Lessons from Kingston’s Integrated Destination Strategy
Kingston’s tourism strategy is based on collaboration, co-creation, and a clear understanding that a rising tide lifts all boats. At the core of this approach is their Integrated Destination Strategy, which creates the common goal all partners can work towards as they grow tourism as an economic driver for Kingston. We caught up with Megan Knott, Chief Executive Officer of Tourism Kingston, to learn more about how they’re engaging stakeholders in this joined-up approach and what other place leaders can learn from their experiences.
Thanks for joining us! Before we start, I’d love to know more about Kingston’s Integrated Destination Strategy – can you walk us through how and where this initiative began?
Kingston’s Integrated Destination Strategy began in 2018 as a collaborative effort to bring tourism stakeholders, municipal leaders, businesses, institutions, and community organisations together around a shared vision for destination development. Rather than creating a strategy in isolation, Tourism Kingston convened a steering committee, conducted primary research, reviewed existing plans, and engaged stakeholders through workshops.
The goal was to move beyond traditional destination marketing and create a long-term roadmap that would strengthen Kingston as a place to live, work, invest, and visit. From the beginning, the strategy was built on the belief that tourism succeeds when it supports broader community objectives and reflects local values. That collaborative foundation continues to define the IDS today.
Tourism Kingston is currently on its third iteration of the Integrated Destination Strategy. How have lessons from previous years shaped priorities for the current strategy? Have your priorities shifted?
The priorities have evolved, but the core philosophy has remained the same: tourism should create value for residents first and visitors second.
The first strategy focused heavily on establishing a collaborative framework and identifying opportunities for growth. The second iteration, completed after the pandemic, helped us understand the importance of resilience, diversification, and stronger partnerships. The latest strategy reflects what we have learned over seven years of implementation and engagement.
One of the most significant shifts is a stronger emphasis on resident sentiment and community benefit. We now place residents at the centre of tourism development and have elevated infrastructure, creative industries, and cross-sector partnerships as key priorities. We have also become more intentional about demonstrating tourism’s economic value and ensuring investments benefit both visitors and locals.
Tourism Kingston aims to work with stakeholders to co-create solutions. Why is this a priority for you, and do you have any advice for other place leaders looking to engage constructively with their stakeholders?
Tourism is unique because no single organisation owns the visitor experience. Success depends on the collective efforts of businesses, cultural organisations, event organisers, educational institutions, government partners, and residents.
Co-creation is a priority because the most effective solutions are developed with stakeholders rather than for them. When people see their ideas reflected in a strategy, they become champions for its success.
My advice to other place leaders is to focus on listening before leading. Create opportunities for meaningful engagement, be transparent about challenges, and look for areas where tourism can help partners achieve their own objectives. Stakeholder engagement is not a one-time consultation exercise: it is an ongoing commitment to building trust and shared ownership.
You mentioned before the importance of proving the value of tourism, and presumably your data insights dashboard plays a key part in facilitating both this and your ongoing stakeholder engagement. . Can you give our readers a quick overview of what the dashboard aims to achieve?
The dashboard was created to provide a common source of truth for our industry and community partners. Tourism generates significant economic and social benefits, but those benefits are most powerful when they are measurable and accessible.
The platform brings together tourism indicators, visitor activity, accommodation performance, event impacts, and other key metrics to help stakeholders make informed decisions. It allows us to move conversations from assumptions to evidence and creates greater transparency around tourism’s contribution to Kingston's economy.
Just as importantly, the dashboard helps us identify trends, opportunities, and challenges in real time, allowing Tourism Kingston and our partners to respond more strategically and collaboratively.
Are there any aspects of the IDS that you would have done differently with the benefit of hindsight?
One lesson we have learned is that stakeholder engagement can never be too extensive. While the strategy has always been collaborative, each iteration has reinforced the importance of broadening participation and continuously communicating progress.
If we could go back, we likely would have invested earlier in demonstrating tourism’s impact to residents and building stronger public understanding of how tourism supports jobs, infrastructure, culture, and quality of life. That has become a major focus of the current strategy because community support is essential to long-term success.
Overall, however, the iterative nature of the IDS has been one of its greatest strengths. Each version has built upon the lessons of the last, allowing us to continually adapt to changing circumstances and emerging opportunities.
As one of our City Nation Place Awards judges, do you have any advice for place leaders planning to enter the Awards?
Be authentic and focus on impact.
The strongest submissions are not necessarily the ones with the biggest budgets; they are the ones that clearly demonstrate how a project addressed a challenge, engaged stakeholders, and delivered meaningful outcomes for a place and its people.
Judges are looking for strategic thinking, innovation, collaboration, and measurable results. Tell a compelling story, support it with evidence, and be clear about what others can learn from your experience. Place leadership is ultimately about creating positive change, and the best award entries make that impact impossible to miss.
