Destination Roadmapping

Vicky Soderberg
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A 10-minute spark of inspiration with a side of tough love—helping small towns create big impact through tourism, events, and unforgettable visitor experiences.

  1. The Booth Maze: Why Attendees Miss Half of Your Vendors

    -6 ДН.

    The Booth Maze: Why Attendees Miss Half of Your Vendors

    Send us Fan Mail If your vendors are complaining about low traffic, but your event felt busy, you don’t have an attendance problem. You have a layout problem. In this episode of Destination Roadmapping, we’re digging into The Booth Maze. The all-too-common setup where attendees walk your event and somehow miss half your vendors. Not because they didn’t want to see them. Because your layout made it easy to miss them. We break down:  Why booth placement alone isn’t the issue, movement is  How food vendors can accidentally stop traffic instead of driving it  What happens when food lines and seating aren’t planned properly  Why some vendors get all the exposure and others get skipped  Practical ways to design booth flow so attendees naturally see more Because when your layout makes people guess where to go next, they stop exploring and that decision quietly impacts your vendors, your sales, and your overall event success. Thanks for listening! Look for new episodes each Wednesday wherever you get your podcasts, and in the meantime... Connect with Vicky on LinkedIn

    9 мин.
  2. Are You a Pass-Through Town?

    16 АПР.

    Are You a Pass-Through Town?

    Send us Fan Mail Are people visiting your town or just passing through it? Many communities see constant traffic and assume that means tourism is healthy. Cars are moving. Gas stations are busy. Drive-thrus stay packed. But pass-through traffic and visitor engagement are not the same thing. In this episode of Destination Roadmapping, we’re unpacking the difference between being on the route and being part of the trip, and why so many communities mistake convenience stops for tourism success. We cover:  How to tell if your town is functioning as a pass-through stop  Why pass-through traffic can create a false sense of tourism performance  The difference between serving travelers and attracting visitors  Why local pride does not always equal visitor appeal  How better experience design can turn quick stops into meaningful stays If your town gets traffic but not traction, this episode is for you. Thanks for listening! Look for new episodes each Wednesday wherever you get your podcasts, and in the meantime... Connect with Vicky on LinkedIn

    10 мин.
  3. The Kids Zone Dilemma

    8 АПР.

    The Kids Zone Dilemma

    Send us Fan Mail What if the thing you think makes your event “family-friendly" is actually holding it back? In this episode of Destination Roadmapping, we’re challenging one of the most automatic decisions in event planning: The Kids Zone. Most events have one.  Most planners feel like they should. But what if removing it actually improves the experience for families, vendors, and your overall event flow? This episode breaks down:  Why kids zones often create separation instead of connection  What parents are actually experiencing (and why it affects spending)  How one design decision shapes movement, engagement, and energy  A practical, step-by-step way to redesign your event without a kids zone You’ll walk away with a completely different lens: Not “What do we have for kids?”  But “How does a family experience this event as a family?” Because when you get that right, everything works better. Thanks for listening! Look for new episodes each Wednesday wherever you get your podcasts, and in the meantime... Connect with Vicky on LinkedIn

    12 мин.
  4. The "Locals Only' Vibe

    30 МАР.

    The "Locals Only' Vibe

    Send us Fan Mail Some of the best experiences in your community might be the hardest for visitors to step into. Not because they’re bad.  Because they’re built on familiarity. In this episode, we’re unpacking the “locals only” vibe. The feeling visitors get when everything works, as long as they already know how it works. And here’s the twist:  That local feel? It’s not the problem. It’s actually what people want. The problem is when visitors can see it, but can’t step into it. We break down:  • What the “locals only” vibe really is (and why it’s not always a bad thing)  • How to recognize when visitors are hovering on the outside instead of engaging  • Why people don’t come back, even when they say they liked it  • Simple ways to make your experience easier to step into without losing what makes it feel local Because the goal isn’t to make your town less authentic. It’s to make it easier for someone new to feel like they belong in it. Thanks for listening! Look for new episodes each Wednesday wherever you get your podcasts, and in the meantime... Connect with Vicky on LinkedIn

    8 мин.
  5. The Meeting after the Meeting

    23 МАР.

