Experience Tennessee’s Community Visitor Guide Program: A Strategic Tool for Tourism Growth

By Ryan French, Executive Director & CEO, South Central Tennessee Tourism Association

In the ever-evolving world of destination marketing, standing out requires more than just pretty pictures and a list of attractions—it requires storytelling with purpose, visuals that spark emotion, and tools that drive action. That’s exactly why the Community Visitor Guide Program by Experience Tennessee was created.

Inspired by the curriculum of the Tourism Marketing Professionals Certification Program at the Southeast Tourism Society’s Marketing College, this program provides a structured, effective, and modern framework for developing visitor guides that do more than inform—they inspire.

The Mission: Engage Visitors, Don’t Entertain Locals

Let’s be clear: these guides are not community pride pieces. They aren’t built to impress a local chamber board or satisfy political agendas. Their mission is laser-focused: to provide a brief yet captivating introduction to your community for travelers discovering Tennessee at state welcome centers or through regional travel planning.

These 16-page guides (with optional additional advertising pages) are designed to highlight activities, experiences, and opportunities across key themes that travelers care about—encouraging them to make plans, build itineraries, and fall in love with your destination.

What Makes a Great Guide? Let’s Break It Down.

1. Cover That Captures

Your cover isn’t just a pretty face—it’s the handshake, the “hello,” the come on in. That means:

• High-quality, emotionally evocative imagery

• People doing things (so the reader can imagine themselves doing it too)

• Do not try to be all things to all people; you can't put everyone on this year's cover, and collages are often messy and confusing.

• Brand placement in the top 25% of the page for visibility in brochure racks

If your image doesn’t make someone want to step into that moment, it’s not the right one.

2. Speak to Your Audience

Who are you trying to attract? Adventure seekers? Foodies? Families with strollers? Design and write for them. Skip the fluff. Skip the internal politics. Instead, focus on authenticity, clarity, and personality.

Use simple categories like:

• Eat – Unique dining and local bites

• Stay – Places to rest, relax, or glamp under the stars

• Play – Attractions, experiences, and outdoor escapes

Add in local favorites, hidden gems, and perspectives from real residents to give your guide a distinct voice. But remember, we do not have time to retrain a potential visitor with fancy terminology. The clock is ticking; they will not waste time on trying to buy into a rebrand of categories.

3. Think Thematically and Visually

Clarity is king. Organize content around strong visual cues and thematic blocks. And if you’re smart about it (and you should be), use QR codes to bridge print and digital—leading guests into a deeper, interactive experience online.

Bonus: QR codes mean your story doesn’t stop at the edge of a page. They become doorways into videos, itineraries, maps, and events.

Telling the Right Story (Hint: It's Not for the Mayor)

Your story should be visitor-first, not local-politics-first. That means focusing on:

• Top attractions

• Family-friendly activities

• Arts, culture & history

• Outdoor adventures

• Signature events

• Themed itineraries like “48 Hours in Your Town” or “Girls’ Getaway Weekend”

You’re not writing a government report. You’re sparking wanderlust.

Stay On Brand—and Stay Off the Podium

Use your DMO’s visitor branding. Do not slap government logos or bureaucratic titles into your guide. Travelers don’t care who the economic development officer is. They care about experiences. Your brand has a personality—make sure your guide oozes it from every page.

Modern Travelers, Modern Values

Travelers today want more than a checklist. They want meaning. That’s why your guide should also:

• Promote sustainability—from eco-tours to green hotels, responsible outdoorsmanship, and ways to keep places as beautiful as they were before the crowd came!

• Showcase inclusivity and accessibility

• Politics are gross! I get it; we are all friends with our mayors and reps, councils, and commissions, but visitors do not want to engage in your local politics. It's simple. If you take a stance, you have eliminated an audience. In fact, any ideological leanings should be held back; your audience isn't always local, and they don't always agree with the local politics, but they are there to spend money too! Let me be clear, I would never ask someone to shy away from their principles, but keep an open mind that your visitors want to have a fun trip, not a lesson on how they should politic or live their lives.

• Support local makers, artisans, and communities

This isn’t performative—it’s powerful. It builds loyalty and emotional connection, especially with Gen Z and millennial audiences.

Control the Narrative: Use Your Website

Even your digital guide should not link out to random third-party sites. Your DMO website is the home base. It’s where the story continues, where ads live, where itineraries expand—and where you build relationships. This applies to all advertisers too. Their listings must point back to your site, keeping visitors within your brand ecosystem.

Speaking of advertisers, be thoughtful in this space. Who are you talking to and when?

Final Thought: It’s Not a Brochure—It’s a Tool for Transformation

The Community Visitor Guide is not just a handout. It’s a tourism asset, a storytelling engine, and a business driver. When done right, it plants the seed for not just one visit—but a return trip, glowing reviews, and word-of-mouth buzz.

If we want people to not just travel Tennessee—but to truly experience it—then these guides are how we start the conversation.