Even though it's dressed up with images of comfort, fun, and adventure, the legacy tourism sector still tends to operate within the capitalistic model. And when capitalism drives tourism, staying ahead remains at the forefront of operations, marketing, and measurements of success.
Traditional destination management and hospitality marketing have long operated on a scarcity mindset, pitting neighboring towns against each other and treating fellow operators as existential threats to success, but only humans create geopolitical and marketplace boundaries. The truth is that river basins, mountain ranges, climate shocks, and cultural corridors don’t stop at the city border, county line, or tourism district boundary. And, as global issues like climate crises, biodiversity loss, extreme weather, inflation, housing pinches, and overtourism take hold in communities across the globe, we’re increasingly recognizing the deeply interconnected nature of places and people.
While each tourism-related organization may be focused on its own operations and success, the truth is no single accommodation, tour company, or town can be “sustainable” in isolation. True resilience smashes those boundaries and requires an ecosystem approach prioritizing collaboration over competition and a commitment to move forward together.
What is cross-destination collaboration in tourism?
Cross-destination collaboration is an operational approach where neighboring tourism boards, municipalities, and travel businesses work together across political boundaries rather than competing for market share. By sharing marketing resources, developing regional thematic travel corridors, and supporting local supply chains through shared sustainability tools, cross-destination collaboration builds collective resilience against climate impacts, overtourism, and economic volatility.
The Regenerative Shift
The extractive defaults common across tourism are reinforced by the language used to describe the work. It’s common for bottom line-focused companies to try to “capture” market share and “own” travelers; even the terminology tourism “industry” emphasizes this narrative. However, as explored through regenerative tourism language, this zero-sum, extractive framing leaves little room for co-operation with so-called competitors.
Flipping the script, tourism practitioners have an opportunity to approach their work from an abundance mindset instead of one focused on scarcity. When destinations and operators collaborate, they expand the total value pie rather than fighting over scraps. Budgets and resources stretch further. More and diverse ideas, perspectives, and experiences expand possibilities. Slow travelers seeking richer regional depth and longer stays are seamlessly welcomed across larger geographical areas. Everyone wins … together.
The Horizontal Axis: Cross-Destination Collaboration
At their most basic level, destination marketing organizations (DMOs) are tasked with promoting places as attractive places for leisure travel. Viewed through this narrow lens, they shrink to their most attractive features, with success measured by vanity metrics and heads in beds. Embracing co-creation and stewardship, however, unlocks the potential of shared value.
Consider these practical ideas for collaborative destination stewardship and bridging the geographic gap.
Theme-Based Regional Storytelling
The world does not need another hyper-local, top-10 list driving people toward popular attractions. Rather, work with neighboring areas to create cohesive regional corridors and compelling stories built around related experiences, such as cross-border culinary, craft, or cultural trails or itineraries. The Kentucky Bourbon Trail, New York State’s Wine Water & Wonders attractions, and Central Coast’s Art Trail are standout examples.
Thematic dispersal like this showcases a wide range of experiences and small businesses, allowing travelers to dive deep into a topic of interest across a vast area. It also protects high-density hotspots from peak congestion.
Dispersal During High-Impact Events
Events can be highly profitable for destinations, but they can also be a logistical nightmare for local residents. From global events like the World Cup to hyper-niche gatherings, festivals, athletic competitions, and conferences have the potential to overwhelm one city while neighboring towns sit half-empty.
Share the wealth – and the challenges – with nearby communities by encouraging travelers to move beyond the area surrounding the event. Coordinated transit and accommodation dispersal shares the revenue while softening community strain. It might also be a compelling reason for people to extend their stay for a few extra days.
Resource Pooling
Two budgets can be better than one, especially when both partners have aligned values and goals. Why rent two booths at an international trade fair or fork over cash for a full ad campaign when neighboring destinations can share the presence and cost?
Similarly, jointly hosting media and content creator trips across a multi-day regional itinerary increases the likelihood of more – and more diverse – stories coming out of the campaigns. Co-funding initiatives like this reduces carbon emissions while generating richer storytelling.
The Friendly Shoutout
You don’t have to have a reason to give your neighbors a shoutout. Normalize supporting those you’d generally consider your competition by giving kudos and offering recommendations that extend beyond your destination’s borders.
To truly build a tourism ecosystem built on collaboration and shared values, we need to overcome the corporate fear that highlighting neighbors hurts your brand. Giving public credit to a peer, recommending a neighboring business, or offering support after a regional tragedy builds goodwill and credibility.
