Destinations International has made the case that relying merely on ROI numbers to defend the value and relevancy of a destination organization was no longer a viable advocacy strategy. Instead, we argued, destination organizations need to support the message of ROI in terms of dollars and cents with an emotional and value-based appeal to convince political leaders and community stakeholders that without a destination organization, these returns will inevitably vanish.

The reality is that people tend to frame political arguments, and the facts behind them, in terms of their own values. What this means, essentially, is that words matter in politics, and those words need
to be chosen carefully and need to carry an emotional connection that connects with people’s values and the values of our industry.