As Zartico passed the 100 client partner mark, The Travel Vertical talked to Jay Kinghorn, Chief Innovation Officer and Co-founder, about the company’s mission to provide the clearest view of a visitor economy, elevating communities as partners on that journey. 

Read that exclusive interview and Jay’s opinion piece, released via The Travel Vertical ahead of other media distribution. (Thanks, Zartico.)

“Thank you one-hundred times to our client partners for being on this journey with us. I appreciate the opportunity to work with you in helping enhance the positive effects of tourism in communities all over the country.“ — Jay Kinghorn

TTV: That’s quite a milestone. Zartico has reached over 100 clients. What’s the main takeaway?

Jay: In working with 100 destination organization clients, we’ve identified a common thread. Destination Management and Marketing Organizations are eager to help their communities be the best they can be, using tourism as the catalyst with new, better tools and data sets to ensure their actions have the most positive impact.

TTV: New and better tools?

Jay: Different, improved tools are important because the measures we’ve been using for years and years are no longer relevant for developing a strategic plan that encompasses new pressures and changing needs. There’s an economic opportunity today for which we need a new vocabulary and a new tool kit. 

TTV: Everyone wants recovery, and of course we need to measure that. However, the last two years surely taught us that reverting to pre-Covid KPIs would be shortsighted. 

Jay: Communication is needed to align the DMMO’s efforts with the community’s goals, then ladder that up to a DMMO’s actions and activities. It’s critical for DMMOs to have accountability, directional benchmarks, carefully thought-out KPIs and stakeholders that understand the role of visitors in contributing to the economy. For example, let’s consider how we can change the pattern of visitation to be more congruent to a destination’s carrying capacity. 

TTV: We’ve certainly learned that resident sentiment, community engagement and quality of life is more important than ever. 

Jay: Attracting visitors that are aligned with a community’s values is an important role for the contemporary DMMO. These organizations are the storytellers and what they lead with will help shape the destination for many years to come. 

TTV: How can Zartico help?

Jay: We’ve developed a working document, “Five Foundations of a DMMO: New Measures for a New Paradigm.” This is just the very beginning…a framework. We continue to be focused on answering the question, “How do we help Destination Management and Marketing Organizations accomplish what they want to achieve?” 

Click to read Jay’s commentary, “The Five Foundations of a DMMO: New Measures for a New Paradigm.”