What you'll learn

Practical skills for your board, your partners, and your community.

  • Explain tourism, your organization's role, and who benefits, in words that work with a board member, a resident, or an elected official

  • Map your destination's supply (attractions, amenities, access, people, image, and price) and spot your biggest gap

  • Describe two or three priority visitor segments using local data and a trusted outside source

  • Tell your destination's story accurately and respectfully, with clear protocols for featuring local cultures, including Indigenous partners

  • Use a market-readiness checklist to help a local business package an experience visitors can book

  • Spot signs of visitor pressure or resident frustration, and choose three stewardship measures to track

  • Map your key partners and funding paths, including programs that support tribal and community-led tourism

  • Leave with a 90-day action plan for your own organization

Start with why

Most people in destination work learn the job on the job. You get the title, the inbox and the board meeting, but nobody hands you the big picture: what tourism is, how it works, and where your organization fits.

This course is that big picture. It's practical, it's honest about the hard parts, and it's built for the Monday morning after you finish.

Who it's for

  • New hires at DMOs, CVBs, and tourism offices

  • Career-changers stepping into destination work

  • Chamber staff who wear the tourism hat

  • Board members and partner reps who want to speak the language

Course curriculum

    1. Course at a Glance

      FREE PREVIEW

    2. Learner Outcomes

      FREE PREVIEW

    3. About you

    4. Confidence

    5. How you see the work

    6. Quick scenarios

    7. What you do now

    8. In your own words

    9. Tourism Industry Glossary

    1. Welcome: Start with why

      FREE PREVIEW

    2. Tourism in plain language

    3. Where does our time go?

    4. Three scenarios

    5. Your first move

    6. Sort your four jobs

    7. Check your understanding

    8. Capstone piece 1: What we're for and who we serve

    9. Wrap-up: One conversation

    1. Welcome: See it like a visitor

    2. Supply and demand, in plain language

    3. Check your understanding

    4. Be a first-time visitor

    5. Capstone piece 2: Supply map and biggest gap

    6. Wrap-up: Fresh eyes

    1. Welcome: Who's really coming?

    2. Segments, data, and hunches

    3. Which problem do we have?

    4. Data hunt

    5. Check your understanding

    6. Capstone piece 3: Two visitor profiles

    7. Wrap-up: One question to ask

    1. Welcome: Whose story is it?

    2. Sharing culture with care

    3. When the story about you is wrong

    4. The stories people tell about us

    5. Three stories, three choices

    6. Check your understanding

    7. A community conversation

    8. Capstone piece 4: Storytelling guidelines and a partner checklist

    9. Wrap-up: Tell it true

    1. Welcome: From worth seeing to worth booking

    2. What makes an experience

    3. What market-ready means

    4. Pick your partner

    5. Packaging in practice

    6. Check your understanding

    7. Market-readiness check with a partner

    8. Capstone piece 5: An experience one-pager

    9. Wrap-up: One connection

About this course

  • $49.95
  • 74 lessons
  • 0 hours of video content

Instructor

Led by Learn Tourism's own

Stephen Ekstrom

CEO Founder at Learn Tourism

Stephen Ekstrom is the embodiment of a passionate lifelong learner and a seasoned professional in the tourism industry, serving as the CEO and founder of Learn Tourism - the nonprofit academy. With over 25 years of experience, he has cultivated a deep understanding of tourism development and education, driven by his commitment to advancing the industry and fostering sustainable economies. Stephen's insatiable curiosity and love of knowledge have made him a proud nerd, constantly seeking to expand his expertise and share his insights with others. Alongside his faithful furry companions, Rudy and Marjorie, he embraces the digital nomad lifestyle, traversing the globe and immersing himself in diverse cultures. A dedicated advocate for continuous improvement, Stephen is a professional member of the Association for Talent Development and a member of Skal International. Stephen holds prestigious certifications in Inclusive and Ethical Leadership from USF, AI Governance and Ethics from Brown University, Sustainable Business Strategy and Transforming Customer Experiences from Harvard Business School, and Sustainable Tourism Destination Management from Cornell.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. The course starts from the ground up. If you've been in the field a while, it's a way to get your whole team speaking the same language.
No. You'll earn a certificate of completion. It isn't a professional designation.
Yes. Work through it on your own schedule. Teams can add a live cohort to learn together.
Yes, in every module: storytelling protocols, partnership, stewardship, and funding programs that support tribal and community-led tourism.

Discover your potential, starting today

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