ACTIONABLE ADVOCACY INSIGHTS:
Identifying Resources to Advocate for Tourism
STUDY OVERVIEW
PUT ADVOCACY STRATEGIES TO WORK
Successful implementation of advocacy strategies requires a suite of resources (e.g., time, money, dedicated leadership).
What resources are you currently leveraging for advocacy?
What resources do you need to invest in for advocacy?
RESOURCES CURRENTLY USED/NEEDED TO ADVOCATE FOR TOURISM AT THE LOCAL LEVEL
Note: political literacy was defined as the recognition of the basic functions of government and the role of citizens in the policymaking process
RESOURCES STATE TOURISM OFFICES CURRENTLY USE WHEN PLANNING FOR ADVOCACY EFFORTS
“It comes down to committed people, people that believe in an issue or believe in a program…Then, of course, our board supports those by providing funding for it.” – State tourism advocacy association
“Communication will come from different people, different organizations, a different sector, reinforcing the same thing.” – State tourism office
“We have a Government Affairs Committee, who really is our guiding force behind what we do relative to our whole advocacy efforts.” – State tourism advocacy association
Dedicated Team
Shared Commitment (including board support)
Effective Communication
RESOURCES STATE TOURISM OFFICES NEED TO HELP IMPROVE THEIR PLANNING EFFORTS
Data
"Having information on the sharing economy, for instance, can help you advocate for proper policy on behalf of the industry. By providing that data to the policymakers.” – State tourism office
Investment in Advocacy
“We need money to do the research.” – State tourism office
Coalition Partnerships
“It's your town councils. What are you doing to build a relationship with them and what are you doing to build a relationship with other parts? Do you have a relationship with your arts council or your historic group?” – State tourism office
THE PREVALENCE OF WRITTEN ADVOCACY PLANS AT THE LOCAL LEVEL
Local-level DMOs were asked to indicate if their organization had a written advocacy plan:
“That full‑day planning session we do in the summer sets the advocacy priorities for us for the next year.” – State level tourism organization
IT’S TIME TO TAKE ACTION
Short-
Term
Inventory and sustain the resources you currently have that support existing advocacy strategies.
Mid-
Term
Identify your resource needs for existing and new advocacy strategies.
Long-
Term
Establish an advocacy plan that maximizes existing resources while illustrating the value of needed resources.
CONVERSATION STARTERS
What resources* do we have available for current or future advocacy strategies?
What resources* do we need for current or future advocacy strategies?
Of the resources we need, what should we prioritize to ensure current or future advocacy strategies are effective?
* Consider the resources identified on slides 4 – 6
ABOUT THE NATIONAL ADVOCACY STUDY
Purpose: To identify best practices in advocacy planning among tourism industry organizations.
Goal: To advance knowledge of tourism advocacy planning.
Overview: This study provides insights into the competencies, practices, and resources of tourism organization leaders who engage in advocacy.
Methods:
Interview and survey data were collected from 2019 - 2021 to inform this Actionable Advocacy Insights series.
26 in-depth phone interviews with state-level destination and advocacy association leaders.
205 online survey responses from local-level destination leaders.
CONTACT US
Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism
Whitney Knollenberg, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management
North Carolina State University
wgknolle@ncsu.edu
Ashley Schroeder, Ph.D.
Data and Analytics Manager
Destination Analysts
ashley@destinationanalysts.com
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
In addition to the study participants, we would like to give special thanks to the following individuals and organizations for their support of this research: Hailey Post, Ann Savage, Shannon Stover, Dr. Mandi Stewart, Southeast Tourism Society, Travel and Tourism Research Association, and American Society of Association Executives.