Destination Next

PRACTICE HANDBOOK

Lead Consultant:

OVERVIEW DMOs and the des1na1ons they represent benefit from the exchange of relevant and 1mely sharing of issues, ideas, and lessons learned, problems and their solu1ons, for areas of mutual interest. Best prac1ces and innova1on are enabled through communi1es of prac1ce, fostering the growth of intellectual capital and fully considered decision-making that drives des1na1on performance. Communi1es of prac1ce can help strengthen DMOs to build their own knowledge resources in order to enhance des1na1on strength and community support and engagement. They can also help establish organiza1on and industry standards. This Handbook is the beginning of a DMO community of prac1ce intended to improve des1na1on strength and community support and engagement by: Providing a forum for DMAI members and other stakeholders to help

each other solve everyday DMO and des1na1on problems;

Collec1ng and sharing prac1ces from around the world, including the ra1onale, approach and outcomes from that prac1ce;

Ensuring prac1ces are current, while an1cipa1ng what may come or is on the horizon;

Providing a plaOorm where DMOs from all regions, of all sizes and mandates, will find value;

Encouraging perspec1ves on prac1ces that are outside the tradi1onal DMO community, such as academia, non-tourism corporate interests, and public officials.

IDENTIFYING & SHARING PRACTICES As a step toward building a set of prac1ces, desk research, one-on-one consulta1ons and feedback from Regional Workshop par1cipants iden1fied 54 prac1ces. These prac1ces were described in a statement format and sent to the 185 DMO leaders who a[ended the Regional Workshops to gather their views on their importance rela1ve to the two key drivers for des1na1ons: Community Support and Engagement How much will this prac1ce

posi1vely impact the level of interest, assistance and engagement your DMO/CVB receives from the local community and stakeholders?

Des7na7on Strength How much will this prac1ce posi1vely impact your

des1na1ons ability to generate visita1on through product offerings and brand experiences?

A community of prac1ce needs to have relevance for many types of DMOs; therefore, not all prac1ces will be relevant for every DMO. They represent a cross-sec1on of prac1ces that will have varying degrees of relevancy for DMOs depending on their size, geographic loca1on and marketplace mandate (mee1ngs-focused vs. leisure des1na1ons).

PRACTICES MOVING FORWARD

A robust set of DMO prac1ces will require a commitment from a large community across the globe to share updated prac1ces on an ongoing basis. This plaOorm needs to be properly structured, governed and monitored to enable an interes1ng place for DMOs to learn from other DMOs, stakeholders and experts. A considera1on for the future is crea1ng a peer review whereby DMOs are able to determine which prac1ces receive the most interest and, importantly, which are adopted in other des1na1ons.

Lead Consultant:

PRACTICE

BEST

Core

NEXT

An important, but common practice for a DMO

A practice that shows superior marketplace

and/or community result

A new and innovative practice and/or idea which could be

transformative for DMOs and destinations

Building a DMO community of prac1ce should also look at those business capabili1es or value crea1on opportuni1es that are not currently being leveraged or maximized. These NEXTPrac1ces can range from something as seemingly straighOorward as influencing future genera1ons of talent through driving dynamic university curriculum development, to ground-breaking intelligent discovery technologies and complex data systems to drama1cally improve marke1ng effec1veness. The project team analyzed the 54 prac1ces to determine which are NEXTPrac1ces using the following criteria: Having a forward-thinking perspec1ve that works toward building new

capabili1es;

Crea1ng real change in the way the DMO or des1na1on does business; Aligning to the three Des1na1onNEXT transforma1onal opportuni1es; Enhancing community support and engagement and/or des1na1on

strength;

Expec1ng to generates results that are be[er than other prac1ces.

HIERARCHY OF PRACTICES DMO prac1ces are defined as processes, ideas and structure that posi1vely impact the way a DMO or des1na1on operates and behaves. Some prac1ces are well established, others are ground-breaking. Some are basic, others are complex and require significant resources. Some prac1ces enhance internal capability, some create customer and stakeholder value, while others do both. Their relevance to a specific DMO will depend on the des1na1ons overall strategy and the posi1on of tourism in the community. A strategic framework has been developed to determine whether they are core, BEST or NEXT. Successful organiza1ons ensure that core prac1ces are in place, while striving to develop BEST prac1ces and ul1mately pursue NEXT prac1ces.

Lead Consultant:

PRACTICES IN THE SCENARIO MODEL Depending on where a DMO currently sits in the scenario model as a Trailblazer; Voyager; Mountaineer; or, Explorer will influence which prac1ces they should consider puhng into ac1on. For example, a DMO in the Voyager quadrant should look at deploying prac1ces that improve des1na1on strength, whereas a DMO in the Mountaineer quadrant should consider u1lizing prac1ces to increase community support and engagement. At the same 1me, the scenario quadrant in which a DMO has been assessed does not exclude them from adop1ng any of the prac1ces iden1fied. The prac1ces that are most applicable to a DMO will be a reflec1on of their unique situa1on, including which of the 20 variables related to des1na1on strength and community support and engagement require the most a[en1on.

NEXT AND BEST PRACTICES IMPACT ON KEY DRIVERS

The 30 prac1ces (20 Best and 10 NEXTPrac1ces) were evaluated based on their impact on the two key drivers of the scenario model. The majority of prac1ces either predominantly impact des1na1on strength or community support and engagement. However, it was interes1ng to note that some prac1ces had a fairly strong impact on both of these drivers. The following diagrams illustrate which prac1ces have the most impact on each of the drivers, or both.

