Step 2: Financial Finesse: How Destinations Can Woo Food-Loving Travelers

Welcome to my new 10 step series about what destination marketing organizations need to do to develop a strategy to woo food- and beverage-loving travelers. This is an excerpt from our full report which you can download here.

Money makes the world go ‘round, and how true that is. Not only do organizations need an ample budget, but every project needs an adequate budget as well.

Your budget will serve as a financial backbone that allows the project to proceed. If you cannot fund each stage, from needs analysis to strategy and implementation, then fund the phase(s) that you can right now.

You will most likely need to get budgetary approval. Here are some suggestions to help you succeed:

a. Present a thorough budget with a 1-, 3- or 5-year plan, depending on your project’s scope.

b. Make your budget easy to read, free from complicate formulas or annotations. Consider folding up sections into top-level sections so your budget looks less complicated.

c. Consider cooperative funding. Can you help raise part of the funds necessary for your budget? Sources can include sympathetic organizations that also stand to gain and cooperative marketing program revenue from area businesses. Does your area offer grants or distribute money from a lottery? These can be sources of funds as well.

d. Be sure to include a measurement of ROI (return on investment). How will your project fund itself after a period of time? What are your project’s KPIs (key performance indicators). A standard unwritten rule from funding entities is that they want your project to be self-funding after 3 years. So plan your “exit strategy” from the funding from year 1!

What else do you think could be done to drive commitment from the local area’s stakeholders? Write your comments below OR reach out to me via Twitter or email.