October 2, 2025
Scenario Model 412 assessments around the world in five languages
Detailed assessment of destination strength and alignment
Futures Study
Overview of trends and strategies for destination organizations worldwide
Previous studies in 2014, 2017, 2019, 2021 & 2023
• Broadcast marketing to engagement
• Destination management
• Collaboration and partnerships
• Curators of content
• Adopters of business intelligence
• Catalysts of economic development
• Activists in placemaking
• Collaboration
• Destination stewardship
• Destination alignment
• Community alignment
• Digital conversion 2019
• Sustainable development
• Values-based marketing
Melvin Tennant Meet Minneapolis
Martha Sheridan Meet Boston
Scott White Visit Greater Palm Springs
Kyle Edmondson Visit Lake Charles
Stacy Brown Visit Shreveport-Bossier
Angela Val Visit Philly
Tammy Canavan Visit Seattle
Marcus Carney Visit Yuma
Sarah Howard Visit Pleasant Prairie
Vicki Cimino Discover Newport
Bennish Brown Visit Augusta
Julie Coker New York City Tourism
Kathleen Davis Texas Association of Convention and Visitor Bureaus
Yrjötapio (Y.T.) Kivisaari Visit Oulu
Peter de Wilde Visit Flanders
Rory Archibald Visit Scotland
Bettina Reventlow-Mourier Wonderful Copenhagen
Matthias Schultze German Convention Bureau
Maya Janssen Amsterdam & Partners
Patricia Yates Visit Britain
Petra Stusek Ljubljana Tourism
Fiorenza Lipparini Milano & Partners
Daniela Kolesa Vienna Tourist Board
Kerstin Bock Visit Berlin
Adrien Genier Geneva Tourism & Convention Foundation
Rosa Bada Barcelona Turisme
Sam Johnson Dublin Convention Bureau
Jonathan Gomez Málaga Tourism Authority
Eric van Essen Rotterdam & Partners
Christine Schoenbuber Tourismus Marketing GmbH Baden-Württemberg
Anders Nyland Visit Bergen
Ross McAuley Play Qiddiya
Nancy Small Tourism Richmond
Victoria Clarke Tourism Mississauga
Michael Crockatt Tourism Ottawa
Stephanie Clovechok Discover Saskatoon
Terry Smith Destination Cape Breton
Andrew Weir Destination Toronto
Royce Chwin Discover Vancouver
Paul Nursey Discover Greater Victoria
Paul Bugge Destination St John’s
Darío Flota Ocampo Yucatan Travel
Jacqueline Mora Tourism MInistry Dominican Republic
María José Abuabara ProColombia
Francisco Moreno Villafuerte Ciudad Juárez
María Clara Facionline Cartagena de Indias CVB
Boris Iraheta Central America Tourism Agency - CATA
David Manllo Latin Association of CVBs
Mauricio Magdaleno Cluster de Turismo Monterrey
Toni Sando UNE Destinos & Visit Sao Paulo
Bruno Reis
Silvana Gomes
EMBRATUR - Brazilian Tourist Board
EMBRATUR - Brazilian Tourist Board
Alisha Reynolds Tourism Calgary
Leslie Bruce Banff & Lake Louise Tourism
Barrett Fisher Tourism Whistler
Peter Lee Goyang Convention & Visitors Bureau
Leonie Ashford Tourism New Zealand Business Events
Nichapa Yoswe Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau
Shin Nakamura ANA Research
Shin Osuka Japan Travel & Tourism Association
Tetsuya Katajima Japan Travel & Tourism Association
Participants 36 Countries
2 0 2 5
The destination landscape is being reshaped
Securing Investment Through Advocacy and Impact Navigating Economic and Geopolitical Uncertainty
Scaling Organizational Capacity to Meet Expanding Expectations Shaping Places for People and Prosperity
Reimagining Destination Marketing in the Age of AI and Authenticity
Driving Impact Through Intentional Event Strategies Advancing Regeneration and Building Long-Term Resilience
Building a Future-Ready Industry Workforce and Organization
42% report funding at risk in the next 3 years (up from 37% in 2023)
The advocacy imperative: Destination Organizations need to evolve from passive recipients to assertive champions
Barcelona, Spain residents are protesting tourism, using water pistols, blocking entrances with tape, and chanting "Tourists go home" to express their anger over the rising cost of living, and the strain on local resources caused by an excessive number of visitors.
