Tourism Product Development

Your biggest tourism asset might not be a landmark, but a local icon and a flagship live event? This summer, Bad Bunny is expected to generate nearly $200 million in economic impact for Puerto Rico. Over 600,000 people will travel to San Juan for his residency, the first of its kind on the island. Hotel occupancy is already up 70% compared to last year, and Glorianna Yamín from Discover Puerto Rico confirmed a major spike in travel interest. This kind of economic impact isn’t new, we saw it with Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour which grossed over $2 billion in ticket sales and poured millions into local economies. We’re seeing a shift: travel marketing shouldn’t just sell a destination, it should tap into live moments people already care about. That’s where cultural relevance meets business impact. Rafat Ali has coined a phrase that I think captures this perfectly “Live Tourism”... but how do you market it? The smartest destinations will start creating content well ahead of the event. They know that when people are planning to visit, they are going on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube searching for videos of what to do. They know that if they want visitors to stay for longer and spend more money when they arrive, they need to make it easy to discover what’s on offer. Short video itineraries of what to do, where to stay, where to eat, drink and relax in Puerto Rico should be all over social media right now, building value for the future guest, not around a generic campaign but around actionable insights tied to these live cultural moments.

A lot of destinations are spending big money on marketing and still blending into the background. Not because the places aren’t incredible, but because the content feels completely lifeless. I visit roughly 15 countries per year, I see it every single day, drives me crazy. Every destination says the same things. Hidden gem. Authentic culture. World class hospitality. Breathtaking views...blah blah blah. Once you’ve seen it a thousand times, it all becomes wallpaper. The problem is that most destination marketing is built around what executives want to approve instead of what travelers actually connect with emotionally. Real travel is messy, emotional, funny, loud, human, spontaneous, cultural, and personal. But most tourism content feels like it was written by committee inside a boardroom. Here’s the tactical part that DMOs seriously need to understand: 1. Stop marketing your destination like a brochure. Nobody opens social media hoping to read tourism slogans. 2. Put real people at the center of the content. Chefs, taxi drivers, bartenders, musicians, fishermen, hotel staff, street vendors, grandmothers cooking local food. That’s the soul of a destination. 3. Show movement and energy. Too much destination content feels static. Travel is emotion in motion. 4. Create content around moments, not landmarks. A place becomes memorable because of how it made someone feel. 5. Stop trying to make every post look luxury. Some of the best performing travel content online feels raw and immediate. 6. Think platform first. A LinkedIn audience, Instagram audience, TikTok audience, and YouTube audience consume content completely differently. Most DMOs still post the exact same thing everywhere. 7. Build long-term creator relationships. One influencer trip and 12 Instagram Stories is not a strategy. 8. Start creating content for AI discovery now. The destinations that tell deeper stories online today are going to dominate search visibility tomorrow. Tourism marketing has changed. Attention spans changed. Consumer behavior changed. The algorithm changed. AI changed discovery. But a huge part of the tourism world is still marketing destinations like it’s a printed magazine ad from the good old days. And then they wonder why engagement is flat. 🙄🙄🙄 --- If you like the way I look at the world of hospitality, let’s chat: scott@mrscotteddy.com

