My Top 20 Game Changers from 20 Years in Tourism

This year marks 20 years of Evolve Tourism.

Over that time, I’ve worked on more than 100 tourism projects across every state of Australia and New Zealand — from small regional operators through to major destination-defining strategies and developments.

I’ve seen ideas succeed beyond expectations, and others fall short despite significant investment. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s this:

Tourism success is rarely about luck. It’s about clarity.

Clarity of idea.

Clarity of positioning.

Clarity of who it’s for and why it matters.

The projects that work — whether it’s a regional event, a luxury lodge, or a large-scale attraction — tend to get a few things consistently right.

1.     They know exactly what they are trying to be.

2.     They understand their customer deeply.

3.     They deliver something that is genuinely different.

And importantly, they follow through — from concept to delivery — with discipline and internal alignment from the beginning.

On the flip side, I’ve also seen where things go wrong.

Ideas that sound exciting but don’t have enough demand behind them.

Experiences that try to appeal to everyone and end up resonating with no one.

Projects that rely too heavily on marketing to compensate for a weak product.

You can’t market your way out of a product that isn’t compelling.

You can’t price your way into profitability if the value isn’t there.

And you can’t build something and assume people will come.

Over the next 20 weeks I will share 20 lessons I’ve seen play out repeatedly.

If you’re working on a tourism business, project, or destination — these are the fundamentals that make or break outcomes. Here are my first 10 insights:

1. Start with "Why"

2. Never “Build it and they will come”

3. Differentiation as the source of value

4. The cost of a forgotten website

5. Compelling content is not decoration. It’s conversion

6. PR follows experiences worth talking about

7. Knowing your competition better than they know themselves

8. How a thirst for feedback drive serious advantage

9. Why the forgotten art of SEO is more than a ranking advantage

10. Supercharging distribution in 3 simple steps.

These aren’t revolutionary insights. In fact, most are fundamentals that are often overlooked or brushed aside. But in my experience, they are exactly what separates successful tourism businesses from those that struggle.

Next week, I’ll explore why the strongest tourism experiences start with a compelling reason to be titled: "Start with Why”.

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