Closing the gap between the visitors you have
and the visitors you need begins with a simple shift in thinking.

Tourism is less about the attractions you sell and more about the people you transform.

Let’s get started.

1. Break With Your Past. Now.

Few paths forward are found retracing steps. Clear out all of the assumptions and accepted wisdoms. Start with a blank sheet. Identify the core issue facing your business as if you were entering the market for the first time.

2. Stop communicating. Start inspiring.

The ultimate purpose of marketing is to create a more intense relationship with your customers. Promoting amenities and attractions does not build an enduring bond. Sharing a vision of a more enlightened future will.

3. Make Waves.

Take a principled stand for or against something that matters. Sustainable businesses carve out their own path. Celebrate your difference. Earn the loyalty of your visitors. Provoke attention and you will be the one to watch.

4. Take Control.

Travelers are overwhelmed by choice.  This is your opportunity. Show them new ways to travel and deliver experiences they didn’t even know they wanted. You will welcome them again and again.

5. Divest Yourself of Distractions.

You are trying to be everything to everyone. A multi-objective perspective is confusing and easy to ignore. Imagine what you could achieve if your energies and resources were focused on a single, core objective. Build business by choosing what not to do.

6. Over Deliver on Your Sustainability Promise.

Nothing demonstrates commitment more than going above and beyond the expected. Sustainability is not a niche market that deserves niche attention. Make it the key focus of your far-sighted business.

7. Keep The Relationship Fresh.

Consumers get bored easily and move on without warning. Maintaining momentum means constantly renewing and deepening the visitor experience. Engage and reengage the imagination of your audience and repeat visitation will be your reward.

8. Do it Now.

It may be tempting to believe that sustainability is an evolutionary process.
Given the economic climate, the sooner you act the better. Remember, visitors are shaping opinions today that will affect your business years from now.

Given the velocity of change, standing still means falling behind. Speed puts distance between you and your competitors making it easier for travelers to discern your difference. A destination on the move is a brand to watch.

New, more sustainable marketing strategies require new marketing partners. The language of the travel has changed. The most beneficial travelers are searching for differentiation through what they do, not what they buy.

Traditional marketers will continue to push unsupportable claims and be lost when their claims cease to resonate with new travelers. Deliver experiences that bring deep-seated emotional benefits and your business will flourish.

Change begins when you change the way you communicate. andy@shrinkingfootprint.com