Want Your Hotel to Be Seen as the Next 'White Lotus' Destination? The White Lotus didn’t just sell drama—it sold destinations. From Maui to Sicily to Koh Samui, Four Seasons properties became bucket-list stays overnight, proving that storytelling is the most powerful marketing tool in hospitality. The question is: How can hotels and luxury brands tap into this phenomenon? Here are four key strategies that hotel owners and operators should adopt: 1. Invest in Cinematic Storytelling. Luxury travelers don’t just want great service—they want an immersive narrative. - Develop a strong brand story that blends heritage, exclusivity, and emotion. - Lean into cinematic visuals—showcase your property as an aspirational setting. - Collaborate with filmmakers, influencers, and travel storytellers to bring your destination to life. Example: The San Domenico Palace in Sicily didn't need to market itself—White Lotus did it for them. But, the hotel's brand storytelling on social media kept the momentum going. 2️. Position Your Hotel as a Pop Culture Destination Not every hotel will land a TV series, but you can still make your property feel like it belongs in one. - Create experiences that feel exclusive and made for storytelling. - Align your brand with lifestyle and cultural trends—think fashion weeks, film festivals, and elite gatherings. - Encourage user-generated content that reinforces an aspirational narrative. Example: Hotels like Aman and Six Senses thrive on exclusivity and storytelling—guests feel like they’ve stepped into a curated, high-society experience. 3. Curate Experiences That Go Beyond the Stay It’s no longer just about rooms and suites—it’s about crafting a cinematic escape. - Offer unique, high-end experiences (think private island dinners, exclusive cultural excursions, secret speakeasies). - Partner with luxury brands to create limited-time, immersive stays. - Build a loyalty program that rewards experience-seekers, not just frequent travelers. Example: The Four Seasons’ new Mallorca property is integrating a vineyard and high-end culinary experiences—tapping into the romance of Mediterranean life. 4️. Embrace Set-Jetting & Destination Marketing People travel to places they’ve seen on-screen—use this to your advantage. - Collaborate with film and TV productions to feature your location. - Work with tourism boards to position your hotel as part of a broader cultural movement. - Launch travel packages inspired by popular films & series. Example: After Emily in Paris, Parisian hotels leaned into curated “Emily-style” itineraries. Why not craft a White Lotus-inspired luxury escape? The Takeaway: The White Lotus Effect proves that hotels aren’t just places to stay—they’re places to be experienced. The brands that master cinematic storytelling, pop culture positioning, and immersive experiences will win in the next era of luxury travel. What’s your take—how can more hotels capitalize on this trend? Let’s discuss.

Tourism marketing is not like any other industry. And most marketers who enter this space figure that out too late. I remember sitting in a social media training some months ago. The trainer was explaining marketing funnels. Problem → solution → purchase. Classic. But I kept thinking: this doesn't apply here. Because the person booking a trip to Costa Rica? They don't have a problem. They're not suffering. They're not lying awake at night, desperate for a fix. They want to feel something. They want to come back different. That's not a pain point. That's a desire. And desire works completely differently. Here's what makes tourism marketing structurally different from almost everything else: The audience is already self-selected. Nobody stumbles into a booking page for an eco-lodge by accident. They searched for it. They've been dreaming about it. They're already motivated. Your job is not to convince them they need a holiday. Your job is to make them feel certain that your experience is the right one. That shift from persuasion to confirmation changes everything about how you communicate. And then there's the second layer. Every traveller is different. Not just demographically. Emotionally. Psychologically. Motivationally. One person wants silence. Another wants adventure. One wants to disconnect from everything. Another wants a community to connect with. Same lodge. Same week. Completely different needs. Which means generic content "beautiful nature, authentic experience, sustainable values" doesn't land for anyone specifically. It registers as background noise. The brands that convert don't speak louder. They speak more precisely. They've identified the emotional state of their ideal guest, and they create content that meets that person exactly where they are. That's not copywriting. That's psychology. Tourism marketing doesn't sell a product. It sells the version of yourself you could become. The traveller who finally disconnected. The one who found something real. The one who came home knowing something they didn't know before. If your content doesn't speak to that it's just noise with a nice photo. What's the biggest mistake you see tourism brands make in their content? Drop it in the comments, I read every reply.

