As tourism advocacy efforts rise as a trend within destination marketing organizations, tourism and travel leaders find themselves allocating more time and resources to try and change perceptions and sentiments within the local community; however, without proper strategy in advanced planning, these efforts may be misguided. Developing a research-based, methodical communications plan for tourism advocacy is the first step in seeking mutual understanding between DMOs and local residents. From research as the backbone to any advocacy program to developing annual advocacy activity calendars, carefully planned strategies will ensure not only messages reach the appropriate target audience but also that they stimulate a trackable accomplishment or behavior. Here’s a look at my recommendations for a formal advocacy communications plan and examples of tactics from several destinations.
Advocacy: Is there really anything new?
Women’s rights. Gay rights. The list is lengthy of commonly known socially-based advocacy efforts that have impacted legislation and history for centuries. But what about tourism advocacy? Merriam Webster (2017) defines advocacy as the act or process of supporting a cause or proposal. In the case of tourism, gaining and securing support by residents for tourism initiatives is not necessarily a new concept, though greater emphasis is being placed on dedicating financial and staff resources to this effort for securing the future health and relevance of destination marketing organizations. Let’s identify best practices in developing a detailed strategic communications plan for those employed by (or assisting) destination marketing organizations (DMO)s for the dedicated work of local tourism advocacy.
Societal Trends Affecting Tourism Advocacy
As sensitive political environments continue to shape criticisms, residents’ attitudes toward government, public-private partnerships, new development and a host of other local and national issues continuously divide individuals at the local level. Having a long range vision and foundational planning for tourism advocacy is critical to the success of tourism initiative consensus. Wilson (1995) notes that organizations build successful relationships with their publics based on mutual respect, trust and human dignity, not just on self-interest gain. Today’s tourism leaders now take the advocacy definition to the next level by coining advocacy as the communications, public relations or advocacy part of marketing to key stakeholders, constituents or publics, in support of the prime purpose of marketing to visitors, building a destination team and creating community tourism wealth (Anderson, 2017).
What’s the Problem?
Careful consideration of the following questions is the first step in advocacy planning. First, one must know what is the exact situation facing the DMO. Common issues today may be related to funding sources in jeopardy or major tourism projects requiring resident vote not getting passed. It may be lack of consensus in key messages to the media by tourism stakeholders or negative social media sentiment about your destination to potential visitors by residents. The case studies are building in the Destination Marketing Association International (DMAI) advocacy library. Visit Eau Claire sought to improve the confidence of key stakeholders to speak more often on behalf of tourism. San Diego Tourism Authority faced a funding crisis in 2013 with the mayor. Poconos Mountains sought to maximize opportunity for post-Labor Day school openings to expand the tourism season. Whatever the situation, recognizing the background on the issue will help DMOs formulate stronger plans. Smith (2013) recommends considering the following questions:
- Is this the first time the DMO has dealt with the issue?
- What caused the situation in the first place?
- Does the situation involve the DMO’s relationship with another group (this could be hotel associations, local government, civic leagues, etc.)
Once DMOs understand the background on the issue, it is time to consider the consequences. Evaluating the importance of the issue to the DMO’s overall mission will determine how serious of a response is warranted as well as the duration of the situation. The potential consequences may also have an impact on resources allocated within the DMO if it is looked at as a major priority (for example- does the DMO need volunteers or full time employees to help? Where will the funding for an advocacy campaign come from?). Smith (2013) also notes that obstacles facing the DMO can also be looked at as opportunity as situations can be resolved for the mutual benefit of everyone involved. Once the situation is clearly outlined, the challenge must be documented and agreed upon by DMO leadership to set the next course of action. Wilson (1995) recommends a one sentence statement of the core problem and a one sentence statement of the goal or outcome the DMO would like to achieve.
The Role of Research in Tourism Advocacy
Given this background on situational planning for tourism advocacy, tourism community relations representatives can now turn to planning initiatives to solve explicit challenges within their community as well as take advantage of developing opportunities. Today’s tourism community relations representative maneuvers in a business world that demands a more scientific approach that delivers evidence that the “bottom line” has been boosted. Additional research most likely will be required to learn more about the situation – most likely a combination of formal research and informal research, like personal observations, focus groups and interviews with key stakeholders.
Stacks (2011) emphasizes that the trend in communications planning has moved from looking at the masses to more targeted groups with focused characteristics such as specific demographics and lifestyles – even “net graphics” in which social media behavior is being monitored. In tourism communities that represent a large geographic area or diverse communities, this practice is important to note.