Practices with the Greatest Impact on Destination Strength

NEXT Cognitive Systems Mining Big Data Proximity Marketing Social Media Command Centre

BEST Air Service Development Program Attraction Development Brand Development Planning Event Subvention Management Micro Market Segmentation Organic Marketing Professional Congress Organizer Partnership Tourism Development Zone Wi-Fi Accessibility

DESTINATION STRENGTH

Practices with the Greatest Impact on Community Support & Engagement

NEXT CSR and Sustainability DMO Network Model Industry Driven Tourism Curriculum

BEST Building Sense of Place Community Stakeholder DMO Board Members Hotel Generated Funding Local Transportation Advocacy Non-Hotel Generated Funding Strategic Planning

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Practices with the Greatest Impact on Both Destination Strength and

CommunitySupport & Engagement

NEXT DMO Association Development Shared Economy Collaboration Tourism Infrastructure Crowdfunding

BEST Destination Brand Unification DMO Generated Events Formalized Economic Development

Partnerships Non-Industry Destination Advocates Tourism Master Planning

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TABLE OF CONTENTSGREATEST IMPACT ON

COMMUNITY SUPPORT & ENGAGEMENT

NEXT PRACTICESCSR and Sustainability ........................................................... 4-7

CASE STUDY: Leading Sustainable Meeting Destination, Copenhagen, Denmark CASE STUDY: Sarawak CSR Initiative, Sarawak, Malaysia

DMO Network Model ................................................................ 8-9 CASE STUDY: Copenhagen Network Model, Denmark

Industry Driven Tourism Curriculum .............................. 10-11 CASE STUDY: Capilano University Collaborating With Industry, Canada

BEST PRACTICESBuilding Sense of Place ....................................................... 14-15

CASE STUDY: Grand Rapids, MI, USA

Community Stakeholder DMO Board Members .......................................................................................................16-17 CASE STUDY: Great Lakes Bay Regional Board Members, USA

Hotel Generated Funding ................................................... 18-21 CASE STUDY: Tourism Improvement Districts, USA CASE STUDY: Destination Marketing Fees, Canada

Local Transportation Advocacy .................................... 22-23 CASE STUDY: Metro Vancouver Transportation, Canada

Non-Hotel Generated Funding ....................................... 24-25 CASE STUDY: Myrtle Beach Penny Tax, USA

Strategic Planning ................................................................. 26-27 CASE STUDY: Rethink Vancouver, Canada

GREATEST IMPACT ON DESTINATION STRENGTH

NEXT PRACTICESCognitive Systems .................................................................30-31

CASE STUDY: WayBlazer, Austin, USA

Mining Big Data ...................................................................... 32-33 CASE STUDY: DMOs Using Big Data, USA

Proximity Marketing .............................................................34-35 CASE STUDY: DMO Tourism Region, Casino, Corporate/Retail

Social Media Command Centre ..................................... 36-37 CASE STUDY: Visit Kansas City at Major Sporting Events, USA

BEST PRACTICESAir Service Development Program ................................40-43

CASE STUDY: Small Community Air Service Development Program, USA CASE STUDY: Memphis International Airport, USA

Attraction Development ....................................................44-47 CASE STUDY: Grapevine Vintage Railway, Dallas, USA CASE STUDY: WaterFire Providence, USA

Brand Development Planning ........................................ 48-49 CASE STUDY: Palm Beach County Convention & Visitors Bureau, USA

Event Subvention Management......................................50-51 CASE STUDY: Minimum Revenue Guarantees, Glasgow, Scotland

Micro Market Segmentation ............................................ 52-53 CASE STUDY: Psychographic Market Segmentation, Destination Canada

Organic Marketing ................................................................54-57 CASE STUDY: Engaging Demand Generators, RTO4, Canada CASE STUDY: Orlando, the Never Ending Story

Professional Congress Organizer Partnership ...58-59 CASE STUDY: Serbia Bid Alliance, Serbia

Tourism Development Zone .............................................60-61 CASE STUDY: Nayarit Development, Mexico

Wi-Fi Accessibility ................................................................62-63 CASE STUDY: Smart Cities and Hotels, Canada, Europe and USA

GREATEST IMPACT ON BOTH COMMUNITY SUPPORT & ENGAGEMENT AND DESTINATION STRENGTH:

NEXT PRACTICESDMO Association Development ....................................66-69

CASE STUDY: Developing the Dubai Association Centre, United Emirates CASE STUDY: Establishing the African Society of Association Executives (AfSAE), South Africa

Shared Economy Collaboration ...................................... 70-71 CASE STUDY: Portland, Oregon - Working with AirBnB and Uber, USA

Tourism Infrastructure Crowdfunding .........................72-73 CASE STUDY: Pereira First Brick Initiative, Colombia

BEST PRACTICESDestination Brand Unification ........................................ 76-77

CASE STUDY: Newport Beach & Company Unification, USA

DMO Generated Events ....................................................... 78-81 CASE STUDY: Business Event Generations, Greater Houston Convention & Visitors Bureau, USA CASE STUDY: Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, Palm Springs, USA

Formalized Economic Development Partnerships ..82-85 CASE STUDY: Global Talent Hub, Sydney, Australia CASE STUDY: Irving Convention and Visitors Bureau & Monterey County Convention and Visitors Bureau, USA

Non-Industry Destination Advocates .........................86-87 CASE STUDY: Gteborg & Co., Sweden

Tourism Master Planning ...................................................88-89 CASE STUDY: Indianapolis Master Plan, USA

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