Destination Roadmapping

Are you creating solutions or just making the symptom look better? In this episode of Destination Roadmapping, Vicky looks at what happens when short-term fixes quietly become long-term strategies. A program, event, or initiative may improve the numbers without actually accomplishing the change you targeted.  Before you keep funding something because “we’ve always done it,” ask a better question:...

Sometimes a good project doesn’t fail because it was a bad idea. It fails because the conditions it needed were never put in place. In this episode of Destination Roadmapping , Vicky looks at the gap between what communities build, fund, or launch and the results they expect those investments to produce. From trails and downtown improvements to events and visitor experiences, the real problem may...

Small towns rarely suffer from a shortage of ideas. The problem is what happens when every new idea gets added to the pile and almost nothing ever comes off. In this episode, Vicky talks about why “good idea” does not automatically mean “do it now,” how communities end up buried under their own enthusiasm, and why real prioritization requires being willing to say, “Not now.” Because adding is easy...

Do you have any idea what tourism success could look like in your community five years from now? Far too often, we measure progress by what we started, what we built, what we promoted, or funded. Unfortunately, activity does not always guarantee results.  In this episode, Vicky encourages communities and tourism leaders to think beyond their wish list and ask the tougher question: What will change...

What if your tourism champion walks out the door? Vicky tackles the silent risk lurking behind over-dependence on one champion in this episode of Destination Roadmapping. She addresses lost relationships, undocumented history, shaky partnerships, and stalled initiatives to reveal how a strong individual can mask an inherently weak system and what communities should know before that knowledge leave...

Does your event actually justify a hotel stay or are you simply wishing attendees will transform a completely feasible day trip into an overnight excursion? On this episode of Destination Roadmapping, Vicky explains exactly what compels visitors to stay overnight, including robust evening programming and Sunday activities, hotel information, and weekend itineraries that encourage guests to experie...

In this episode of Destination Roadmapping , we’re putting a few tourism sacred cows on trial. Just because a historic site, museum, monument, or local landmark has appeared in every brochure for twenty years does not mean visitors still see it as a must-see. We’ll look at how to separate community importance from actual visitor appeal, what visitor behavior can tell you, and how to decide whether...

What do the things that we celebrate say about who we are as a country?  In this episode of Destination Roadmapping, Vicky explores national holidays, whether they’re days of independence, memorial days, or commemorations of service, civil rights, labor, history, or identity. She then challenges communities to consider how and why they engage with them.  Why do some holidays evolve into big commun...

Choosing business hours should involve more than asking, “What works for us?” In this episode of Destination Roadmapping, Vicky looks at how shops, museums, attractions, visitor centers, and downtown businesses can choose hours based on actual customer behavior—not habit, convenience, or generic advice. Using West Yellowstone as an example, she explains why even a town with millions of visitors ca...

What happens when your town shares a name with another destination and visitors find the wrong hotels, events, attractions, or even the wrong state? In Episode 52, Vicky looks at the very believable myth of travelers arriving in Austria when they intended to visit Australia, then brings the problem closer to home. From Huntsville and Springfield to Salem, Madison, Columbus, and Washington, shared...

Being historic can be one of a community’s greatest tourism assets, or it can be a very comfortable excuse for offering visitors remarkably little to do. In this episode, Vicky explores the difference between documenting history and creating an experience. You’ll learn how to move beyond dates, plaques, and attractive old buildings by focusing on people, choices, consequences, and the ways the pas...

Send us Fan Mail In Episode 50 of Destination Roadmapping , we’re talking about the small details, honest experiences, and unexpected moments that make visitors remember a community long after they leave. Because memorable places usually aren’t trying to be everything to everyone. They know what they do well, they make it easy to enjoy, and they give people something worth talking about later. And...

Send us Fan Mail How many opportunities has your organization lost because nobody answered an email? You'll probably never know. A sponsor looking for partnership information. A vendor asking about booth space. A volunteer ready to help. A performer hoping to be part of your event. They reached out because they wanted to work with your organization—and then, silence. In this episode, Vicky ex...