Formal studies can be designed to help understand and evaluate the overall impact of tourism on residents, how residents view the community as a place to live, reactions to specific statements about tourism and feelings about visitors who come into the community for specific purposes and awareness. The study can then be analyzed and cross-tabulated to identify specific target audiences by which to base a DMO advocacy plan. Securing a third-party research firm to conduct this study brings additional credibility to the DMO.
A more recent research method for understanding resident sentiment is social media listening. In 2016, the Virginia Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau sought to gain understanding of the presence of advocates in the destination and identify websites and networks where conversations and decision making are occurring as part of a Virginia Beach vacation. Using a digital platform called Sysomos, the destination analyzed more than 8,000 Twitter comments and 2,500 forum posts. A key finding was that the attitudes of Virginia Beach locals toward the resort beach, a major tourist attraction area, were sharply negative. This insight assisted the DMO to strategize and execute on ways to create more local advocates within the advocacy plan.
Understanding Residents’ Motivations
Before deciding on tactics like speakers bureaus, promo items and commercials, a thorough analysis of the community and target audiences must be conducted. Do not assume that tourism only impacts those in close proximity to tourism product. Not unlike marketing research, understanding the emotions and motivations of local community members will help DMOs engage better.
Kaden (2012) notes that researchers want to do more than just track emerging changes in attitudes, but they want to want to anticipate change in attitudes as well – requiring the study of the economy, politics, religion, societal institutions and social relationships. These should be considered when evaluating key publics’ demographic profile, motivating self-interests, opinion leaders and other influencers. Examples of motivating self- interests to residents as it related to tourism could be sentiment towards tax breaks or quality of life (i.e. regular use of tourism product that wouldn’t otherwise be in the destination).
Intercultural communication and culture play a significant role in assessing audiences. Samovar (2012) takes into account several societal factors and differences related to resident’s upbringing in certain cultures. Some of these differences may impact a DMO’s efforts gaining consensus (or creating messaging) with a certain segments of the local community. Cultures can be broken down into several societal categories for which a DMO can assess which most closely aligns with their community: small power distance, weak uncertainty avoidance, individualist, collectivist, feminine, masculine, short-term oriented and long-term orientated. For example, in small power distance societies, older people are not respected. In large power distance societies, subordinates are expected to be told what to do. In a weak uncertainty avoidance societies, health and well-being are important. In strong uncertainty avoidance societies, there is a strong need for clarity and structure. Individualist societies speak their mind, and collectivist societies stress on belonging. Feminine societies seek balance between family and work; masculine societies deal with the facts. Short-term oriented societies focus on short-term business profits, whereas long-term orientated societies place great importance on savings. These cultural differences may make or break a tourism advocacy campaign if not taken into consideration.
Objectives
Smith (2013) defines objectives as a statement of specific outcomes expected for a public, indicating a way to more precisely conceptualize the goal. DMOs can ask themselves at this point: what do we want our residents to think about our industry? What position do we seek with the residents? While goals are mostly general, objectives must be specific. For example, a clear objective for an advocacy communications plan would be increase the percent of local residents who view tourism as beneficial to the destination from 82.5% to 85.5% (3%) in 12 months; or, increase the percent of local residents who agree that the events held at the Convention Center supports the local economy from 76% to 80% (4%) in 12 months.
Getting Tactical
Broom (2013) references five stages in the public’s stage of adopting support for a cause: awareness, interest, evaluation, trial and adoption. Advocacy tactics run the range of highly interactive and personal to non-interactive and mass produced to meet the audience where they are in this five-stage cycle. Examples of highly personal and interactive tactics include one-on-one meetings, handwritten notes and phone calls. Moderately interactive tactics may include podcasts, websites, DMO newsletters and brochures. Public Service Announcements (PSAs), billboards and letters to the editor are considered non-interactive to reach the masses. Wilson (2012) suggests focusing on a combination of written, visual and spoken tactics for all key publics, as long as the message is the focus. For example, a DMO may produce a letter in a local civic league newsletter (ideally from a DMO employee or industry employee who lives in that area), participate in that community’s annual parade with a float and give a speech when a new neighborhood park opens highlighting how tourism helps inspire people plant roots in the community. These grassroots efforts might be critical if research indicates that particular community prefers face-to-face relationship as a primary means of communication and trust-building.
If budget permits, digital TV is impactful for reaching publics as it combines sight, sound and motion and can be segmented to special interest channels. DMOs with larger dedicated advocacy campaign funding may consider budgeting for this production, media buy and personalized targeting to make a strong, immediate impact. The Virginia Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau utilized a third of their advocacy budget in 2016 and 2017 to local and digital broadcast as a tactic for general knowledge change amongst residents in the awareness phase of adoption (T. Diaz, personal communication, May 10, 2017).
