Our CEO & Founder, Kristin Dahl, will be sharing insights during two sessions on Wednesday, June 4:

1:45 – 2:30 PM: A Community-Based Approach to Tourism and Recreation Planning
We’ll explore how the Washington Rural Tourism Support (RTS) program brings together local partners to create a shared tourism vision and take action through community-led planning, project development, and collaboration.

3:45 – 4:30 PM: Managing Visitor Use in the Columbia River Gorge Waterfall Corridor
Kristin will join agency partners to talk about how cross-sector collaboration is helping address congestion, safety, and long-term planning in one of Oregon’s most iconic outdoor destinations.

Come say hi, share what you’re working on, and let’s chat all things community, collaboration, and recreation planning. Reach out to us via Instagram or LinkedIn to tell us your burning questions about visitor use management!

June 2–5, 2025 | Vancouver, WA
More info via Society of Outdoor Recreation Professionals

The post Visitor Use Management Training & Symposium – June 2-5 2025 appeared first on Crosscurrent Collective.

Workshop Description

Attend this workshop to develop a better understanding of the key definitions and relevant trends involved in successful destination management. We’ll share local, regional and global best practices for defining and developing the three key pathways that lead to effective destination management: destination development, destination stewardship and destination marketing.

Destination Development Learning Lab – About
This two-day training supports professionals new to the Oregon tourism industry – who have been leading and coordinating tourism development and tourism management projects for less than three years. The Learning Lab includes interactive workshops, discussions, presentations and learning tour activities. The content covers the full arc of visitor experience development – from initial conception of a project/program through sales and promotion. Programming includes best practices on essential niche visitor experiences development, engaging community, facilitating successful project teams, connecting development efforts to marketing, and maximizing the tourism engine behind your product.

Travel Oregon – About
The Oregon Tourism Commission (OTC), doing business as Travel Oregon, was formed in 1995 and granted semi-independent agency status in 2003 by the Oregon State Legislature. Funded by the 1.5% statewide transient lodging tax, Travel Oregon carries out statewide work as the official destination management organization — including directly investing 30% of the tax revenue into Oregon’s tourism industry and communities through the dedicated Regional Cooperative Tourism Program and a competitive grants program.

Destination Development Department – About
Travel Oregon’s Destination Development department serves Oregon to create robust and sustainable tourism economies by developing authentic, world-class experiences for travelers that aim to preserve, enhance and celebrate the local landscape and culture. Meet the team.

Learn more about Travel Oregon’s destination development efforts.

The post Destination Strategy Trends – Centering Community in Our Work appeared first on Crosscurrent Collective.

Workshop Description

Tourism promotion has fallen out of favor in many communities, as overtourism can degrade visitor experience and diminish quality of life for residents. Communities can also struggle with governance, as destination management or tourism promotion is typically performed by some combination of for-profit companies, nonprofit organizations and governments themselves. This can cause misalignment between community values and promotional efforts. Join Kristin Dahl, Founder/CEO of Crosscurrent Collective, and Sue Muncaster, Communications Manager for the Jackson Hole Travel and Tourism Joint Powers Board, to learn about the various strategies available for sustainable destination management.

Mountain and Resort Town Planners Summit – About

The Mountain and Resort Town Planners Summit is a small and interactive conference, where ideas, questions and responses flow freely among participants, facilitators and the host communities. The summit is multi-disciplinary, with programming designed for planners, designers, conservationists, elected officials and anyone else interested in preserving the uniqueness of their mountain community. Past attendees have found the conference to be extremely helpful in finding solutions to day-to-day challenges, creating a network of peers from similar communities, and fostering big-picture thinking. The conference format typically includes keynote speakers, guided tours and peer-to-peer roundtable discussions led by expert facilitators. As in past conferences, the 2023 Summit will offer up to 16 CIP and AICP CM credits. To get an idea of the programming at this event, check out the final 2022 program.

MountainTownPlanners.org

The post Effective Destination Management – A Critical Imperative appeared first on Crosscurrent Collective.

Workshop Description

Tourism doesn’t occur in a vacuum. Its impacts are felt far and wide, across communities and ecosystems. With the tourism industry’s recovery in full swing, now is the time to reposition communities’ shared values at the center of tourism planning and policy. In this session, tourism leaders will explore destination management strategies and stakeholder engagements that align with both community values and industry needs.

Moderator: Kristin Dahl – Founder and CEO, Crosscurrent Collective

Panelists:

• Troy Campbell – Executive Director, Leavenworth Chamber of Commerce
• Meg Winchester – President & CEO, Visit Spokane
• Gabriel Seder – Vice President of Global Programs, Destinations International

State of Washington Tourism Conference – About

The official State of Washington Tourism Conference is the premier event for the state’s tourism and hospitality industry.

Presented by State of Washington Tourism (SWT), this conference was the first in-person statewide gathering of tourism professionals in more than a decade. The conference featured industry experts and speakers, as well as breakout sessions tackling many important issues impacting the industry today.

