Destination Planning For 2021 And Beyond
The year 2020 will be remembered as one of the most challenging periods for the tourism industry, in Canada and worldwide. At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Tourism Saskatchewan and industry partners, including destination and city management/marketing organizations (DMOs/CMOs), began meeting virtually, on a bi-monthly schedule, to tackle serious issues head on and plot innovative, collaborative solutions for tourism recovery. The DMO/CMO meetings created a space to share ideas, align strengths and work co-operatively.
Friday, February 26 2021
In December 2020, Tourism Saskatchewan’s Industry Development Team hosted a virtual DMO/CMO Forum with a facilitated session to empower partners, despite the challenges imposed by COVID-19. The forum aimed to strengthen connections with industry; expand opportunities for dialogue and networking; and provide solutions and strategies to thrive as destination marketing/management organizations that bring value to stakeholders.
Representatives of the following organizations participated in the forum:
- Cypress Hills – Grasslands Destination Area
- Destination Battlefords
- Economic Development Regina - Tourism Regina
- Lloydminster Economic Development
- Regina Hotel Association
- Tourism Estevan
- Tourism Melville
- Tourism Moose Jaw
- Tourism Saskatoon
- Tourism Saskatchewan
- Tourism Swift Current
- Tourism Weyburn
- Watrous – Manitou Marketing Group
- Whitecap Dakota First Nation
The DMO/CMO Forum was facilitated by Albert Jame, Design Thinking Thought Leader at zu.com. Jame led the group through a series of exercises that involved Design Thinking concepts and scenario planning exercises to address the following questions:
- How might communities and destinations advocate better for the tourism industry?
- Provided with two different scenarios in terms of the future impacts on potential COVID-19 regulations, what should marketing and communication efforts look like?
- How do we work toward organizational sustainability with fewer resources?
- What are the unique value propositions of DMOs/CMOs?
- What type of information and data would help in these efforts?
- How do we plan for 2021?
This report is a comprehensive record of the Information gathered from participants. Its sections detail participant feedback regarding tourism challenges, scenario marketing/messaging, sustainability and advocacy.
Click here to download the full report.
Questions? Contact Darcy Acton, Industry Development Consultant, at (306) 933-7493 or darcy.acton@tourismsask.com