Special events can be effective to capture the attention of residents and media directly if executed properly with strategic messaging. For example, recognizing entry-level front-line employees as part of your advocacy plan to generate media may backfire if, for example, it reinforces a community sentiment that the tourism industry produces low-paying jobs. DMOs also need to be aware that events that hype self-serving interests justify the criticism often leveraged against special events (Broom, 2013, p.304).
When using social media for advocacy, consider the channel’s audience. Using your domestic leisure accounts for advocacy would not make sense; ideally, the DMO has a corporate channel for communicating with local stakeholders, but often they are your best advocates already. Finding advocates to share your message on your behalf is a best practice, like Richmond Regional Tourism’s “I Am Tourism” ambassador campaign.
A dedicated website to serve as headquarters for tourism advocacy messaging is a recommended tactic in today’s digital world. Analytics to a DMO website may prove that visitors seeking vacation planning may be landing on the wrong content within your leisure site if advocacy messaging is included within the site. Best practice is to check the analytics of advocacy landing pages for bounce rate and viewer location source. In light of Visit Florida’s funding crisis in 2017, Visit Florida launched a “Faces of Travel Campaign” that included a custom website, FloridaFacesofTravel.com, in May 2017. Employees within Florida’s travel industry are encouraged to submit their tourism story directly to the site. Once produced, they can then share the story within their social media channels, thus increasing the reach of the campaign message. Planners must identify key metrics affiliated with the site in order to justify the impact it will have on reaching key objectives.
From a tactical print/collateral standpoint, Visit Anaheim’s 2014 community outreach report highlighted how the tourism industry and clients made a difference over the course of a year. Editorial content and emotional photography captured how the industry gave back to the local community in several activities throughout the year. A collateral piece like this has several positive impacts, but mostly it speaks to the emotional attributes a local resident may be looking for in gaining understanding of an organization. For non-member-based DMOs, it will be necessary to work closely with local partners, hotel associations and restaurant associations to collectively gather data throughout the year and work together to identify these stories well in advance.
Advocacy Timeline & Budget
A simple Gantt chart is an easy tool for scheduling advocacy activity as timing is critical for success of a DMO’s efforts. For example, tourism commercials may not need to run during a majorly complex event that causes heightened resident sensitivity. Keep in mind conflicts, lead time and targeted public. Wilson (2004) recommends that the timing of tactics should be such that you heighten, fortify and build on other tactics within audiences and across audiences.
Budgeting
How much should DMOs spend on advocacy campaigns? While there is no formula, and every DMO is different, budgeting requires vigilant attention and insightful administration. The budget process for advocacy projects can take several approaches, but one for consideration is the “what-if-not-funded” budget. Smith (2013) suggests organizations consider the consequence of inaction and the effect on the organization’s mission. For example, is the absence of a dedicated full-time employee to do tourism advocacy presentations to various community groups meaning the CEO is doing them instead? Is an investment in video on social media going to go farther than brochures? Advocacy professionals should consider this approach to budgeting, combined with a cost-benefit analysis, can help overcome challenges in budget planning. Know the cost of every tactic, but understand that budgets are a living document that may change over the fiscal year as possible new issues evolve within the community. Personnel expenses should be included in advocacy plans as well alongside materials, media costs, equipment and any miscellaneous expenses.
Plan Now, Not Later
Tourism advocacy can be a daunting challenge when DMOs consider the host of viable stakeholders as well as the investment of time and resources required. Adoption of dedicated resources for the cause of advocacy is a conversation DMOs should be having today, not when crisis hits. Keeping the long-term goal in mind, communicators entering this emerging field within the travel industry should keep in mind the best practices of writing a strategic communications plan to present to tourism leadership: invest in solid research to develop a formal background and situation analysis; narrow down the issues to an actual core problem within the community that the DMO can focus intensely on; have clear goals and objectives that all stakeholders agree to; understand the key audiences and design messages that appeal to their self-interests; organize a calendar of advocacy efforts by target audience; and allocate budget by target audience and strategy.
A research-based, methodical approach to tourism advocacy problem solving will be necessary for key stakeholders, especially DMO leadership. Planning and tracking progress to see adoption within a community is a task that can be strategized in advance with the right planning. Stacks (2011) emphasizes that evaluating tourism advocacy campaign tactics throughout the year is essential. Before your plan is launched, consider how well the research was conducted. During the year, assess which strategies have produced the best results. At the end of the year, evaluate if your tactics did what it was supposed to do – and how did it impact the DMO’s bottom line or issue. Was a major tourism project voted on with support from residents? Did the number of residents’ complaints about parking decline? Was there consistency in key message placement by major stakeholders in the press? Evaluating again for perception and sentiment improvements is another way to gauge progress.
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Tiffany M. Russell, APR, CDME 