Communities employ varied strategies and tactics to create positive change. These strategies are a starting point for communities seeking ways to collaborate and improve their tourism products and experiences. 1. Assess what’s working and what is not – This usually requires a consultant who can serve as an objective observer. Analysis of the visitor experienceContinue reading “Eight Strategies for Community Collaboration”
Category Archives: Communities
Tourism Collaboration Should Be Easier – 5 Reasons To Collaborate
Remember when we were children? Our mothers worried about how to get us to play well together, to share toys and to cooperate. There seems to be some natural inclination among humans to compete. But even as children we found ways to overcome the tendency and collaborate. We built sand castles on the beach together,Continue reading “Tourism Collaboration Should Be Easier – 5 Reasons To Collaborate”
Running of the Bulls in the U.S.?
I will never forget a sunny Tuesday in July four decades ago in northern Spain. We drove into Pamplona at daybreak and gathered in the street by the town council building with hundreds of other young men in white outfits with red sashes, berets, zapatas and other adornments. José, my Spanish compadre, and I wolfedContinue reading “Running of the Bulls in the U.S.?”
Try to Remember – Keep a Journal
I am reading Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose and the wonderful journals of the men on the Voyage of Discovery from Washington, D.C. to Oregon coast with Lewis and Clark left us amazing accounts of their journeys. Where would we be without journals? It was ornithology class in college that made me start keeping aContinue reading “Try to Remember – Keep a Journal”
Training Guides to Interpret
We were walking down a path through a beautiful botanical garden many years ago and our guide was talking over her shoulder with only a few able to hear. When she stopped she would start talking and not wait for the group to gather. When asked a question she could not answer, she pulled aContinue reading “Training Guides to Interpret”
Let’s Get Personal
Every time I go in my bank I expect to hear one of the clerks I’ve seen many times to call me by name. It never happens. I am in there every week or two and have been using this bank for 15 years. They are consistent. No one, even if they’ve seen me aContinue reading “Let’s Get Personal”
Who’s really in charge – power, authority, or influence?
Think of the last time you had a dinner party. Perhaps your spouse invited the boss and his family and now you’re faced with figuring out the menu. You ask your spouse what to serve, and he or she says, “It doesn’t matter, you decide and I’ll be fine with that.” Okay, you’ve been givenContinue reading “Who’s really in charge – power, authority, or influence?”
On the Road in Stockholm – The Music and Theater Museum
We are on the road again in Stockholm, Sweden, on our way to the Interpret Europe Conference in Sigtuna and the Nordic-Baltic Seminar on Heritage Interpretation and Cooperation in Uppsala. We were here eighteen months ago for a conference in Visby on Gotland Island and enjoyed wandering around Stockholm for a couple of days atContinue reading “On the Road in Stockholm – The Music and Theater Museum”
Ecotour to National Parks of Rwanda – Gorillas and Duikers and Chimps, oh my!
When we first read Gorillas in the Mist by Dian Fosse and then saw the movie, we were intrigued by the possibility of one day visiting the Virunga Volcanoes to spend time with mountain gorillas. It seemed a distant dream until October of 2012 when we were training guides in Rwanda’s Nyungwe National Park. OnContinue reading “Ecotour to National Parks of Rwanda – Gorillas and Duikers and Chimps, oh my!”
Broken Glass – Some thoughts from Tim Merriman
I was just walking back the last quarter mile after running with Blue, my blue heeler running buddy. Lisa Brochu, my wife, and I pick up litter every day on this stretch of road near our home in Fort Collins, Colorado. It’s an early morning stewardship task that we willingly and voluntarily take on toContinue reading “Broken Glass – Some thoughts from Tim Merriman”
heartfeltassociates.com 