The DMO created a responsible tourism campaign to help tourists understand the importance of integrating into the culture and behaving right. The destination will also revoke 10,000 STR licenses by 2028 and limit cruise ship capacity.
The Miami, FL CVB and Economic Development have teamed up to drive business growth, tourism, and investment throughout Dade County through aligned messaging and coordinated strategies.
Destination development is driving that transformation.
How is your organization involved in destination development?
Educating industry on how to develop product/support business case development 15% Advocacy
13%
(select all that apply)
Fostering partnerships with stakeholders, funders, developers, brands and government
19%
Working with developers to support experiential assets
13%
10% Supporting air service development
Leading accessibility programs and initiatives
7%
1%
Others
Investment and funding
9%
14% Leading destination master planning
Destination development is the strategic art of shaping and enhancing places to deliver exceptional visitor experiences, foster local pride, and drive economic vitality.
It prioritizes creative placemaking, meaningful community collaboration, and innovative tourism investments to build vibrant and resilient destinations.
Data Intelligence
Government Relations + Advocacy
Community
Partnerships
Investment
Readiness
After completing their destination master plan, Discover Durham established a 501 (c) (3) subsidiary with an independent board to implement initiatives.
The new nonprofit handles project planning, and feasibility studies, while exploring project funding, and publicprivate partnerships.
Funding comes from a portion of hotel taxes previously designated to city and county general funds, reappropriated to Discover Durham through state legislative action.
Albuquerque, NM adopted zero-fare buses in 2023. It’s made a world of difference to the people who ride them, many of whom are service and hospitality workers, easing workforce transportation challenges.
Enhancing Customer Engagement
Productivity Enhancements
Automating Processes Training Partners
• Enhancing customer engagement
• Customer chatbots and Itinerary builder
Destination Marketing in the Age of AI and Authenticity
• Enhancing customer engagement
• Customer chatbots and Itinerary builders
• Collaboration - Minecraft video game and Tourism New Zealand
• Productivity Enhancements
• Chat GPT – Large language model (LLM) for brainstorming and data analysis
• Claude – best tool for writing
• Perplexity Pro – best for search, providing sources
• Copilot – contextual AI inside your office apps, and used for workflow assistance
Ideate Create
Validate Embed
• Using AI to automate processes/knowledge bases
Think of AI as a change management tool and way to diminish lost productivity: Imagine all your organization's files, emails, data, internal messages, client meeting notes and other intelligence stored in a central knowledge base. Now imagine using AI to analyze that and pull out takeaways to inform strategy for everything your DMO does.
Conversational AI is replacing the need for traditional web searches. Small business operators are struggling to be “found”. Visit Florida Keys is training their stakeholders on claiming their profiles on structured platforms used by AI agents, helping them maintain accurate data in real time on things like prices and availability. This helps them capture business outside their independent websites and Google searches.
Vivid Sydney – An annual celebration of creativity, innovation and technology –23-day award-winning festival…owned, managed, and produced by Destination NSW to boost business in the shoulder season.
Following the devastating floods in September of 2024, Explore Asheville shut down all advertising and creatively rechanneled marketing dollars into relief. They were the million-dollar presenting sponsor of Concert for Carolina, which raised more than $24M for Western North Carolina.
The Cleveland Talent Alliance, a consortium of public, private and nonprofit organizations focuses on growing Cleveland’s population by increasing and retaining work-age adults. They are working to improve perceptions of Cleveland and the willingness of candidates to relocate to Cleveland as well as retain college graduates.
Develop the destination brand rooted in the community's goals, values and creative energy to deliver authentic experiences for the customer
Lead destination advocacy by strengthening government relations to shape supportive policies
Strengthen local community engagement and sentiment to build sustainable support for the visitor economy
Develop
Generative AI is transforming content creation and personalization.
Authenticity is more valuable than ever. We need local voices driving the narrative.
“Places for People”
Strategies Downtowns should be reimagined as experience districts. Investment attraction will flow from and through a compelling destination vision.
84% of travelers consider sustainability important.
Multi-dimensional KPIs beyond traditional economic metrics are now necessary.
Adaptable implementation is replacing rigid planning.
Workforce challenges are requiring strategic responses.