3 things I’ve learned running a platform about deep travel Publishing One Planet Journey has been a front-row seat to how the travel industry is shifting, and what travellers actually care about. Here are 3 big takeaways I want to share with anyone wanting to understand and reach experience-driven travellers: 1. Emotion > Itinerary People don’t remember schedules, they remember how a place made them feel. The most loved articles in our magazine aren’t the “top 10 things to do” lists. They’re the ones where the writer disappears into the story, where the reader feels like they are walking right beside the author. 🧭 Tip: Don’t sell activities. Sell transformation. 2. Your audience is more discerning than you think Today’s traveller is well-informed, sustainability-aware, and hungry for authenticity. They can smell fluff, greenwashing or generic writing a mile away. 🧭 Tip: Ditch the travel clichés. Speak like a person, not a brochure. 3. Distribution is everything A brilliant story with no visibility does nothing. We’ve seen how partnerships, SEO, and being tapped into the right communities can elevate powerful stories and get them in front of decision-makers and travellers who care. 🧭 Tip: Great content is only step one. Partnering with the right community is just as strategic as solid SEO. If you work in travel and want to create real engagement this is where it starts. 👇 What would you add to the list? #Deeptravel #Travelmarketing #Contentstrategy #Travel #TravelMedia

I've reviewed many tourism strategies, and most have one thing in common: While culture and people often are mentioned, they rarely take center stage. Marketing usually focuses on places and experiences. It's a missed opportunity, since you're skipping the essence and what makes your place really unique and memorable ✨ Instead of just showing attractions and activities, dive into the stories behind. Who are the people maintaining these? What traditions make these unique? In Medellin, a local señor is voluntarily taking care of one of the popular hiking trails. He's there from the early morning making sure it's all set. Most who are not from here don't know, but details like that make it extra special 🤗 How can you introduce people more to traditions and lifestyles? We often remember better when we participate. Not in that awkward, superficial staged way, but in collaboration with locals who also enjoy and benefit from it. It could be having breakfast at the local bakery while chatting with people (very common here in Colombia), watching a game, dancing, sports, joining a festival. Homestays. For those who prefer private accommodation, a dinner together with locals can be a great way to bond. Show why traditions matter. Local guides, interactive tours, and your personal stories can be a great way to share how traditions were shaped. That they often are about so much more than what they first appear (like fika in Sweden ☕). Set expectations from the beginning. Create and promote guidelines that talk about do's and don'ts, how to be respectful, as we are fortunate enough to step into someone else's home. Highlight diversity and challenge stereotypes. After having traveled full-time for 7+ years and been based longer in many countries - one of the main conclusions is that most cultures are misunderstood. Show how locals might have unique approaches to life. How gastronomy, priorities, and values might vary. How it's more about being curious while not assuming… When you focus more on culture, people, and genuine connection, suddenly every place has something to offer 😉 ➡ What would you add? How do you emphasize this in your strategies/travels? ➡ Any place that stands out to you for its culture and people? 📷 A mix from Latin America (Colombia, Ecuador, Brazil, Costa Rica, Bolivia). While you'll be spoiled by options for places to visit, the people and the vibe are what will make you want to come back again and again #cultures #sustainabletravel #travelandtourism

Tourism attracts attention. Structured tourism attracts investment. Most destinations celebrate visibility. Few design for investability. Investors are not drawn to potential alone, they are drawn to clarity, stability, and scalable systems. That’s where most tourism strategies fall short. If you want tourism to unlock real capital, focus here: 1. Define the investment case, not just the destination Move beyond promotion. Articulate where returns come from, how value flows, and who participates. 2. Stabilise policy and signal consistency Capital avoids uncertainty. Long-term policy clarity builds confidence and lowers perceived risk. 3. Design integrated value chains  Tourism is not a sector in isolation, it’s a system. Transport, skills, infrastructure, SMEs, and experience delivery must align. 4. Build institutional execution capacity Strategies don’t fail on paper, they fail in execution. Capability, coordination, and leadership are decisive. 5. Prioritise scalable models over isolated wins Investors look for repeatability. Pilot projects are useful, but systems that scale attract capital. The shift is simple, but not easy: From marketing destinations to to engineering tourism economies. If you’re serious about positioning tourism as an investment asset class, system design is not optional, it’s foundational. Follow me for insights on tourism governance, investment strategy, and building systems that deliver long-term economic value. #TourismInvestment #InvestmentStrategy #EconomicDevelopment #Governance #DestinationDevelopment #SystemThinking #AfricaAsia #SustainableTourism

