The Future of Destination Organizations: A Guide to a Community-Based Welcome

By Courtney Cacatian

In this inspiring and informative book, author Courtney Cacatian shares her experience and case studies as a tourism practitioner, economic developer, public servant, and private citizen. Through her work, she has accomplished remarkable success in a short amount of time, and she hopes to inspire others to do the same. This book is not only a celebration of her community's achievements, but also a guide for others who want to learn from her experience. Whether you're a tourism practitioner, economic developer, public servant, or private citizen, this book is a must-read for anyone who wants to build enthusiasm for the future and achieve success in their own community.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Jul 10, 2023
• ISBN: 9781312353367

Book preview

The Future of Destination Organizations

A Guide to a Community-Based Welcome

Copyright © 2023 by Courtney Cacatian

All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

Cover art by Camille Cacatian, Age 11

Ordering Information: Quantity sales. Special discounts are available on quantity purchases by corporations, associations, and others. For details, contact the publisher at [e-mail]

ISBN #: 978-1-312-41098-5

First Edition: July 2023

14 13 12 11 10 / 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

This book is dedicated to all the individuals featured in the following pages, without whom this work would never have materialized. You all inspire me with your passion and dedication.

And to Camille and Cyrus: I do everything I do for you and your future.

Table of Contents

Forward by Scott Hamler      9

Introduction      11

Personal Beginning, a Bit of the Why      13

Be Curious: My Winding Tourism Journey to Charlottesville      15

Building Trust: The Creation of Discover Black Cville      25

Active Learning: The Impact of Discover Black Cville on CACVB      49

Public Service: Beginning Tourism for All      57

Perspective: Bringing More Voices into Tourism for All      63

Value Added: Getting the Tourism Industry Engaged      71

Representation: The Rebuilding of the CACVB Board      81

Doing the Work: Examining our Internal Policies and Practices      87

Power of Community Pride: How a Welcoming Lens Changes Everything      93

Evolution: The New Model of Destination Organization      97

Acknowledgements      101

Forward by Scott Hamler

I first met Courtney Cacatian in the Fall of 2020. We met like many people met during that time, over Zoom. When I met with Courtney, we initially were going to discuss how to support local businesses. The conversation quickly veered off to a discussion about racial disparities and inequities in our area. Courtney talked about wanting to do something to support black businesses in the area. I don’t remember how long we spoke, I just know it was much longer than either of us intended. I got off of the call thinking, This white lady is legit!

Besides dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, the country was having a racial awakening of sorts. Following the murder of George Floyd, every community was having conversations about race. There were many white people who ran organizations that wanted to show they were inclusive and equitable, but beyond a social media post or two and a blurb on their website, there were very few tangible actions taken.

Historically, tourism in this area seemed to only speak to affluent white people. I recall seeing ad campaigns that showed very few people of color. This, unfortunately, was not uncommon. We were often left unseen, or put to the side, when speaking about the experience of traveling to or living in Charlottesville.

The global pandemic combined with the Black Lives Matter movement created a perfect storm that forced many to finally sit, listen, and empathize with black Americans. Courtney, unlike many before her, didn’t just want to pander to black people in our area. She truly took the time to listen, learn, and humble herself and be a legitimate ally.

In late 2020 and early 2021 the Charlottesville Albemarle Convention & Visitors Bureau held multiple stakeholder meetings that included dozens of black residents of Charlottesville & Albemarle. We discussed a number of ways we could attract more visitors to the area while supporting black-owned businesses and experiences here. We landed on a name for the initiative: Discover Black Cville. Black Cville seeks to help tell modern, historically accurate and inclusive black stories in Charlottesville and Albemarle County while promoting black-owned businesses and attractions.

My journey with Discover Black Cville has been one of the most rewarding professional and personal experiences in my life. The response has been overwhelmingly positive, which shows us that we’re moving in the right direction.

Without Courtney’s unwavering support, this initiative wouldn’t have gotten off of the ground floor. Allyship is using your privilege to advocate and support members of marginalized groups. It means, even at your own expense, stepping up for the systematically oppressed and putting action behind trying to build a more equitable society.

We need more allies like Courtney. Someone who puts their money where their mouth is, and isn’t afraid to ruffle some feathers. More than once Courtney has expressed to me, If I get fired for this, it will be worth it.

I’m happy to call Courtney an ally, a colleague, and a friend.

Scott Hamler

Forezee Marketing Solutions

Charlottesville, VA

Introduction

First, thank you.

Thank you for taking the time to read our story. Your interest in this work has inspired us. What we have done is from the heart, and by engaging other people to join us, it keeps us motivated and provides a fresh perspective.

I’m writing this book in the hopes that other tourism practitioners, economic developers, public servants and private citizens can learn from our experience and case studies. I also wrote this book to be able to show our community the work we have accomplished together in such a short time, to celebrate the success we have, and to build enthusiasm for the