Part of the work I do in visitor experience planning involves defining essence of place—those heritage values, tangible and intangible, that define your site. It’s a fun exercise but it can be a little bit abstract at first: what exactly is a tangible heritage value, anyway? A great place to start is simply by asking workshop participants to find six iconic images of their heritage […]
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The American Rangers Strike Back
As the US Parks take a public stand, this Canadian finds himself inspired, and a little bit shamed. Where the hell were our voices during the Harper years?
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Branding Your Attraction: It Ain’t About The Logo
There’s no such thing as not having a brand. You have one, even as you read this. Branding is a vague and distasteful term. Particularly in the ecotourism and heritage sectors: nobody really wants to think of your cherished resource as a brand. So I’d like to establish what I mean by branding from the start: it isn’t your logo; it isn’t the look and […]
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Defining Your Values: Some Exercises
It takes time to become accustomed to values-based thinking. This is part two of a two-part article on organizational values in the heritage sector. Part one is here. A values exercise is a way of defining your ethical approach to the prickly, unpleasant issues that are likely to rear their heads in the future. Your values become your moral compass and the pillars of your daily […]
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Organizational Values in the Heritage Sector
In the heritage sector, values and brand are ultimately one and the same. If your mission describes what you do as an organization, both your values and your brand describe how you do it. That may sound strange: brand and values sound like two very different areas of concern. But I’m going to suggest to you that in the heritage sector, the two are inexorably […]
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