Destination Developer
Beautiful destinations don't just develop themselves overnight. Bit of an obvious statement but we're getting somewhere with this one. It takes multiple teams and months, maybe even years of meticulous planning to get a local tourist spot to become the World Heritage site that it's meant to be.
That's where the sector of Destination Development comes into play. Working in this area of the tourism industry means helping to transform and develop a location's potential features and attractions, in order to meet the demands of tourism there. Developing locations can involve building accommodations, adding infrastructure for transportation, setting up technology like Wi-Fi or mobile data coverage, and restorations of the actual site.
Destination Development also deals with the mitigation of the tourism's negative impacts to the location. Tourism can grow in unhealthy ways that impact the environment and preservation of a particular location, so one of the most important aspect of a destination developer's job is to create a long-term plan for sustainability, based on the location and its surrounding communities.
Job Description:
- Create destination development plans based on specific features of a location, taking into account: what attractions are available, what kinds of visitors are attracted, existing amenities, long-term visions, and sustainability
- Stimulate economic growth for the destination via tourism
- Work with national or local organisations/tourism boards to improve resources and infrastructure
- Work with environmental organisations to develop plans for sustainable growth of the tourism industry
- Develop local workforces to meet the demands of a growing tourism industry
- Increase visitor satisfaction
- Protect the cultural heritage of an area
- Protect surrounding environment and utilise resources sustainably
- Create economic opportunities for local community, and keep them integrated in the expansion of the tourism industry
- Encourage private donors and sponsors to invest in destination development
- Brainstorm and execute opportunities to promote a destination
Specific Skill Set Required:
- Strong negotiation skills
- Organised and able to handle multiple projects effectively
- Strong interpersonal and communication skills
- Ability to think analytically and strategically
- Pays attention to the details
- Strong research skills
- Creative, and able to take initiative
- Technological literacy (depending on the requirements of your employer)
- Fluency in English and other languages (based on the destinations you're working with)
- Customer-service minded
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