Reading Recommendations

Bridging the weeks between Thanksgiving and the end of the year Holidays, we reflect back on where we’ve been, the people with whom we’ve engaged and the destinations that we have assisted. It’s been a great year.

Thanks to the readers of our blog and Z-News; you encourage us through your comments and clicks. And, thanks to those that have joined us for the resurrection of DMOU.com; we love sharing your stories with the world.

And, in the spirit of sharing, we’re reprising our habit of recommending the books that inspired our thinking this year:

Place Branding for Small Cities, Regions and Downtowns by Bill Baker.
He started out intending to update his first tome (Destination Branding for Small Cities), but once Bill immersed himself in the task, he realized that a completely new approach was warranted. To be sure, this book is still about Branding…but Place Branding expands Bill’s underlying tenets with an eye to how technology and the digital landscape have profoundly changed how the buying decision is made. Packed with lots of examples and case studies from around the world, this is one of those books that every Destination Marketing professional should have in their collection.

Building a Vibrant Community by Quint Studer.
By any measure, the renaissance of Downtown Pensacola has been stunning, to say the least. And, Quint Studer was one of the early catalysts for that change by buying and renovating some dilapidated old buildings in the city’s struggling downtown. Then a few more…and successfully moved a semi-pro baseball team to the waterfront. He calls what happened next a “citizen-led” movement and proclaims that we cannot expect government to champion change; it must come from an aligned private sector. Through it all, Quint became a scholar in how to move communities forward and this book is an inspirational treatise.

Selling the Sights by Will Mackintosh.
I met Will during our work this year in fabulous Fredericksburg VA, one of a slate of stakeholders Terri and I interviewed to better understand the culture of the community before developing our recommendations for the future structure of the region’s destination marketing efforts. My time with Will really made me think, which isn’t surprising as that is his day job as an Associate Professor at the University of Mary Washington. To be sure, this is an academic volume that can get dense at times…but his tracing of the evolution of (and distinction between) tourists and travelers is fascinating. Not unlike our conversation earlier this year, his examination of the history of travel for leisure in this country helped me see today’s travel industry and consumer in a new light.

Factfulness by Hans Rosling.
This is a book that will shake your understanding of the world around us. For instance, that the level of extreme poverty throughout the world has been cut in half in the past 20 years. But, what Hans found is that only 5% of Americans selected the right answer in a multiple-choice question (the other options were “doubled” and “remained the same"). How can this be…and don’t say it’s the fault of the American education system, because only 7% got the answer right globally. In many cases, we are dumber than chimpanzees (who one could reasonably expect 33% to select the right answer) because of the narratives that surround special interests. Hans identifies ten instincts that steer us wrong and how to identify them.

The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker.
And, this is the book that had the most profound impact on me on 2019. As humans, we gather…a lot. We meet at conferences, dinner parties, staff meetings, funerals, baby showers, to debate the future of our communities. But, why are we really gathering? And, who should really be invited? And, how should the meeting really be structured? And, when should it really end? These aren’t simply rhetorical questions, as I learned after devouring Priya’s book. They get to the very essence of our success, both individually and as a tribe. This was my book of the year.

While they’re not books, we also highly recommend the White Papers produced by the Destinations International Foundation on becoming a Shared Community Value and the New Tourism Lexicon. Click HERE for two great reads from Jack Johnson and his Team at Destinations International.

And (as I channel Steve Jobs), one more thing. I am honored to be part of a new online conference for the travel industry, the Destination on the Left Virtual Summit designed for tourism marketers. I am one of 17 presenters who have put together presentations to help power your success in 2020 and beyond. Registration is FREE. The event will take place December 9 - 11…and the best news is that there is zero travel involved. You will be able to access all of the sessions from your own computer. No travel time. No hotel stays. Just great content and more ways to learn from smart industry experts. Click HERE for more information on the presenters and to register for this inaugural Virtual Summit.

See this entire Z