Technology, Stories, and Co-Developed Experiences

Posted on December 10, 2012

Trends in innovation and destination development are emerging in some leading-edge research coming out of Europe.  A couple of examples include ‘Storytelling and Destination Development’ from Nordic Innovation and ‘Conceptualising technology enhanced destination experiences’ by Professors Buhalis, Neuhofer, and Ladkin of Bournemouth University in the UK. While coming from different perspectives, these research examples highlight […]

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Destination Marketing, Management, and Skills Training

Posted on November 10, 2012

The British Columbia Ministry of Jobs, Tourism, and Skills Training made a couple of noteworthy announcements this week. First (and possibly the most interesting and potentially controversial), is the re-branding and re-launch of Tourism BC as ‘Destination BC’  with a primary focus on destination marketing. Significantly, there was little, if any mention of ‘destination management’ […]

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Hurricane Sandy and DMO Communications Preparedness

Posted on October 30, 2012

Watching the impacts of Hurricane Sandy on the Eastern Seaboard got me to thinking about strategies for preparation and  the responses to disasters from DMO’s.  I dug up an unpublished paper that I wrote prior to the 2010 Winter Olympics on the topic of PR and disaster communications, with examples from mega-events, disasters and other […]

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Strategic sales training

Posted on October 29, 2012

Sales is one of the most important components of tourism development. Developing the skills of your front line sales team is critical to successful guest experiences. Along with the basic understanding of the procedural aspects of conducting a sales call and prospecting, we go deeper and try to understand the motivations for your customers. Research […]

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Welcome to Left Coast Insights

Posted on August 7, 2012

The Left Coast Insights team possesses extensive skills in research and advanced knowledge and experience related to tourism product development and delivery.  In addition to our principal consultants, Ray Freeman and Ryan Staley, we draw on the expertise of some of the most experienced and respected practitioners in the industry.  

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