Tourism Speaks a Language the Rest of the Community May Not Understand -- The CEO as Organizational Translator

I've spent much of my professional life speaking a language that many people outside the tourism industry don't understand. ADR, RevPAR, occupancy rates, visitor spending, economic impact, impressions and conversions. These are familiar terms to those of us who work in destination marketing. We use them in board meetings, annual reports, budget presentations, and conversations with our industry colleagues. But I've come to believe that one of the most important responsibilities of a destination marketing organization (DMO) CEO isn't simply understanding these numbers. It's translating them into something the rest of the community understands and, more importantly, cares about.

Consider hotel occupancy. We might proudly announce that occupancy increased three percent over the previous year. That's encouraging news for hotel operators, but what does it mean to the owner of a downtown restaurant, a city council member, or a resident wondering why public money supports tourism? Perhaps it means additional customers ordering dinner on a Tuesday evening. It might mean more hours for restaurant employees, more sales tax revenue for local government, or enough business to help a small retailer survive a slow season. Suddenly, that three percent means something beyond a line on a spreadsheet.

The same principle applies to visitor spending and economic impact. I've seen reports filled with impressive numbers that do little to explain how tourism touches everyday life. A million dollars in visitor spending sounds wonderful, but people want to know what happens to that money. Does it support local jobs? Does it generate tax revenue that helps fund public services? Does it encourage investment in restaurants, entertainment, cultural attractions, and recreational amenities that residents enjoy themselves? Those connections are what turn tourism statistics into a community story. And we should be careful to distinguish what the research actually demonstrates from what we believe it suggests.

I also believe tourism professionals sometimes assume that other community leaders understand our industry simply because they've heard us talk about it for years. They don't necessarily. Economic development organizations speak about capital investment and job creation. Local governments focus on services, infrastructure, and taxes. Residents think about neighborhoods, traffic, opportunities, and quality of life. Our responsibility is to connect tourism's contribution to those conversations without expecting everyone else to learn our vocabulary.

This requires more than simplifying terminology. It requires listening. Before presenting information to elected officials, business leaders, or neighborhood organizations, I would encourage every CEO to ask a basic question: What matters most to this audience? A discussion about visitor demand might be especially meaningful to an airport considering additional air service. Downtown merchants may care more about visitor traffic during traditionally slow periods. Residents may want to understand how tourism supports the attractions and amenities they value.

There's another benefit to becoming a better translator. It builds trust. When people understand how tourism contributes to their community, they're better equipped to evaluate its successes, question its priorities, and support its future.

I've always believed that destination marketing is about more than attracting visitors. It's about helping build a better place to visit and a better place to live.

And perhaps one of the most valuable things a DMO CEO can do is make sure the entire community understands the connection. The numbers tell us how tourism is performing. Our job is to explain why it matters.