    The Meeting after the Meeting

    Send us Fan Mail We’ve all experienced it. The meeting ends. Everyone nods. “Great discussion.” Chairs slide back. And then the real conversation starts, in the hallway, in the parking lot. In this episode of Destination Roadmapping, we’re unpacking “the meeting after the meeting," why it happens, what it signals about your team dynamics, and how it quietly undermines your tourism plans and events. Because when people don’t feel comfortable speaking in the room, the meeting becomes a performance instead of a working session. And that’s where things start to break. You’ll learn:  Why polite agreement during meetings turns into messy execution later  The three biggest reasons real conversations get pushed outside the room  The difference between unanimous agreement and real agreement (and why it matters)  Simple ways to structure meetings so people actually say what they’re thinking We all like to debrief with afterwards. That part won’t change. But if the important conversations only happen after the meeting, your plans are built on half the information. And that’s when good ideas start to wobble. If you want stronger events, better collaboration, and decisions that actually stick, it starts with making space for honest conversation, before the chairs get stacked. Thanks for listening! Look for new episodes each Wednesday wherever you get your podcasts, and in the meantime... Connect with Vicky on LinkedIn

    11 мин.
  6. Your Tourism "What If" Plan

    15 МАР.

    Your Tourism "What If" Plan

    Send us Fan Mail Tourism seasons rarely unfold exactly the way we expect. Gas prices shift, travel habits change, weather refuses to cooperate, and sometimes a random 12-second video sends visitors somewhere you never saw coming. In this episode of Destination Roadmapping, we revisit the idea from Episode 20, the “What If” plan for events and apply it to an entire tourism season. Because just like events, destinations need to be ready for the unexpected. We’ll explore several forces that could shape the 2026 tourism season, including travel price fatigue, shrinking travel radiuses, the “cute downtown” plateau, and the rapidly changing ways visitors discover places. But we’ll also play a little devil’s advocate. What if tourism planning can’t predict the biggest disruptions?  What if travelers simply take fewer trips?  What if the real answer isn’t more strategy, but better fundamentals? Instead of trying to control every possible variable, the communities that succeed are usually the ones that build destinations flexible enough to adapt when things change. Because tourism seasons, like the wind, don’t always blow the way we expect. The goal isn’t predicting the weather. It’s building a destination that sails well no matter which direction the wind comes from. If you care about creating experiences that make visitors stay longer, spend more, and come back again, this episode will give you a fresh way to think about uncertainty in tourism. Small towns don’t win by predicting everything. They win by being ready for anything. Thanks for listening! Look for new episodes each Wednesday wherever you get your podcasts, and in the meantime... Connect with Vicky on LinkedIn

    12 мин.
  7. Is Your Event Planned for Your Staff or Your Guests?

    8 МАР.

    Is Your Event Planned for Your Staff or Your Guests?

    Send us Fan Mail Most small-town events are incredibly organized. But they’re organized for the committee, not the crowd. If your layout makes sense to the board but confuses first-timers  If vendors are placed based on history instead of flow  If guests need a volunteer just to figure out where to start You may have designed an insider event. In this episode, we break down: The difference between Planner Brain and Guest BrainHow proximity bias quietly sabotages experienceWhy “fairness” often kills flowThe hidden economic costA simple walk-through audit you can use immediatelyBecause guests don’t care how hard you worked. They care how it felt. If you want people to stay longer, spend more, and be happy to drive two hours to come back again, this episode is your reset. Thanks for listening! Look for new episodes each Wednesday wherever you get your podcasts, and in the meantime... Connect with Vicky on LinkedIn

    12 мин.
  8. The 24-hour Visitor Test

    1 МАР.

    The 24-hour Visitor Test

    Send us Fan Mail If someone pulled into your town at 3:00 p.m. on a Friday, no wedding, no meeting, no relatives to visit, would they stay 24 hours? Or would they quietly keep driving? In this episode, we’re walking through a simple but revealing diagnostic: the 24-Hour Visitor Test. Because there’s a difference between attracting visitors and structuring your community to hold them overnight and that difference is where the real economic impact lives. We’ll unpack: • The arrival friction that silently shortens stays  • Why “having one thing” isn’t enough  • The Saturday afternoon stall most towns miss  • How Sunday morning either extends the visit or ends it  • Why this is a sequencing issue, not a marketing issue This isn’t necessarily about adding more attractions. It’s about tightening continuity from Friday afternoon through Sunday morning so visitors naturally linger longer, spend more, and build connection. If you’ve ever wondered why your town gets traffic but not overnight momentum, this episode will give you perspective and a practical way to test it yourself. Run the test. Map the gaps. Build the sequence. Because the goal isn’t more visitors. It’s visitors who don’t want to leave. Thanks for listening! Look for new episodes each Wednesday wherever you get your podcasts, and in the meantime... Connect with Vicky on LinkedIn

    12 мин.
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A 10-minute spark of inspiration with a side of tough love—helping small towns create big impact through tourism, events, and unforgettable visitor experiences.

Информация

  • Автор
    Vicky Soderberg
  • Годы выхода
    2025 - 2026
  • Выпуски
    40
  • Ограничения
    Без ненормативной лексики
  • Авторские права
    © 2026 Destination Roadmapping
  • Сайт подкаста
    Destination Roadmapping