Build government relationships proactively
Demonstrate community value consistently Diversify or augment funding while protecting public investment
Define core mandate clearly to avoid scope creep
Build cross-sector partnerships strategically
Leverage AI strategically to achieve organizational goals
Develop AI usage policies and team fluency
Ground brand strategies in local identity
Measure connection, not just impressions Enable communitydriven storytelling
path
requires courage, clarity, and collaboration.
Audit your organization's readiness across the 8 forces.
Invest in AI literacy and authentic storytelling.
Strengthen advocacy capabilities immediately.
Build resident engagement into every strategy.
Collaborate on shared challenges (workforce, sustainability, advocacy).
Support industry-wide standards and frameworks.
Share best practices and innovative solutions.
Champion tourism's role in community prosperity.
*Tourism Improvement District
Visit Anaheim wanted to increase their TID* rate. The City wanted to use TID funds for affordable housing. A new partnership is in the works to put 9% of new TID funds in a housing trust to help with rental and for-sale housing for people who work for hotels collecting the TID.
Discover Albany expanded upon an existing downtown bus ridership program to offer the employees of all their promotional partners unlimited ridership within the Capital District Transportation Authority helping partners remove hurdles to staffing challenges.
We are community leaders, place-shapers, and change agents.
The
future belongs to destination organizations that are clear in purpose, aligned with their communities, and equipped to lead across a broader landscape.
Variables
Industry
Board
Staff
Hotels
Attractions
Restaurants
Community
Government
Market
Meeting Planners
Business Community
Economic Development
Local Foundations
Education
Tour Operators
EXPLORERS MOUNTAINEERS
Travel Agents
Event Planners
Sufficient headquarter hotels to support the Dacotah Bank Center and other meeting facilities
Facilities and venues to host collegiate, high school and amateur sporting events
Diverse accommodations across all budget ranges
Adequate parking spaces to accommodate residents and visitors
Variety of public transportation options to reach Brookings
1. What one thing could our community do to become a better visitor destination?
• "Invest in more unique, year-round attractions or experiences that reflect our local culture—things you can't find anywhere else.“
• "I would say that the biggest thing is getting more attractions in town. Right now there is no reason to drive through Brookings if it isn't on the way."
• "Continue to expand upon existing attractions and plan and act on new opportunities."
• "Expanded outdoor recreational opportunities: bike trails, nature center.“
• "Need more activities for kids and adults. Ideas like trampoline center, thunder road, wellness center that's not just college students, mini golf, outdoor rifle/archery range, etc."
• “Work with the campus to provide more effective visitor parking and navigation. Increase parking options downtown. Encourage more public transportation--perhaps publish more about BATA options."
• "Complete the bicycle master plan that was adopted several years ago and has not gone very far. Little effort by the city to get done. Bike friendly communities do attract visitors."
• "Easier ways for visitors to be transported to Brookings from airports in region."
• "Consistent transportation offerings, i.e. taxi or Lyft or Uber services."
• "Build a convention center/adequate meeting space connected to a fullservice hotel.”
• "We need some more hotel properties. Brookings routinely sells-out of rooms during major events."
• "Need hotels that have enough rooms/meeting space so that groups do not have to move between venues."
• "Add a hotel to the Dacotah Bank Center to help draw more business travelers during the week. And help them draw more convention type gatherings here for more weekday traffic from outside the area."
Q 2. Types of amenities, businesses, developments or entertainment options desired in key development areas to enhance our appeal to residents and visitors?
• "I would love for these areas to become districts like the Sioux Steel District in Sioux Falls or the Power and Lights in Kansas City. They are unique to the community they are in and provide a one-stop shop for everything a visitor needs, including hotels, restaurants, a brewery and an activity."
• "Downtown has huge potential. Main Avenue should generally be closed to traffic, especially in the summer. Weekend concerts and other activities should be held on Main. Parking ramp, hotel(s), housing, better restaurants, and nightlife. I look at Sioux Falls downtown and wonder why we can't do something similar but on a smaller scale."
• "On the east side of Brookings, particularly in the Marketplace area, I'd love to see a stronger focus on walkability, bike trail connectivity, and outdoor recreation spaces. Incorporating a destination sculpture, outdoor seating, or a community gathering space would help activate this area and create a welcoming experience for both residents and visitors."
• “A mix of locally owned shops, diverse dining options, green space with public art, and venues that support live music or seasonal events would elevate both areas and make them more walkable and engaging.”