The Vertical Axis: Supply Chain Solidarity
From addressing the climate crisis to ensuring more tourism money stays in local communities, there’s no question that there is room for improvement within the sector, especially related to sustainable practices. Evolution is necessary, yet every business and every destination is in a different place in accepting and adapting to that reality. However, it is also true that change is a journey, and acknowledging that we’re stronger by moving forward together rather than leaving some behind is an essential component of achieving supply chain solidarity.
When nurturing relationships along the supply chain – particularly related to sustainability issues – shifting from policing to partnership requires keeping several realities in mind.
The Spectrum of Readiness
Whether addressing animal welfare issues or phasing out plastics, every operator, vendor, and community partner sits at a different point on the transition curve. Some willingly (and even eagerly) embark on this journey of change. Some are in denial and stuck firmly behind the starting line, more interested in doubling down on “business as usual” rather than putting in the work to build more ethical business models.
What these two ends of the spectrum represent, however, is something noteworthy: There isn't a “right” or “wrong” way to create or define an “ethical” business. Few businesses set out to cause harm, and inaction is rarely due to a lack of caring. More often, it’s usually a lack of knowledge, time, and financial bandwidth that holds companies back.
Punishment is Not the Answer
Conscious consumerism is on the rise, and people increasingly want to support and expect brands to be environmentally and socially responsible. Eager to respond (or, possibly, unsure how to act and respond appropriately), companies often end up greenwashing or deceiving consumers instead of investing in the actual work. “Cancel culture,” punitive audits, and public shaming amplify this deception. Any actual positive efforts companies have made are overlooked.
Punishing companies can trigger greenhushing and defensive silence. Instead of actively seeking support and help to instill better business practices, they may avoid making any attempts to improve at all.
Calling In vs. Calling Out
It may be tempting to step away from partners that make a mistake or don’t say or do the right thing. However, positive reinforcement is much more potent than shaming or blaming. If partners are just starting out on their change journeys or making forward motion along the spectrum of action, there are better ways to support their efforts rather than shutting them down. This is especially true for well-financed and well-supported businesses working with smaller, locally owned enterprises.
Productive methods for calling partners in include offering private constructive feedback, sharing accessible resources and frameworks, and making warm introductions across your network to ease any changes. Additionally, adopting a “yes, and…” mindset approach to imperfect solutions and celebrating small operational wins can go a long way in helping move the entire supply chain toward a more sustainable future.
An Action Audit for Radical Collaboration
Shifting the mindset and practices of an extractive tourism industry to one committed to collaboration, cooperation, and joint stewardship is not an easy task. It is, however, the key to unlocking a more resilient future for the entire tourism ecosystem. As your team explores how it can work more intentionally and productively with previously perceived competitors, consider the following questions and opportunities:
Audit your borders: Where are you competing when you should be sharing? Where are artificial municipal lines or competitive instincts duplicating effort, wasting budget, or confusing travelers?
Outreach protocol: Who is an obvious “competitor” that could become a partner? What initiatives could be shared across regions or through the supply chain?
Share the storytelling commons: How can open-access toolkits, shared media visits, and regional thematic trails elevate all local stakeholders? What strengths does your story hold, and where can you lean into other neighbors’ strengths?
Supplier support: How can you build or participate in an enablement loop? How can you provide support to partners within your supply chain?
Strengthening the Web
In nature, isolated monocultures struggle to survive. On the other hand, robust, dense, and mutually supportive ecosystems draw from the strength of the whole to thrive.
Similarly, tourism’s future cannot be secured by a handful of pristine, perfectly certified eco-lodges or one progressive city council surrounded by collapsing neighbors. When tourism practitioners across sectors, throughout communities, and around the world commit to radical collaboration and think beyond the “industry” mindset, only then does the potential of a truly resilient ecosystem emerge.
Are you ready to take action?
Start with these resources.
Resources Beyond Rooted
BOOK
The Ideal City: Exploring Urban Futures
Gestalten and SPACE10
As more people move to cities, there is an urgent need to make them greener, healthier, safer, and more inclusive. These spaces contribute to a higher quality of life, foster community, encourage collaboration, and are more resilient and economically productive. This book lays out five principles that should guide urban planning moving forward.
REPORT
Life at Home Report 2023
IKEA
Based on a decade of research and conversations with more than 250,000 people in dozens of countries, IKEA’s expansive report highlights the feelings people have about their homes. This surfaced eight essential needs, three big tensions, and three possible futures as we consider this place called “home.”
GUIDE
Conscious Questions
The Conscious Travel Foundation
Conversation starters and questions of inquiry for anyone in tourism interested in working with partners that align with a sustainable ethos. The guide touches on questions related to the environment, local community needs, accessibility and inclusion, measurement and data, culture and heritage, conservation, and the economy.
