While we love talking the philosophy of Destination Marketing with our friends...the tone of this week’s conversations took a more strident tone. And, a lot of it had to do with productivity measures.  In other words...Room Nights.

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Those of us that answer the call to serve our communities in the Destination Marketing field know that it’s often a lonely endeavor. So few of our neighbors, community leaders and, hell, even our parents understand what we do and why. And yet, we soldier on.  read more...

Every once in a while, a community receives a wake-up call. What it does with it determines its future. It will be interesting to see what Buffalo does with its most recent wake-up call. And this one comes from an interesting source...a failed bid for a convention.

And, it gets even more interesting, as the convention is one that brings together industry professionals that are all about bringing visitors to town.  read more...

Anybody who reads the Z-News and my blog knows how I feel about the accuracy of most reporting today. As in...it often isn’t.

But, I recently came across an article announcing the appointment of an interim CEO to the big Chair. In it, the media that had been rather vague about the departure of the former CEO threw down.

As it really doesn’t matter who this was about, I’ve removed the identifying references. But the story is definitely worth consideration:  read more...

We asked. You responded. We love you.

Last month, we asked readers of the Z-News to tell us where the art and science of Destination Marketing is headed. What keeps you up at night. Where the new opportunities are lurking...and where they are standing in plain sight.

We heard from a number of you that are, as we have sensed over the past few months, getting serious about the whole relevancy thing. Of course, if we only focus on establishing relevancy, is that relevant...or just self-preservation?  read more...

Destination Marketing Organizations exist to enhance the economy of their communities through the attraction of visitors. We tell the story of our destination in hopes of luring consumers searching for new experiences.  read more...

Our friends in Sarasota have just recorded a simply incredible summer.

The season started off with “Dr. Beach” proclaiming that the destination’s phenomenal Siesta Key to be the Top Beach in the Nation. Add to that the CVB’s killer ad campaign, pent-up demand and no hurricanes...and the summer was about as perfect as one could ask for...evidenced by Tourism Taxes being up a sensational 31% in August.

It just couldn’t get much better.  read more...

I have a reputation of believing that DMOs and Chambers should be separate...probably because I said as much in my book, “Destination Leadership for Boards.” While I said that there are a handful of Chamber-DMO combos that rock (and I’ve worked with two of them this year), the governance challenges of such a structure are, more often than not, insurmountable.  read more...

Let’s be brutally frank. Your website isn’t getting the job done.

But, you’re not alone. After over 15 years of practice, almost nobody’s is.  read more...

Lots of response to the last Z-News post regarding performance measures...and we look forward to the conversation through the rest of the year. One response made me really think:   read more...