Most Frequently Mentioned
Indoor Entertainment/Recreation Center
Hotel Attached to Convention Center
Steakhouse/Fine Dining Restaurant
Chain Restaurants
Hobby Lobby
More Hotels
Arcade/Dave & Busters Style Venue
Mini Golf
Clothing Stores
Public Art & Outdoor Spaces
Live Music Venues
Brewery/Brew Pub
Recreation Facility/Gym
Public Transportation
More Parks & Green Spaces
- Visit Brookings is in the trailblazer quadrant with above average scores for destination strength and community alignment.
- Different stakeholder groups have different perceptions of the destination.
- There are several key takeaways to consider:
• There are several priority infrastructure needs that were mentioned by respondents including a hotel connected to or adjacent to the Dacotah Bank Center to support conventions and large events, indoor entertainment venues, and more hotel capacity overall.
Funding Support & Certainty
• There is a need for better public transportation, reliable ride sharing services, improved parking (especially downtown), and better connections between key tourism areas such as hotels, Marketplace and downtown.
• Year-round programming of attractions and events is needed, particularly during winter months. Addressing specific gaps for underserved groups is also desired (e.g., young adults 20-30, families with older children).
• Respondents appreciate the existing outdoor amenities but would like to see expanded bike trails, nature-based attractions and green space.
• Stakeholders would like to see stronger partnerships between the community and SDSU to leverage existing events and venues more effectively to grown tourism.
• Respondents mention community and resident support as a key concern noting that residents don’t fully understand what Brookings offers visitors. They are also appreciative of the work that Visit Brookings does.
1. Transportation Systems and Accessibility
2. Evolving Role in Destination Development
3. University-Community Partnerships
4. Conference Center and Hotel Feasibility
Challenges
Opportunities
Next Steps
• What transportation opportunities and challenges do you observe for different groups in our community? What factors should be considered when evaluating options for improvement?
• We need to consider all non-drivers (kids, college students, some elderly, mobilitychallenged, etc.) and think of solutions wholistically.
• Air arrivals from Sioux Falls to Brookings. Can we position this differently? (You could also have a 1-hour commute in an urban center, all within the same city.
• Turning more “cow paths” into paved or graded paths and trails (think McCrory Gardens to Walmart).
• Bikes are available for rent at the wellness center. We need to connect the bike trails to the university and the Dakotah Bank Center.
• DMOs are expanding beyond traditional marketing roles. What destination development activities might benefit our community? How might we tackle this in a collaborative manner?
Challenges
• Demand for funding for destination development. Consider working collaboratively with lobbyists and Tourism Coalition of SD to provide multiple voices and perspectives on issues.
Opportunities & Next Steps
• Consider a Tourism/Destination Master Plan.
• More placemaking.
• Digital information kiosks/maps.
• Transportation solutions.
• Full service hotel near the Dakotah Bank Center.
• Even out seasonality dips.
• Talk to potential investors to get their assessment of needs and issues.
• What opportunities exist to enhance collaboration between the university and the broader community in ways that would strengthen our visitor economy? What factors contribute to successful town-gown partnerships and what approaches might work well in our context?
Challenges
• People unsure who to reach out to.
• Rules regarding restrictions on signage and posters.
• Distance between downtown and campus prevents crossover attendance.
• Students don’t notice marketing messages in favor of “just in time” delivery of information.
Need to understand how students are using AI to find info.
Opportunities & Next Steps
• Reach out to University Programming Council (UPC) to redefine opportunities available and to collaborate.
• Consider paid social to cross promote.
• Measure connection, not impressions.
• Reframe tagline, “Go out and do great things” to include being active in civic life and events.
• Several people were interested in exploring building a convention center and adjacent full-service hotel. What steps would be involved in assessing feasibility? What factors should be evaluated and what has worked well (or poorly) in other communities?
Challenges
• Hotel owners understanding how their investment works when they don’t own the land.
• Improvements to the Dakotah Bank Center make attracting a hotel investor more likely.
• Distance from airport if business meetings are the target.
• Hosting new and bigger meetings and events could spur additional development.
• Considering how sports events at the Dakotah Bank Center impacts the ROI for hotel investors.
• Feasibility study needed including an analysis of lost business, additional opportunities with a full service hotel with meeting space and how development at the adjacent Marketplace factors in if there is an effort to have an entertainment district.
