I don’t need to tell you that the pandemic has made us rethink (remote) work. However, the broader implication of remote work is that the boundaries between tourists and talent are blurring.
It’s like a travel and work fusion, where experiences and skills are intertwined. And that has a profound impact on our economies, our downtowns and our destinations.
Last week at the International Symposium on Destination Stewardship I compared notes between Amsterdam and Milan, with Marco Minicucci. Milan has experienced quite a renaissance over the past 10 years, becoming a true hotspot for (international) talent. I’m always impressed by their approach to city marketing and the way higher education is a driver for urban transformation. We delved specifically into the examples of MIND – Milano Innovation District, and Innovation District Zuidas in Amsterdam.
3 points to take away from our engaging conversation on how cities can improve stickiness:
1. The Ministry of Welcoming
From his own experience in Amsterdam, Marco talked about the importance of an intentional and useful welcome. In Milan they have applied that, a nexus of information where international talent can go, as a kind of horizontal structure between the different anchor institutions. So this take away is a quick one; who is the concierge on behalf of your city?
2. Place matters
News flash, talent is not coming for your next campaign. Focus on quality of life instead and make sure your city is doing storytelling. I am a huge believer in the physicality of destination marketing because place matters, and that means starting with a foundation of accessible housing, public transport, mixed-use neighborhoods, and great green spaces.
Stickiness is about shaping places where people live, work, play and stay!
Best-selling travel writer Pico Dyer made some really interesting points in his opening session. He used the analogy of a guest coming to your house, and all the effort you put into preparing a delicious meal. Surely your guest will remember the great conversation over dinner, but also that one photo you have in the bathroom or a vase standing in the hallway. The guest always notices something you don’t expect as a host, and that’s just how visiting cities works. It is all about the in-between moments and the surprise.
3. A partnership-play
Succesfully building a sticky city requires strong public-private partnerships. And then we really need to look beyond the private partner’s financial contribution to any kind of destination marketing platform. Of course, it makes sense to build a budget together, but can we also focus on the real added value that strong brands have? Local and international brands can use their superpowers much more when it comes to storytelling, online reach and tech innovation, making destinations stronger in authentic ways. That goes beyond just marketing and fits perfectly these days into a strong ESG strategy that focuses on community impact.
Every company is trading in the asset of places, they just might not know it yet.
Zita Cobb in her session made some great points on the difference between projects that we can see as ‘investment’ and the ones that are real ‘development’. The key question is how we reconcile the management of place with institutional management. When we think of the pillar’s government / markets / community (read: The Third Pillar by Raghuram Rajan), she rightfully pointed out that the pillar community has been largely undermined in the past decades.
Before we think of designing places, we need to build collaborative architecture across these pillars.
Thanks
To Destination Canada for curating this wonderful conference. Being part of this journey and learning from Indigenous peoples and communities was a genuine pleasure
I look forward to advancing together on regenerative and holistic approaches to making attractive places for all!
#ISDS23 #DestinationCanada #stickycities