Be in a position of knowledge as your re-starting point
Since I have been furloughed, I have had plenty of time to keep up with news items relating to tourism. Through mainstream and social media channels, everyone is speculating about how travel might change ‘once this is over’. Many think that this is the chance for destinations to step back and think about the kind of tourism they really want. Although the industry is suffering terribly, might this be an opportunity to ‘get the house in order’? Could this be the chance to address the Invisible Burden of tourism once and for all?
But it’s all a bit overwhelming. Reading all of this I am wondering, what must it be like working for a destination management organisation, really wanting to act, but not knowing where to start? Because whilst there is huge merit in all the things these articles are advocating, very little has yet been done to demonstrate ‘the how’.
As I reflect on everything I’ve worked on over the past 11 years, I have learned that without engagement you won’t achieve anything. And even when people are engaged it is very unlikely they will take the next step if they don’t know how. That’s why I’ve always loved my job, because equipping partners and stakeholders with the knowledge and skills they need to take and embed action means that things start to get done.