Turning Sustainable Tourism from Aspiration into Action
Lessons from Destination Forward— a national review of Destination Management & Stewardship plans
Tourism across the U.S. and around the world is under pressure. Many communities are seeking better-managed tourism growth and a visitor-based economy that generates broader economic, social, and environmental benefits for their special ‘place’.
Crowding and congestion, along with issues like housing and workforce, are some of the challenges that visitor destinations are attempting to better manage >
In response, many Destination Organizations have developed destination management and stewardship plans that outline ambitions to make tourism more sustainable and aware of their communities’ needs.
Destination Forward is the largest-ever study examining whether, why, and how these destination management and stewardship plans have made a difference in their communities.
Destination Forward: Advancing Stewardship in U.S. Tourism Planning
Download the full report or executive summary here.
Coraggio Group has been a key collaborator of this research study, led by the George Washington (GW) University International Institute of Tourism Studies. It is a major contribution to reviewing and improving the quality and impact of Destination Stewardship planning across the U.S. The report is full of important insights and recommendations, illustrated by practical examples and case studies from across the U.S.
Here are four key takeaways:
Destination Management & Sustainable Tourism is Built on Relationships. A successful destination management and stewardship plan relies on deep and wide relationships that empower consultation, alignment, and cooperation. The Destination Organization is at the center of these relationships that need to be built and nurtured long before, during, and after the development of any destination management and sustainability plan.
The Evolving Destination Organization: From Relationships to Partnerships. The 35 destinations in the Destination Forward study highlight the quality and range of partnerships that Destination Organizations increasingly need to retain and build agency and authority in their communities. Destination Organizations are evolving from more isolated marketing-focused agencies to collaborative Destination Marketing and Management entities. Partnership models solicit the ongoing input of critical community, government, and business constituents, leading to the integration of plans into wider government policies and priorities, as well as new destination management and governance structures that connect and involve key constituent groups.
Destination Management and Sustainable Tourism is a Team Sport. Destination Forward highlights progress and a wide range of compelling successes and setbacks in destination stewardship. These examples and lessons ranging from the Hawaiian Island of Moloka’i, to Ketchikan, Alaska, and as far east as the Outer Banks in North Carolina provide powerful resources for destination management and stewardship. Unlike marketing, destination management is not competitive. Destination Forward allows any destination to leverage these case studies and examples, learning what worked and what didn’t.
Addressing Priority Issues: Despite a range of successes amongst the 35 destinations, the study highlighted that some important issues need far more assertive attention and action. Here are three important issues (with more outlined in the full report) that need more urgent and assertive action by destinations:
Recurring Gaps: Turning plans from aspiration to action requires adequate, resilient, and dedicated funding, supporting programs from infrastructure, housing, and deeper community engagement. Destination Forward highlighted a recurring gap between the needs generated by tourism growth and the lack of community resources.
In the ‘2025 Funding Futures’ report, from our partners at Miles Partnership, Civitas, and Tourism Economics, it is estimated that less than 5% of the $165 billion in travel-related tax revenue in the U.S. is being reinvested back into tourism. And far less than 1% is being reinvested into sustainable tourism-related challenges, such as building housing for tourism and hospitality workers or reducing our industry’s carbon footprint. For more of this analysis, see here.
Vail, Colorado is one of a small number of U.S. destinations with specific climate change actions in their Destination Stewardship plan. The town is working on migrating their extensive snow melt network for their roads & walkways from gas to free, zero emission geothermal energy.
Climate Change. The risks of a changing climate, rising sea levels, and extreme weather events are real and increasing for all visitor destinations. The Destination Forward study found that climate change adaptation, building resilience, and disaster risk preparedness and management are not strongly represented in current plans, all of which pre-date the current U.S. political landscape. While future short-term actions in this area may present challenges, given the growing future risks, these areas represent an urgent priority for management and stewardship-minded Destination Organizations.
Metrics that Matter. A critical weakness that many plans struggled with is the challenge of defining clear and practical objectives across the social, cultural, and environmental pillars of sustainable tourism, beyond the more obvious economic measures. Defining, implementing, and reporting on KPIs that reflect the full benefits and costs of tourism need to be an essential part of any plan that moves from aspiration to action.
By identifying best practices and offering actionable insights, the Destination Forward study is an invaluable resource for advancing destination stewardship and inspiring sustainable tourism strategies across the U.S., and around the world.
This article was originally authored by Chris Adams, Head of Research & Insights at Miles Partnership and edited for publication by Coraggio Group.