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Arnie Weissman
It can come from the left or the right, politicians or an organized group of citizens. If the state legislature becomes embroiled in the nation’s culture wars, it may face the threat of self-immolation. If the destination supports an event or initiates an initiative that offends a legislator, it may be called upon to reduce or eliminate funding.
Such issues are not new, but Don Welsh, CEO of the Association of Destination Management Organizations, Destinations International, is concerned that the 2023 hot-button issues are heating up in next year’s election.
“Some of the actions that I’ve started to see that concern me is that cities, states and countries are going back on their feet and allowing personal opinions to override the overall performance they’ve seen,” he said. “I think we’re going to have a lot less challenges in different states and cities this year.”
The concern is focused on the political sphere. On the one hand, members have approached him with concerns about investigating “initiatives or events that may fall within the definition of ‘active’ by a local or state government.” On the other hand, calls for boycotts related to legislation could particularly harm the meetings industry. North Carolina’s pushback after passing a “bathroom bill” that would have barred transgender people from entering bathrooms with their gender identity “compares to states that have enacted highly restrictive abortion laws since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade,” he said. “The pendulum has swung quickly on the need to cancel meetings in New Orleans, Florida and Texas.”
In both cases, “we’ll call it a cruise ship. And we’ll be out of business by 2023.”
Jorge Pesquera, CEO of Discover Palm Beaches, says the governor will soon promote a state in a state where “Florida is waking up to death.” Pesquera said the only step his company has taken so far to comply with the “anti-tattoo” law “is the recent Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) decision to indicate to employees that the training is voluntary.”
The organization, which it says is a strategic pillar for the group, has no plans to advocate for DEI.
“Maybe South Florida is somewhat different, with a significant level of diversity and international influence; I haven’t seen any real backlash. We’ve supported gay polo, Pride Day and Hispanic events and plan to.”
For other members of Destination International, who want to promote something that will provoke a reaction from those holding the bag, Welsh worries “if [the DMO] He feels threatened to cut legislative funding, at which point self-censorship is a big risk. A reluctance to support voluntary arrangements by upsetting legislators could play out in 20 to 25% of cities and states, Wells estimates.
The best defense, he believes, is for local DMOs to communicate the importance of tourism to their entire community. “When a destination aligns not only with tourism stakeholders, but also with civic leaders who are not in tourism, that’s where you see the magic happen. The difference.”
And to better leverage its resources to directly target elected officials, it has hired Distinctions International, a company that monitors government officials’ social media channels and websites for signs that travel, tourism or meetings are at risk.
“Instead of talking to eight legislators, we see that we only need to go to two to get better informed about issues,” Welsh said.
At the end of the day, it is their own people who are harmed when politicians travel, be it with good intentions or with ulterior motives. A favored housekeeper (or hotel general manager) may agree with the cause of those calling for a boycott, but convention planners suffer when deciding where to work in a state that has passed restrictive anti-abortion laws, making abortion the most controversial. Meeting there.
And the Log Cabin Republican may be looking forward to the cancellation of the year-long LGBTQ Pride event because the local tourism board is too scared to provide the necessary funding and promotion.
Of course, travel is just one danger of the destructive political polarization that undermines our nation and public discourse. But ironically, the journey can be a battlefield because its advantages undermine the cunning and cunning goals of the culture warriors. Exposure to lifestyles outside of our own — or meeting visitors from places that see the world differently — brings us together rather than dividing us. And in an age defined by division, travel needs support, not threats.
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