination management?
What do you think? Add your thoughts to the comments below