Leaderboard · Hospitality & travel

Destinations & tourism boards

Marketing plays for destinations & tourism boards, ranked by votes.

Dramatic aerial shot of a coastal village surrounded by cliffs and green fields.

Photo: Lewis Ashton

Submit a play for Destinations & tourism boards

1

Give local tour and activity operators a co-marketing kit

Build a shared folder of destination photos, a logo, and pre-written captions that local tour operators, outfitters, and attractions can use in their own marketing, and email it to every listed operator with a short note asking them to tag the destination account when they post. Update the folder twice a year.

by Marky team
2

Recruit resident ambassadors to share their own favorite spots

Invite a small group of residents, a barista, a trail runner, a shop owner, to share one favorite local spot a month on their own social accounts using a shared destination hashtag, and repost their content on the destination's official channels with credit. Rotate the group every season.

by Marky team
3

Publish a themed three-day itinerary for each season

Write a three-day itinerary for spring, summer, fall, and winter that pairs specific local businesses, a restaurant, a hike, a shop, with the season's weather and events, and publish each one on your website a month before that season starts. Promote each itinerary through email and social when it goes live.

by Marky team
4

Host one journalist or creator per quarter on a planned visit

Build a simple pitch describing what makes a visit newsworthy this quarter, a new trail, an anniversary, a seasonal event, and send it to a short list of travel journalists and creators whose past work fits the destination's audience. Host the visit with a planned itinerary and introductions to two or three local businesses.

by Marky team
5

Alert past visitors by email when a shoulder-season event lands

Keep an email list of people who requested a visitor guide or entered a contest, and send them a short alert whenever a shoulder-season event, a harvest festival, a light display, gets scheduled, with a link to lodging partners and the event details. Send it as soon as the date is confirmed, not closer to the event.

by Marky team
6

Commission a rotating local photographer for one reel a month

Pay a different local photographer or videographer each month to shoot one short reel of a specific place or activity, credit them in the caption, and post it to the destination's Instagram account. Ask each photographer to also post it to their own account and tag the destination.

by Marky team
7

Create a joint discount pass with three unrelated attractions

Partner with a museum, a brewery, and an outdoor outfitter, three businesses that do not compete with each other, to offer one combined pass that gives a small discount at all three when purchased together. Sell the pass through the visitor center and each partner's front desk.

by Marky team
8

Ask visitor center guests for a review before they leave town

Train visitor center staff to ask every guest picking up a map or brochure whether they have a moment to leave a quick review of the destination on a review platform, and have a tablet or printed QR code ready at the counter. Track how many reviews come from the desk each month.

by Marky team
9

Mail a printed visitor guide to the regional drive market

Buy a mailing list of households within a few hours' drive of the destination, and send them a printed visitor guide highlighting one season's worth of activities, timed to arrive a few weeks before that season starts. Include a code so response can be tracked separately from other channels.

by Marky team
10

Promote a community festival as a way to meet local residents

Take an existing local festival, a harvest market, a music night, and market it outward to visitors as a chance to spend an evening alongside residents instead of only other tourists, using photos from past years on the destination's social channels and website. List it inside your seasonal itinerary content, too.

by Marky team