Power of Community by City Destinations Alliance City Destinations Alliance

What role does the DMO have in ensuring meaningful city interactions? How can cities engage with controversial and dark histories? Is art the answer? In the final part to the sequence, WE*GENERATE: Places, Xavier Theret from Le Voyage à Nantes, and Meghann Ormond from Wageningen University & Migrantour Utretcht both join this episode to discuss how art can be seen as a powerful tool for encounters, fostering connections and tolerance.

How can the diverse layers of place and heritage be represented in a destination? How can we redefine “localhood” to be more inclusive? How can tourism experiences be co-created through a participatory approach, involving diverse groups of people to represent a place? In part two of three in the sequence, WE*GENERATE: PLACES, we speak to Meghann Ormond, an associate professor in cultural geography at Wageningen University. Meghann talks about co-founding Migrantour Utrecht, which is an initiative that allows people with refugee and migration backgrounds to co-design and lead tours in order to share their experiences and perceptions of the places they live.

What do you do, when you have little and have to do something? …and when tourism doesn’t come natural to your city? In this episode, Xavier Theret, Head of International Promotion and Relations for Le Voyage à Nantes, discusses the transformation of Nantes from a sleepy shipyard town to a vibrant and creative destination. Xavier highlights the importance of public art in breathing life into the city streets for locals and visitors. Nantes continues to secure its spot on the map with unique cultural and tourism strategy integration, creative partnerships with local businesses, elephants and green lines…

This is the second CityDNA Vodcast, where Signe Jungersted, from Group NAO, interviews Stefan Hartman, Head of Department at the European Tourism Futures Institute (ETFI), part of NHL Stenden University. Stefan is also one of the key forces behind the new CELTH initiative: Agenda Conscious Destinations – a collaboration between NHL Stenden ETFI, Breda & HZ University of Applied Sciences.

Here are some resources if you want to read more on this initiative:
- https://www.celth.nl/en/agenda-conscious-destinations#:~:text=In%20a%20Conscious%20Destination%2C%20parties,of%20life%2C%20experience%20and%20work
- https://indd.adobe.com/view/3a74e6db-45fc-46c0-b0b8-6746cf56e3a2
- https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JTF-01-2022-0017/full/pdf?title=the-doughnut-destination-applying-kate-raworths-doughnut-economy-perspective-to-rethink-tourism-destination-management

In March 2022, we reunited as destinations in Hamburg for the international conference of City Destinations Alliance – and Norbert Kettner, CEO of Vienna Tourist Board, announced from stage that “all great things start in cities”.

And now, starting in the city of Vienna, comes the United Cities of Tourism.

The campaign celebrates not only the reopening of borders – it also celebrates city tourism and the ‘European idea’. And, Vienna has invited other European city destinations to join – Barcelona, Milan, London, Berlin, Paris – because standing together, the cities are sending an even stronger message of unity and togetherness, even including a swap of their social media channels to promote each other.

Tune into this first #PowerofCommunity Vodcast to hear from Norbert Kettner, CEO of Vienna Tourist Board, why this message of unity and togetherness is important to him and his team, whether standing united also signifies a new era of less competition and more collaboration, and how Norbert looks towards a summer of welcoming back visitors to Vienna.

For more information about the Vienna campaign, here are some resources:
- https://unitedcities.vienna.info/en-gb/initiative
- https://unitedcities.vienna.info/en-gb/home
- https://youtu.be/olKnH0h7GX8
- https://youtu.be/EzGBkL7CM14

Meet one of our ECM Community Heroes – Pablo Ortega Novillo from Catalonia, Spain, and learn more about the ECM Tourist Information Centres Knowledge Group!

The ECM Community is powered by people. This is the seventh episode of a series of interviews of our #ECMCommunityHeroes #ECMPowerOfCommunity #WeAreECM

In collaboration with Group NAO