In the first half of 2010, several destinations have been faced with challenges, underscoring the influence that the travel industry has on communities both large and small. However, destinations have also found ways to deal with those challenges. In our annual supplement produced in conjunction with Destination Marketing Association International titled, “Why Travel Matters,” several DMO executives cite examples of challenges they have encountered, and provide insights other DMO executives may find helpful.

Keep It Real—The April 20 explosion of the BP oil rig and subsequent oil spill in the Gulf proved to be a challenge for DMOs in the region. “Our biggest problem from Day One was separating the perception from reality as it related to Florida,” said Chris Thompson, president and CEO of Visit Florida. To solve that problem, Visit Florida focused its advertising on providing up-to-date information about the situation, as opposed to its regular image branding.

Key takeaway: When disaster strikes, temporarily abandon your regular image branding and provide credible, up-to-date information on the situation.

Explain the Value—Following the Arizona State Legislature’s adoption of a controversial law aimed at sparking immigration reform in late April, politicians, citizens and organizations around the country began calling for a boycott of travel to the state. Steve Moore, president and CEO of the Greater Phoenix Convention & Visitors Bureau, said the convention bureau has used the situation to communicate the overall importance of the travel industry in terms of jobs and the local economy. “It’s an ongoing dialogue the bureau intends to have with future visitors and business groups,” Moore said.

Key takeaway: When politics interfere with destination marketing, remind constituents of the importance of the travel industry to the local economy.

Ask for Help—This spring, extensive flooding in Nashville, Tennessee, shut down the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center for six months. City officials huddled with hotel managers in the greater Nashville area to relocate nearly 200,000 room nights that had been booked. Although some groups have opted to look elsewhere while the city recovers, Nashville has managed to find other locations in the city for several big conventions that had been planned at the Gaylord Opryland.

Key takeaway:When a natural disaster shuts down facilities, rally the community to help you find alternatives that will keep groups from canceling events.

Spread the Word—In 2008, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, suffered a devastating flood that submerged more than 10 square miles of the city, affecting nearly every downtown business and most public buildings. To help get the message out about the needs of Cedar Rapids—and its recovery— the city’s leading civic organizations joined forces to launch a website, cedarrapidsfloodstory.com, to spread the message. The city also took advantage of its gradual progress, making big community-wide events out of attractions that reopen.

Key takeaway: When rebuilding after a natural disaster, get the word out every time a venue, hotel or public facility reopens for business.

Keep Them Happy—When an Icelandic volcano unexpectedly erupted in April, it wreaked havoc on international air carriers and had a profound negative impact on New York City’s airports. With flights to and from much of Western Europe initially grounded, NYC & Company officials convinced 40 area hotels and transportation providers to offer discounts to stranded travelers and nearly 20 museums and cultural institutions agreed to offer free admission for stranded travelers as well.

Key takeaway: If travelers find themselves stranded in your destination by no choice of their own, find ways to turn them into happy tourists.

Change the Rules—At Chicago’s McCormick Place, the rising costs for groups to do business caused several organizations to cancel their dates—with the chance that many more would soon follow. As a result, convention bureau and convention center officials turned to the state legislature for help to change labor rules at the facility. State lawmakers passed legislation that made sweeping changes to the way the center does business, thus lowering potential costs to groups and tradeshow attendees.

Key takeaway: If circumstances beyond your control threaten your business, ask local and state political leaders for help.

Take the Lead—With more unforeseen challenges no doubt looming for destinations, the importance of spreading the word about travel’s impact on communities cannot be emphasized enough. When challenges for the travel industry arise, savvy DMOs should be prepared to step forward as part of their community’s leadership to convert those difficulties into opportunities.

For a complimentary copy of “Why Travel Matters,” produced in conjunction with Destination Marketing Association International—e-mail me at tim.schneider@schneiderpublishing.com. Or, view “Why Travel Matters” as a digital edition.

Tim Schneider
Schneider Publishing Company

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About age 5 I fell and broke my collar bone. That’s how they discovered I had very poor eyesight.

Remember, this was a time when babies and toddlers did not have every inch of their bodies examined and evaluated by parents or the family doctor. Today they would have discovered my poor vision much sooner.

At any rate, I was fitted with geeky glasses and soldiered on. Of course, I proceeded to break at least one pair per year, to the escalating frustration of my parents.

Growing up in that era in one of the five boroughs of New York, about 30 minutes by subway from Manhattan, there weren’t any after-school community programs to organize and schedule activities for kids. There was no Little League or Pop Warner, no Boys & Girls Clubs or YMCAs. We, the kids, had to organize whatever sports or activities we wanted to do.

So, somewhere around age 12, my group—we weren’t a gang!—decided we wanted to play organized baseball. We tired of the hastily arranged pick-up games that always seem to be a few players short. Because my eyesight meant I could hardly see the baseball, I became the “manager”. We recruited enough for a team and then cleaned a vacant weed- and rock-strewn lot, ran raffles to buy equipment and uniforms. We were the Spades. Couldn’t we have been the Kings or the Chiefs? Anything a little more macho than the Spades?

We won some, lost some and had a great time all spring and early summer for a few years. With this success fresh on our resume, we decided to expand and start a football program.

There was a group of older guys who had carved out another better vacant lot and even had some makeshift bleachers for spectators. Since they were the Dukes, with their blessing we became the Junior Dukes.

We rented a garage across the street to use as a locker room and between some hand-me-down equipment from the Dukes and raising some money of our own we got ourselve jerseys, and were ready to roll.

As with the Spades, I was the manager, and in charge of all the non-playing activities. On a few occasions when too few players showed up for a game I was recruited. I played on the line as a guard. On offense I just had to block the guy in front of me. That was okay without my glasses, but on defense it was hard for me to discern who had the ball and who to try and tackle.

I’ll never forget on one series of plays they told me to play in the backfield. Okay, I thought, I’ll just try to block anyone coming into the backfield.

Then the quarterback called a pass play and told me I was to be the receiver. I said: “What, are you crazy? I can’t see a thing!”

He was insistent, and there wasn’t time to argue. The play went off and I was saved from embarrassment when the defensive back batted the ball down before it got to me. I was glad he could see it. At that point, I was delighted to go back to being the manager.

Looking back, I can see this was the beginning of learning and developing organizational skills. If it hadn’t been for my poor eyesight I would have been at best a mediocre player. It was never my dream or plan to get into association and event management but, looking back, I can see those early boyhood experiences helped pave the way.

They say necessity is the mother of invention. In my case, adversity was as well.

How did you get your start?

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