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Destination Roadmapping
A 10-minute spark of inspiration with a side of tough love—helping small towns create big impact through tourism, events, and unforgettable visitor experiences.
Episodes
50 episodes
What Makes a Place Memorable?
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 t...
The Email Nobody Answered
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...
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Do You Have Too Many Vendors?
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. Mor...
The Capacity Mirage
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 ...
The Return Visit Formula
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 vis...
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Rethinking "That Won't Work Here"
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...
The Expectation Escalation Problem
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 ...
What if Your Downtown isn't the Main Draw?
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 hospitalIn this episode of Destination Roadmapping, Vicky So...
When Your Visitor Experience is Built Around Assumptions
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 unpa...
Shade, Seating, and Snacks
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, Vic...
The Booth Maze: Why Attendees Miss Half of Your Vendors
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 ...
Are You a Pass-Through Town?
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 traff...
The Kids Zone Dilemma
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.
The "Locals Only' Vibe
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 feel...
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The Meeting after the Meeting
We’ve all experienced it.The meeting ends. Everyone nods. “Great discussion.” Chairs slide back.And then the real conversation starts, in the hallway, in the parking lot.In this episode of Destination Roadmapping, ...
Your Tourism "What If" Plan
Tourism seasons rarely unfold exactly the way we expect. Gas prices shift, travel habits change, weather refuses to cooperate, and sometimes a random 12-second video sends visitors somewhere you never saw coming.In this episode of De...
Is Your Event Planned for Your Staff or Your Guests?
Most small-town events are incredibly organized.But they’re organized for the committee, not the crowd.If your layout makes sense to the board but confuses first-timers If vendors are placed based on history instead of fl...
The 24-hour Visitor Test
If someone pulled into your town at 3:00 p.m. on a Friday, no wedding, no meeting, no relatives to visit, would they stay 24 hours?Or would they quietly keep driving?In this episode, we’re walking through a simple but revealing di...
Do Your Meetings Go in Circles? Let's fix that!
Ever leave a meeting uncertain if anything actually got decided?You’re not alone.In small towns, meetings are where vision, risk, nostalgia, and practicality all collide, and without clear purpose and defined roles, they spin. Sam...
When Your Event is Fading Away
Not every struggling event crashes.Some just quietly fade away.Attendance dips slightly. Sponsors still sign, but ask more questions. Volunteers respond a little slower. Energy feels softer.Nothin...
Your Town Isn't Behind, It's Overwhelmed
Your town isn’t falling behind. It’s overwhelmed.In this episode, we unpack a truth most small-town leaders quietly carry but rarely say out loud: overwhelm is not a failure of effort, it’s a failure of clarity.When the s...
Who's Allowed to Fix This?
When something goes sideways at an event (and it always will) why does everyone freeze?A line backs up. A performer is late. A guest asks a simple question. Staff look at volunteers. Volunteers look at staff. Someone says, “Let me check ...
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The Vendor Experience Impact
Vendors make a decision about your event long before the last attendee leaves and it quietly determines your event’s quality, revenue, and reputation.In this episode, we unpack the vendor experience nobody talks about: load-in chaos, unc...
The Budget Mirage
“We don’t have the budget.”It’s one of the most common phrases in community planning.In this episode, I unpack The Budget Mirage: the idea that a lack of money is usually standing in for something else, unclear priorities, ...
The Post-Event Hangover - From Adrenaline to Debrief
Every event ends with a crash. Not the bad kind, the adrenaline kind.When the last guest leaves and the radios go quiet, there’s a letdown that most teams rush past or ignore. In this episode, Vicky breaks down the post-event hangover as...
