The DMO Download

A weekly digest on economic development and cultural, heritage tourism news.

Talent-Driven Economic Development

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Google Is Launching A Free Travel Insights Tool

The pandemic was the catalyst in shifting how companies predict traveler behavior, making it more difficult than ever to anticipate rapidly-changing traveler sentiment. But for visitor bureaus and destination organizations everywhere, having insight to traveler behavior is important in effectively managing budgets. Enter Google.

Google is launching a new tool suite called Travel Insights with Google, providing real-time data on travel demand. The suite contains two tools, Destination Insights and Hotel Insights. The first tool helps travel businesses and tourism boards a clear picture of where travel demand is coming from, allowing them to plan their budgets and strategies accordingly. The second tool, Hotel Insights, gives hoteliers the opportunity to access analytics on search trends so they can effectively attract new guests.

‘Talent-Driven’ Economic Development A Practical Reality Post-COVID

The rise of remote work due to the pandemic has made the phenomenon of “talent-driven economic development” a practical reality, according to an article from USA Today. Now, since many are allowed to work from home, they are moving away from urban areas and settling down in rural areas. For communities this means that they don’t need to have the corporation to have the wage-earning person living in their community. Not only that, but this remote worker is already employed without having to search for a job locally that matches their capabilities. As the article states, this, with other criteria, means the value of a remote worker is 10 times greater than a new, unfulfilled job.

These Are 5 Key Elements of a Heritage Tourism Website

With travelers visiting about 38 websites before booking a vacation, having an effective website for your heritage tourism area is vital in attracting visitors to your destination. A good website is an opportunity to impress your audience with credibility and the unique aspects and compelling brand of your destination. There are five elements to heritage tourism websites that give them the ability to stand out in the crowd:

  1. Understand and communicate the unique selling points of your destination.
  2. Develop a clear brand for your heritage area.
  3. Work on creating a good user experience.
  4. Use high quality photography to showcase your destination.
  5. Connect your heritage site to the community.

DMOs Must Start Developing A Sustainable Business Plan

Sustainable tourism doesn’t just mean providing paper straws. According to this article from PhocusWire, Sustainability also means destinations must extend further than “environmental considerations.” All destinations must determine whether their business models include sustainable methods of preserving their destination and attract future visitors. To fulfill this, destinations need to utilize data-driven strategies, find creative ways to secure new funding streams and accommodate travelers’ values.

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