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Step five

How will you know if you are succeeding?

Indications of success

Targets and indicators

Agree a set of indicators that are consistently monitored over an extended period of time to enable you to measure success.

Volume and value

By measuring visitor numbers and spend you can get a picture of the tourism ‘health’ of your area.

Measuring the quality of the destination

Through visitor surveys, national quality assurance schemes, environmental policies and practices, and a general commitment to quality products and services, you can measure the quality of your destination.

Finding out what visitors think of the experience

Gather and use customer feedback, and regularly monitor improvements. Make sure to gather feedback through social media sites such as Trip Advisor.

  • Refer to Listening to our visitors for more information on how to gather and use feedback

Challenge 23: How are we doing? 

Use the indicators and measures tool, this time adding in your own relevant measures and monitor over time.

The Review Cycle

Successful destination development is about the continuous improvement of the visitor experience within your area. This is not a journey to an end, it is a constant cycle – so you must find some simple measures and monitor and evaluate on an ongoing basis.

You can do this by:

  • making sure you deliver on your plans - delivery of quick wins can help galvanize the group especially if things start to make a difference
  • keeping your destination assessment tools up to date at least annually and share progress
  • watching to see what competitor areas are doing and compare your own efforts
  • communicating ideas and results to all partners, the community and visitors

Keep your destination ahead of the game

Continue to: 

  • understand your markets and market trends
  • develop, innovate and improve
  • strive for and advance your vision
  • collectively deliver a memorable visitor experience in your area

Next step: best practice