Check out the final conference program.

State of Washington Tourism Conference

State of Washington Tourism – Industry website

The post Tourism as a Shared Community Value appeared first on Crosscurrent Collective.

Client: The Conservation Fund

Workshop Description

Join Crosscurrent to better understand the power of a destination’s compelling story, and start uncovering your story. Take a deep dive into the definitions and trends involved in destination development – which is a tool for more powerfully bringing your story to the surface when visitors experience your destination. Learn global and national best practices in destination development and management, to jump-start your own destination’s path forward.

Training’s learning objectives

• Develop knowledge of why it’s important to understand your own unique story – and the benefits that can bring
  • Achieve a clear sense of your own story
• Recognize why it’s important to understand visitor trends, and increase your understanding of selected trends that are relevant and current
• Understand what destination development and management is
• Receive inspiration for best practices you can apply

Appalachian Gateway Communities 2022 Regional Training Program – About

Through this program, community-based teams from gateways to public lands located in the counties served by the Appalachian Regional Commission will gain skills and knowledge to:

• Leverage natural and cultural resources
• Revitalize downtowns
• Promote arts and culture opportunities
• Build cultural heritage and natural resource tourism
• Create lasting economic opportunity

Learn more about The Conservation Fund’s Appalachian Gateway Communities Initiative.

The post Destinations: What’s Your Story? Why Destination Management Matters appeared first on Crosscurrent Collective.

• Donny Leadbetter, National Park Service Tourism Program
• Nan Devlin, Tillamook Coast Visitors Association
• Kristin Dahl, Crosscurrent Collective

Workshop description:

How well do you know the tourism industry? The industry is sometimes maligned and blamed for problems and often not included in conservation planning and strategy development. Have you ever thought about tourism being a PARTNER who can help you achieve your goals and support your efforts for conservation and stewardship? Hear from three professionals in the industry with examples of tourism supporting sustainability and resource protection in your communities.

About the Public Lands Alliance conference:

What is typically an annual convention and trade show was shifted to a virtual conference in 2021 due to the pandemic.  Over 500 participants convened virtually for this event, taking in sessions from over 80 subject matter experts and experienced public lands professionals as well as meeting with over 65 vendors exhibiting new products, services and solutions for our attendees’ educational and outreach efforts.

Learn more about the Public Lands Alliance:

The Public Lands Alliance has worked to foster and advance its members, the nonprofit partners of America’s public lands, since 1977. They are a unified, powerful community dedicated to the preservation, enrichment and enjoyment of America’s most treasured places.

Their members serve over 675 public lands sites nationwide in cooperation with their land management agency partners, and they raise $250 million annually to support those lands.

• They CONNECT public lands partners not only to agency leaders and socially conscious corporations but also to one another in a vibrant peer network.
• They STRENGTHEN their community through targeted education, training and our other capacity building programs.
• They REPRESENT their members’ interests with elected officials and policy makers.

The post Tourism as a Partner for Sustainability appeared first on Crosscurrent Collective.

• David Beurle, CEO, Future IQ
• Kristin Dahl, VP of Destination Development, Travel Oregon
• Mike Wilson, Senior Program Director, Northern Forest Center

Workshop description:

Adventure tourism has long been promoted as a potent regional economic development tool. However, while regions crave the economic infusion that new visitors bring, some are reeling from the impacts of too many visitors. This workshop dives deeper into the macro trends shared during David Beurle’s opening keynote to explore sustainable and smart tourism initiatives, where regional communities are working to achieve a fine balance between industry impact and local benefit. With examples from around the world, explore creative solutions for resilience and recovery during uncertainty, collaboration on shared visions, and smart destination development.

Learn more about Adventure Travel Trade Association’s AdventureELEVATE conferences.

Learn more about the Adventure Travel Trade Association.

The post Tourism – Wielding the Double-edged Sword appeared first on Crosscurrent Collective.

After an update on the latest findings from their Coronavirus Travel Sentiment survey on the evolving impact of COVID-19 and how DMOs are responding, Erin Francis Cummings, President & CEO of Destination Analysts, shared a few highlights from the Destination Management edition of The State of the American Traveler, focusing on how U.S. travelers see sustainability. Cathy Ritter, Director of the Colorado Tourism Office, and Kristin Dahl, VP of Destination Development at Travel Oregon, discussed how Colorado and Oregon, two leaders in destination development, are thinking about sustainability during the COVID-19 crisis and throughout recovery. Chris Seek, CEO of Solimar International, a global leader in destination development, highlighted three specific next-step opportunities for destinations, highlighting international examples.

Learn more about this webinar.

Visit Miles Partnership’s collection of research, resources and recommendations for DMOs and tourism organizations navigating COVID-19: Clarity in a Time of Change.

Learn more about Miles Partnership.

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