Orlando and Birmingham Leaders Grapple With Tourism Identities They Didn't Want
Skift Take
Mayors have power to dictate how a city positions itself for tourism. Orlando and Birmingham's stories are ones where the mayors entered office admitting their cities weren't being smart about tourism and they improved their marketing strategies from there.
Many destinations wish they could shed certain reputations that they're either not proud of or don't fully represent what they are in 2017.
In the cases of Orlando, Florida and Birmingham, Alabama, they'd rather you didn't exclusively associate them with major theme parks and the Civil Rights-era church bombings, respectively.
But both cities understand that being the theme park capital of the world or one of the largest bedrocks of the Civil Rights movement are still hooks for visitors that they shouldn't avoid.
Finally, Orlando and Birmingham are embracing their pasts and presents, and using those to shape their futures.
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and Birmingham Mayor William Bell spoke at the City Nation Place Americas conference in New York City last week about politicians' and city halls' roles in promoting tourism and how they work with tourism boards to attract visitors.
Bell, who's served as Birmingham's mayor since 2010, said the city was trying to become something it wasn't when he first got the keys to City Hall. "In years past, we tried to be the other Atlanta," said Bell, speaking during the conference. "Then, we figured out we could never be where Atlanta was because, by the time we got there, they would be somewhere else."
"Then, we tried to brand ourselves as the next Nashville," he said. "Yeah, we got a great music scene, but it doesn't compare to Nashville. Then, it was Charlotte and we finally said, 'no.' Let's be what we are. Let's brand our city as the up and coming great southern city that we knew we were and to invite people to come here and see the good people in our community."
Once Birmingham acknowledged its Civil Rights past -- the history that makes it unique --things began to change for the better, said Bell.
"You have to face it head-on," he said. "For a number of decades Birmingham had tried to run away from its segregation history, but it wasn't until we just faced it head-on to talk about it, to look at the positive