Travel businesses that want to stand out must realise that travellers now value stories over destinations. The emotional resonance of a journey, how it feels, what is discovered, the connections made, has become the true currency of modern travel. Experiences need to be presented in a way that is not only visually striking, but also personal and genuine. The old marketing playbook of listing attractions and amenities no longer works; travellers are asking how a trip will change them, what memories they’ll gain, and how they’ll connect with others. For companies in both leisure and business travel, this shift is an opportunity: By crafting authentic narratives that showcase transformation, challenge, and adventure, brands build lasting loyalty. The business impact is clear, those who evoke emotion and foster connection attract repeat guests and generate organic growth through word-of-mouth. The most successful strategy is to invest in content that highlights real experiences and customer stories, not just polished brochures. How can your brand make every journey a memorable chapter in your client’s personal story? #Authenticity #Connection #Growth

✈️ Behind Every Great Tourism Campaign... Is a Smart Partnership Strategy. As someone working at the intersection of aviation and tourism, I’ve seen firsthand how powerful and strategic tourism board partnerships are. It's not just handing out brochures or running digital ads. It's about influencing Michelin guides, building public–private coalitions, and partnering with airlines to drive meaningful visitor flows. Some of the take from behind the working are as follows, 1. Public-Private Matchmaking Many tourism boards are public–private partnerships. Visit Florida matches state funding with private partners like Disney and SeaWorld. ROI? Every $1 spent returns $2.15 in tax revenue. 2. Trade Shows & Roadshows Tourism boards meet key partner airlines, DMCs, and hotel brands at ITB Berlin, ATM, and WTM London events. These are not just eye candy; when one plans their calendar well, they’re strategic sourcing grounds. 3. Michelin-Star Power Moves In 2024, Southern U.S. states co-funded Michelin’s expansion into their region to boost culinary tourism. These aren’t small bets, they’re investments in perception and positioning. 4. Operator Training as Marketing Smart DMOs train local tour operators to tell a consistent story. “Your operator’s marketing is your destination’s marketing.” 5. Data-Driven Destination Content Boards like Visit California now tailor content based on search behavior: “What to do with kids in June in Santa Cruz?” This shift from broad lists to personalized storytelling drives higher-conversion engagement. 6. Airline & Brand Co-Marketing Airlines, OTAs, payment platforms—everyone’s in the mix. Think Emirates + Dubai Tourism. Expedia + Destination Canada. Smart boards build bundles, campaigns, and loyalty plays. Want to pitch a tourism board? Know their target source markets, priorities, and brand voice. Tailor your pitch accordingly. Generic proposals go to the bottom, strategically relevant ones get the call. #TourismStrategy #AviationConsulting #DestinationMarketing #PublicPrivatePartnership #TourismBoards #RouteDevelopment #TourismInnovation #Sagheermoula

Right now, 13 million people on r/travel alone are talking about destinations. Sharing photos. Asking for recommendations. Warning each other about tourist traps. Writing detailed trip reports that influence real booking decisions. And most DMOs have no strategy whatsoever for any of it. User-generated content is the most authentic marketing asset in existence. It's created by real people, about real experiences, for real audiences — and it carries zero credibility gap. Your polished drone footage? Travelers know it's marketing. Your UGC? Travelers trust it completely. Here's the engine most DMOs are missing: 1. Create a strong, searchable branded hashtag 2. Actively monitor and collect UGC — don't wait for it to come to you 3. Get rights clearance (this step is non-negotiable) 4. Deploy that content across your owned channels, ads, and website 5. Recognize and reward your best creators The cost is a fraction of a professional shoot. The authenticity is priceless. Start the UGC engine this week. You'll be shocked what's already out there about your destination. #DestinationMarketing #UGC #UserGeneratedContent #TourismMarketing #DMO