For years, DMOs have known that resident sentiment matters. It shapes how visitors are welcomed, how tourism is discussed locally, and how successfully a destination can grow without friction. But too often, resident sentiment has been treated as a score to report—rather than a compass to guide strategy.
At Clarity of Place, we’ve seen across dozens of projects that when communities feel heard, destinations thrive. The question isn’t whether to measure resident sentiment, but how to reframe it so it becomes actionable, credible, and embedded in decision-making.
David Holder underscored this point during his recent panel at ESTO alongside three visionary destination leaders: Vanessa Cabrera of Visit Tucson, Beth Erickson of Visit Loudoun, and Eliza Voss of Aspen Chamber Resort Association. Together, they highlighted how true alignment goes far beyond survey scores or topline numbers. It’s about listening to residents, embedding their perspectives in decision-making, and showing that tourism success prioritizes real community impact.
(Ideas That Travel: Reframing Resident Sentiment panel featuring Vanessa Cabrera, Beth Erickson, and Eliza Voss ESTO 2025)
If you missed the session, this blog expands on the same core idea: moving beyond numbers to build genuine community alignment. That’s where we help destinations find clarity.
Why Reframing Matters
Resident sentiment is more than research. Done well, it:
Creates alignment with community priorities. Creating alignment with community priorities begins with listening. Residents surface what matters most — no matter whether it involves preserving a small downtown’s character, attracting overnight visitors who drive economic value, or managing visitor behaviors to ease cultural and environmental strain. As Eliza Voss noted at ESTO, Aspen applied resident input on visitor volume to adjust its marketing approach to seasonal shifts. When destinations center local perspectives in this way, they shape smarter strategies and build the trust needed for long-term support.
Strengthens the value of tourism. Resident perspectives help reposition tourism as a driver of quality of life, not just visitor growth. By showing how visitor dollars contribute to infrastructure, workforce, and local amenities, DMOs can reframe tourism as a shared community benefit. Visit Loudoun, for example, has used tourism’s value to address community concerns around land use, business vitality, and managing the pressures of rapid growth in a picturesque countryside.
Reveals opportunities for destination direction. Resident feedback isn’t only reactive — it points the way forward. Communities often surface insights that refine a destination’s long-term strategy, from diversifying funding to shaping new events and product development. In Tucson, resident sentiment helped reconnect longer-range strategies with community priorities, allowing Visit Tucson to leverage local goodwill in its vision of becoming a world-class destination.
Go Beyond the Survey
One survey won’t build alignment. The real shift comes from using sentiment as a bridge—asking residents how they experience tourism and showing how their perspectives shape strategy. When destinations close that loop, listening delivers trust, and trust fuels support for funding, product development, and what comes next.
When framed with intention resident sentiment can:
Shape messaging: Aligning campaigns with community values and organizational expectations, allowing marketing to reflect the destination’s authentic story.
Strengthen support: Demonstrate how tourism dollars contribute to community well-being, not just visitor counts.
Guide strategy: Use local perspectives to prioritize what really matters—whether that’s downtown vibrancy, workforce, or sustainability.
From Data to Alignment
When communities see their perspectives shaping decisions, the narrative shifts from “tourism is for outsiders” to “tourism supports us.” That’s where resilience is built.
At Clarity of Place, we believe reframing resident sentiment isn’t about seeking approval but creating durable partnerships with the people who define a place. Together with our colleagues at Longwoods International, whose Resident Sentiment Research sets the industry standard, we help destinations turn local perspectives into actionable strategies that balance resident priorities with business needs.
If your destination is asking how to reposition tourism’s value or use sentiment to chart a stronger future, let’s start that conversation.
Resident sentiment shouldn’t just be measured—it should be leveraged.
