Example: The National Tourism Organisation (NTO) of Montenegro has strengthened its analytical and digital capacities through projects that enhance understanding of visitors’ perceptions and satisfaction. A new project will see it collect and analyse guest reviews on multiple digital platforms to identify visitor sentiment trends and evaluate service performance, which will enable it to recognise strengths and address areas for improvement. This approach contributes to more responsive and guest-oriented destination management.

How custom data tools are driving smarter internal communication

Data is just as essential internally as it is externally. It is essential to equip departments, especially sales and marketing, with timely, usable insight.

Example: Michael Ruzicka of Visit Dallas described how his team built a bespoke dashboard in collaboration with hotel partners to address the specific needs of the hotel community and public improvement district board.

He says: “The key is understanding what each audience really wants to know and how you can help them. This is not just about what we are trying to tell them. It is also about building trust by showing how we can support them.”

At Visit Greenville, sales staff were encouraged to go beyond transactional meetings and engage hotels with more strategic conversations. Using data to target the right groups at the right time helped improve both alignment and outcomes. Dashboards became tools not only to track KPIs but to drive collaboration and smarter decision making.

How data can breathe life back into the boardroom

Destination boards of directors are increasingly diverse, with members from government, small businesses, attractions, hotels and airports. As expectations grow more varied, many organisations are looking for clearer ways to define and demonstrate impact. Some have turned to established frameworks and tools such as our Event Impact Calculator which estimates net new visitor spending and calculates return on investment to local taxes. Others have developed simpler, story-led dashboards or visual reports that connect data to community priorities, using real-world examples rather than spreadsheets to help board members grasp both strategic context and local value.

Example: When he joined Visit Greenville, Heath Dillard introduced a monthly data report for the board. It was simple, digestible and focused on shared priorities. The aim was not to spend meetings reviewing figures but to equip members to engage in meaningful discussions about impact and direction. Dillard’s experience shows that data alone does not persuade – but when aligned with goals, and clearly communicated, it can shift from passive oversight to active advocacy.

For Visit Ljubljana, data has become a vital strategic resource. It enables a better understanding of visitor flows and assessment of tourism pressure across different parts of the city, as well as guiding development in ways that deliver long-term benefits for residents, visitors and the environment. Integration of multiple data sources into a single, unified platform, Ljubljana FLOWS allows the organisation to monitor visitor patterns, track key events and make informed decisions that foster balanced, sustainable growth.