Bill Geist's Zeitgeist

New on DMOU: Rachel Brown

A Destination Marketing consultant recently opined that diving into Sustainability and Stewardship carries with it some danger...and we don't disagree. But Visit Durango's Rachel Brown counters with all the reasons her DMO believes they must engage. She discusses how they've adapted the Care for Colorado program on a local level and shifted their budget to Destination Management. Plus a Bonus Round question that features her staff's Team Building initiative. Very cool stuff.

The Unseen Win in Hosting a Super Bowl

Collectively, the ads were among the worst in memory (what a waste of money). The Halftime show was over-produced (please...just let her sing). And the game was genuinely enjoyable for its drama and thrilling come-from-behind win (that is, if you aren't an Eagles fan).

But, all the conspicuous consumption that surrounds such a spectacle is not inconsequential. An estimated 2,000 tons of food waste was expected to be produced. Not good for the planet.

However, working with Denali, the City of Phoenix will capture that organic waste and produce compost that can be applied to the dry Arizona soil and help the City achieve its goal of making the Super Bowl and its ancillary events zero waste.

Very cool. And, just maybe, that will help with all those turf issues in future games.

Just a thought.

If Everyone Cared

We close each year of blog posts with a plea for the coming year. From hunger to inhumanity and the environment to runaway government, we've been sharing these songs since 2006.

There are those moments in which songs mysteriously shuffle forward, as if there is an invisible force directing your next move...and that happened yesterday in the shower, listening to my new waterproof bluetooth speaker. I had pretty much decided on a track earlier in the week...but shifted gears upon hearing a song I certainly hadn't expected to fill the room.

This year, it's our wish for the world to care from Nickelback.

And as we lie beneath the stars,
We realize how small we are.
If they could love like you and me
Imagine what the world could be.

Imagine, indeed. 

Best wishes for a caring New Year....and we look forward to catching up on the other side.

Impact Sustainability Travel & Tourism is Back

Earlier this year, on the DMOU Podcast, we hosted Paul Nursey, CEO of Destination Greater Victoria to talk about his organization's outsized role in environmental sustainability. In one of our questions, we delved into an event they helped launch in 2018 called Impact Sustainability Travel & Tourism.

After a scaled back COVID-driven virtual event last year, the event is back in Victoria as a live event set for January 22-26. If you're a Tourism pro in Canada, you know you must go. If you're from anywhere else, you know you should go.

Taking a Stand

Back in the '90s, a movement began that is de rigueur today in hotels around the world...that if you don't need your towels washed every day, you'd help save the environment. I remember making that then novel suggestion in my DMO's member newsletter and having an innkeeper tell me, "ohh puleeeze." In the end, she was wrong and I was right, as it caught on as both the right thing to do and a cost savings for hotels.

As we emerge into a post-Trumpian world where climate change is once again a valued concern, is this our moment to take a stand?

The Oregon Coast Visitors Association, the agency which promotes tourism on all 363 miles of the Oregon coast, joined tourism agencies around the globe this month when it declared a “climate emergency.”

The DMO says that its goal is to provide a “blueprint” for how the hospitality sector can reduce their carbon footprints. Recommendations will be completely voluntary...but that it's a necessary first step in environmental sustainability. It's also a sensational reaffirmation of the Coast's brand identity.

The movement has begun. Shall we join in?

Teach 'em Some Respect

As we look hopefully to the return of travel around the world, it behooves us all to reconsider how that will look when cabin-fevered consumers collectively feel they've been given a green light. For those that have received their second shot...that time is sooner than later. For every such person we've talked to...indeed, it is now.

To avoid returning to "over-tourism" complaints by residents in some communities, many Destination Marketers are shifting where and how they plan to re-enter the marketplace to attract a more discerning consumer. In British Columbia, a number of DMOs are working with the Sea to Sky Corridor Destination Development Council to educate inbound visitors to "the concepts of respect, proper outdoor conduct, preparedness, environmental awareness and responsible social media use." In other words, encouraging visitors to stop acting like they were raised by feral pigs when they're in-market.

Pique published a great piece on the initiative that is worth your read. And, here's hoping it inspires others to take steps, while we still can, to mitigate the crowds we know will return.

Deliveries Will Be Our Demise

Not to get too environmental as we move deeper into the holiday gift-buying season...but, it is the most important issue before us.

In New York City alone, there are 1.5 million deliveries a day. A third of American waste comes from delivery packaging.

Another great read, this time from The Guardian.

Will it change our passion for the immediate gratification of delivery?

Death to Stir Sticks*

The global Plastics crisis is just being recognized by the citizens inhabiting this planet. But, while 80% of Hilton's guests claim to care about that brand's environmental footprint, a Skift study found that only 53% would be willing to pay extra to ensure sustainable hotel practices. And, that's a challenge, as plastics make housekeeping faster and easier. There is no simple answer, as simple as the problem at hand may be.

But plastic straws? Please. Especially for those of us that consume our drinks straight. I totally get a straw or swizzle for a mixed drink.* But, bourbon on the rocks? Why wouldn't management encourage servers to consider whether a drink needs to be served with a stick? It would save them money plus suggest a modicum of environmental concern.

I gotta give serious props to Delta for eliminating straws in favor of bio-degradable bamboo stir sticks on their flights. For all the travel companies that say they plan to address plastics in 2021 or 2023, Delta has proven that a world travel brand can do it much faster...if they take the issue seriously.

Sadly though, I now get a bamboo stick in most of my Woodfords. So, there's still work to do.

Skift has made the Plastics crisis a focus of its reporting and analysis. It's a long read...but worth your time and consideration.

 

Three Pounds?

British research suggests that every airline passenger leaves behind three pounds of waste on each flight they take. Multiply that by 4 billion global passengers each year...and that is a lot of landfill fodder.

Of course, part of that is the fault of the airlines. Unnecessary napkins, straws, swizzles and disposable earbuds are part of the problem. Part of it is the reading material passengers bring on board and leave behind (newspapers and magazines). And, to be sure, the American waste total is likely less because airlines no longer provide meals to those in steerage.

But, still...we need to do better.

Changing the World with Ugly Food

Chalk it up to a great idea that I saw, photographed...but never connected the dots.

We were on a destination assessment assignment in Iowa a couple summers ago when I spotted a farmer selling carrots in a totally different way (click picture to enlarge). One sign read, "Carrots: $2/bunch." The other read, "Ugly Carrots: $1/bunch."

I chuckled and asked the farmer how his strategy was working. He grinned back and said, "I always sell out of the ugly ones first." When I asked what percentage of his crop was "ugly," he replied, "about a third...and I used to throw them away."

A thousand miles away, Abhi Ramesh was learning the same thing. According to the website for his Philadelphia based firm, "Misfits Market," over $1 trillion of food is wasted each year, either getting tossed at the farm, rotting in warehouses or going unsold in stores until it's inedible. Much of this is due to "modern-day beauty standards for food." Ugly fruits, misshapen vegetables, and delicious but imperfectly-sized produce are squandered at every level. Just a quarter of this wasted food could be used to feed the entire starving population of the world.

And that was the inspiration behind Misfits...and, like my Iowa farmer, they sell at up to half off. For $19, they'll ship 10-12 pounds of imperfect fruits and vegetables to your door, enough to feed a couple for a week. A larger box for bigger families is also available for $35. They're starting slowly, rolling out the organic service geographically in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. Abhi hopes New York is next.

As their slogan goes, "Healthy. Affordable. Ugly."

And, brilliant.