Strategy Services

Strategy is our core competency at Whereabout. Our strategic planning process will focus your organization on what's most important—and will allow you to say "no" to those things that aren't. You'll get a clear North Star, focused Objectives, rigorous and outcome-focused Indicators, and crisp, actionable Strategies.

Whereabout is a proud member of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council and we center our sustainable tourism strategy approach around their criteria of Sustainable Management, Socio-Economic Sustainability, Cultural Sustainability, and Environmental Sustainability. Our plans include rigorous measures of success and implementation-focused documentation.

Approximately 15% of travelers have a visible or invisible disability. We've been working with the good folks at TravelAbility to create a process to help destinations plan to be more accessible to visitors with disabilities. Destination accessibility strategies might include assessment, education of local businesses, grant programs, and communications & marketing. 

In places where it's desirable to grow the visitor economy—or to shape it to better serve the community—a destination development plan sets a vision for the long-term and aligns the destination organization, its stakeholders, and the community at large on how to create that robust visitor economy that respects the local culture and environment while supporting quality of life for residents.

A vibrant, inclusive, and sustainable creative ecosystem is the soul of a community. A strategic arts & culture plan enhances economic development, strengthens local identity, and improves quality of life by integrating arts into public spaces, education, and civic engagement. Specifically, it should address equitable access to arts funding, cultural representation, artist support, public art policies, arts education, and leveraging the arts for economic and social impact.

If not managed properly, events & festivals can be a drain on a destination's finances and bandwidth while not truly contributing to overnight stays. A thoughtful events & festivals strategy can help you plan a more deliberate calendar of events, foster the development and growth of those events that drive visitation, and align your stakeholders on what the community's event & festival priorities are.

Need to see your destination through your visitor's eyes? A rigorous in-market destination assessment will score elements of your destination on aspects such as their appeal, value, access, mix, service, and authenticity.  You'll also receive visitor-perspective photographs and notes to give you an unfiltered view of your destination.

Local visitor economies can be subjected to a variety of external threats, including economic downturns, natural disasters, outbreaks of disease, political decisions that affect travel, and more. Whereabout's APAR Destination Resilience Framework will help you do scenario planning in the areas of situational awareness, permission to act, adaptability, and resource flexibility.

Your stakeholders enable your success and you enable theirs. Having a neutral third party gather direct and honest feedback is often the first step in any strategic process, and engaging your stakeholders early and often will gain their support of your plans and foster participation in implementation. Whereabout uses a variety of strategies to hear from your stakeholders: surveys, 1:1 interviews, focus groups, town halls, and more. 

Many destinations collect data about their visitors, but aren't sure how to turn that into actionable strategy, or how to use it to better understand who their visitors are. Whereabout can turn location data into simple current-state visitor profiles that can start a conversation about who you want your future visitor to be, or synthesize what you know about your visitors with broader industry trends to highlight areas of opportunity. 

Sometimes, you just need a really good facilitator so leaders can step back and take part in the process. Facilitation is more art than science, and is rooted in active listening skills. We're expert at bringing groups to consensus agreements where all participants feel seen and heard.