Send us Fan Mail What if the problem isn't that you need more vendors? What if you already have too many? In this episode of Destination Roadmapping, Vicky challenges one of the most common assumptions in event planning: Bigger is always better. More vendors may sound impressive, but if attendance and spending aren't keeping pace, you could be creating a tougher environment for both vend...

Send us Fan Mail Many community organizations have a phrase they rely on when resources get tight: "We'll figure it out." At first, it sounds admirable. Resourceful. Resilient. But what happens when "we'll figure it out" stops being an occasional response to unexpected challenges and becomes the way your organization operates every single day? In this episode of Desti...

Send us Fan Mail Getting someone to visit once is great. Getting them to come back is where the real magic (and sustainability) happens. This week, Vicky dives into The Return Visit Formula : seven practical strategies for turning one-time visitors into repeat guests. Learn how to build experiences that aren't easy to finish in one visit, market your destination through the seasons, create co...

Send us Fan Mail Sometimes the most exasperating phrase in tourism, events, and community development is: “We tried that already.” In this episode of Destination Roadmapping, Vicky explores why communities often abandon potentially good ideas because a similar version failed once before. Over time, complicated situations get reduced to simple conclusions: “Live music doesn’t work here.” “Nobody co...

Send us Fan Mail Every successful event eventually faces the same dangerous question: “What should we add next year?” In this episode of Destination Roadmapping, Vicky dives into the Expectation Escalation Problem, when communities stop focusing on creating a great experience and start chasing bigger, busier, and more complicated. From overcrowded layouts and volunteer burnout to events losing the...

Send us Fan Mail Some communities spend years trying to turn downtown into the star attraction while visitors are actually coming for the lake, the sports complex, the trails, the rodeo, or the hospital In this episode of Destination Roadmapping, Vicky Soderberg digs into one of the hardest truths in tourism strategy: just because downtown matters emotionally to residents doesn’t mean it’s what dr...

Send us Fan Mail Some communities are building tourism experiences for visitors they WISH they had instead of the visitors already showing up. And that disconnect creates problems fast. In this episode of Destination Roadmapping, we’re unpacking what happens when tourism planning becomes too aspirational:  designing for “ideal” travelers instead of actual visitors  overlooking practical visitor ne...

Send us Fan Mail What makes visitors stay longer in a community? It may not be your attractions, your branding, or your event calendar. It might be something much simpler: Shade. Seating. Snacks. In this episode of Destination Roadmapping, Vicky breaks down one of the most overlooked parts of visitor experience design, the comfort needs that quietly determine whether people linger, explore, spend...

Send us Fan Mail If your vendors are complaining about low traffic, but your event felt busy, you don’t have an attendance problem. You have a layout problem. In this episode of Destination Roadmapping, we’re digging into The Booth Maze. The all-too-common setup where attendees walk your event and somehow miss half your vendors. Not because they didn’t want to see them. Because your layout made it...

Send us Fan Mail Are people visiting your town or just passing through it? Many communities see constant traffic and assume that means tourism is healthy. Cars are moving. Gas stations are busy. Drive-thrus stay packed. But pass-through traffic and visitor engagement are not the same thing. In this episode of Destination Roadmapping, we’re unpacking the difference between being on the route and be...

Send us Fan Mail What if the thing you think makes your event “family-friendly" is actually holding it back? In this episode of Destination Roadmapping , we’re challenging one of the most automatic decisions in event planning: The Kids Zone. Most events have one.  Most planners feel like they should. But what if removing it actually improves the experience for families, vendors, and your over...

Send us Fan Mail Some of the best experiences in your community might be the hardest for visitors to step into. Not because they’re bad.  Because they’re built on familiarity. In this episode, we’re unpacking the “locals only” vibe. The feeling visitors get when everything works, as long as they already know how it works. And here’s the twist:  That local feel? It’s not the problem. It’s actually...