Safety Is Becoming One of the Most Important Conversations in Destination Strategy
Last week, I had the opportunity to spend time with leaders from two major North American destination organizations discussing an issue that, until relatively recently, would rarely have appeared on the agenda of a destination organization. The conversation centered on public safety, visible drug use, homelessness, downtown vitality, and the role destination organizations can play in helping communities respond. It struck me how much our profession has evolved.
For much of the past two decades, destination strategy has understandably focused on attracting visitors. We have invested in branding, marketing, convention centres, air service, major events, sports tourism, and visitor experiences. Those priorities remain essential. Increasingly, however, destination organizations are recognizing that the competitiveness of a destination depends on much more than how effectively it is marketed. It depends on the health, vitality, and resilience of the place itself.
This is not a theoretical discussion for me. Throughout my career, I have worked in destinations where the impacts of homelessness, addiction, and mental health challenges were highly visible in downtown areas. There were occasions when colleagues and I chose not to walk a few blocks to dinner after dark despite being surrounded by remarkable restaurants, cultural institutions, and vibrant neighbourhoods. Those moments never defined those cities, nor should they. But they reinforced an important lesson: people experience places as complete systems, not as individual attractions.
Residents experience this every day. Visitors do as well. Few distinguish between municipal government, police services, public health agencies, downtown organizations, transportation providers, social service agencies, or destination organizations. They simply experience the destination as a whole.
This presents destination organizations with an interesting challenge. They are not responsible for solving homelessness, addiction, mental health, or public safety. These are complex societal issues influenced by housing, healthcare, public policy, policing, education, economic opportunity, and social services. At the same time, destination organizations cannot ignore issues that fundamentally shape how communities function and how places are experienced.
What encouraged me most during my discussions last week was not that every destination had found the answer. None had. Rather, it was a shared recognition that these challenges cannot be viewed solely through the lens of tourism. People experiencing homelessness, addiction, or mental health crises are members of our communities, not obstacles to be managed. The objective is not to make them less visible. It is to build communities where more people receive the support they need, public spaces work better for everyone, and residents feel proud of the places they call home. When that happens, visitors benefit as well.
Several of the approaches we discussed became immediately visible as we walked through the city afterwards.
1. Investing in hospitality ambassador programs. One of the most visible initiatives we observed was the use of hospitality ambassadors. Their role extended well beyond answering visitor questions. They provided a welcoming presence on the streets, reported maintenance issues, supported residents and visitors alike, and, where appropriate, connected individuals experiencing hardship with outreach services and community resources.
2. Equipping frontline workers. Another initiative involved providing specialized training for the police, bartenders, restaurant staff, hotel employees, transportation providers, and other public safety personnel. Some programs focus on recognizing situations that could escalate into harassment, drink tampering, or violence. Others help frontline workers recognize when someone may be experiencing a mental health crisis or addiction, respond appropriately, and connect them with the right support services. These initiatives are not simply about improving the visitor experience. They are about creating safer public spaces while helping people receive assistance when they need it.
3. Investing in the public realm. Lighting, cleanliness, landscaping, active storefronts, programmed public spaces, maintenance, and thoughtful urban design all influence how people experience a destination. Public spaces that are active, well cared for, and welcoming tend to benefit everyone who uses them.
4. Activating downtowns. Festivals, outdoor dining, markets, live music, family programming, and cultural events do more than attract visitors. They encourage residents to reclaim public spaces, strengthen community life, and contribute to downtowns that feel active throughout the day and evening.
5. Acting as conveners. Destination organizations are increasingly bringing together municipal leaders, downtown organizations, convention centers, hotels, police, transportation agencies, business improvement districts, public health officials, and community organizations around a shared vision for healthier, more welcoming communities. They may not own the problem, but they are well positioned to help align the people working on it.
6. Using better information to guide decisions. Destinations are increasingly combining visitor movement data, resident sentiment, business feedback, and observations from frontline staff to better understand how different parts of a city are experienced and where interventions can have the greatest impact.
7. Giving tourism a seat at the table. Increasingly, destination organizations are participating in conversations around downtown revitalization, transportation, placemaking, housing, public realm investment, and long-term city strategy. Visitor experience is increasingly understood as one outcome of healthy communities rather than something separate from them.
None of these initiatives, on their own, will solve homelessness, addiction, or public safety. Nor should we expect them to. They are only one part of a much larger picture.
What they do demonstrate is that destination organizations have more influence than they sometimes give themselves credit for. They can convene partners who might not otherwise collaborate. They can invest in initiatives that improve the public realm. They can contribute research and data that inform better decisions. They can support programs that make downtowns more welcoming. They can advocate for thoughtful placemaking and help ensure that the visitor economy has a constructive voice in conversations about the future of communities.
Perhaps the most interesting shift, however, is philosophical. For many years, destinations have understandably focused on how to respond when problems arise. Increasingly, the conversation is becoming about something different: how do we build confidence before problems occur?
Confidence is not built through a single initiative or policy. It is the cumulative result of hundreds of decisions about how a place is planned, managed, maintained, activated, and cared for. It is reflected in whether public spaces feel welcoming, whether people experiencing hardship are more likely to receive meaningful support, whether residents feel connected to their downtowns, and whether visitors feel comfortable exploring beyond the obvious attractions.
Ultimately, I believe this reflects a broader evolution in destination management. The most successful destination organizations will continue to market their communities, but they will increasingly contribute to strengthening them as well. Not because they can solve society’s most complex challenges on their own, but because they possess unique relationships, influence, insight, and convening power that can help move the needle.
Destination competitiveness has always been rooted in community well-being. Perhaps we are only now beginning to recognize just how closely the two are connected.