Jackson Celebrates Year 1 Achievements of the SDMP

Jackson, WY – The Jackson Hole Travel & Tourism Board and the Jackson Hole community is celebrating one year of progress in eight areas of community-wide sustainability for the destination. The Sustainable Destination Management Plan Progress Tracker, now live on the Jackson Hole Travel & Tourism Board’s industry website, visually demonstrates the efforts being made to ensure Jackson is a more sustainable destination.

After the adoption of Jackson Hole’s Sustainable Destination Management Plan (SDMP) in January 2023, a Destination Stewardship Council (DSC) comprised of public land managers, the business community, nonprofits, elected officials, the Jackson Hole Travel & Tourism Board, and the public at large was formed in February 2023 to implement priority action items of the SDMP. After 12 months of work, the DSC and local partners have made a noticeable impact in enhancing the community benefits of tourism and addressing the industry’s challenges. The DSC, using the SDMP as a roadmap, has begun a gradual and steady shift toward responsible visitor behavior, sustainable visitor management, and a positive visitor impact. Not only is the work of the Destination Stewardship Council making headway in tourism-related initiatives, but the group is also using tourism’s economic and social benefits to play a role in larger community issues like transportation, workforce recruitment and retention, and community housing.

Major accomplishments from year one include:

• development of a mobility hub concept with Teton County Regional Transportation Planning Department to serve residents, commuters, and visitors
• development of a public dashboard with University of Wyoming’s WORTH Initiative to collect and monitor tourism data to measure visitor impact
• deployment of a destination-wide visitor intercept survey and resident survey on tourism sentiment
  facilitation and coordination to lay groundwork for a long-term tourism management organization
• and the establishment of three collaborative working groups that enable community members and stakeholders to address visitor management challenges across multiple sectors.

DSC members also participate in established community working groups on housing and climate action to ensure that tourism industry representatives take part in the process of advocating for outcomes that create balance among visitors and locals.

“This is a perfect representation of tourism’s positive impact in our community,” says Jackson Hole Travel & Tourism Board’s Executive Director, Crista Valentino. “Thanks to the lodging tax collected throughout Teton County, WY, and the work of the Destination Stewardship Council, tourism to Jackson can be directly attributed for finding transportation solutions, building a central data bank for travel and tourism reports and information, and developing a more collaborative and cohesive visitor management strategy with unified visitor education resources.”

The SDMP outlines eight stewardship goals that indicate a healthy and sustainable destination: education and communications, visitor flow management, workforce recruitment and retention, community housing, transportation, climate action, tourism industry monitoring and reporting, and tourism governance. In year one, the DSC and the Jackson community have achieved seven priority action items and are in progress on an additional 14.

An integral component of building a more sustainable destination through this plan is community engagement. Therefore, to better inform the community and stakeholders on the work of the SDMP, the Jackson Hole Travel and Tourism Board launched a detailed progress tracker at Industry.VisitJacksonHole.com/SDMP/progress in February 2024.

SDMP PROGRESS TRACKER

This progress tracker offers a visual representation of each goal and priority action item of the SDMP that is “completed”, “in progress”, and “to be completed”. It also allows community members the opportunity to expand areas of particular interest.

One year of work toward a more sustainable destination, coupled with the clear communication of progress through the SDMP Progress Tracker, is solidifying Jackson’s role as a leader in sustainable tourism. The Jackson Hole Travel & Tourism Board, through funding allocations and support of the SDMP and DSC, demonstrates its commitment to responsible tourism management and a sustainable future for Jackson as a destination.

“It’s important to celebrate major milestones and accomplishments of the Destination Stewardship Council,” says Valentino. “There’s a lot of work yet to be done, but so much has been accomplished in just one year, thanks to dedicated organizations, agencies, community members, and the Destination Stewardship Council.”

Through strategic allocation of Teton County’s lodging tax funds, the Jackson Hole Travel & Tourism Board stewards Jackson Hole toward a sustainable destination, where our leadership, marketing, management, and community engagement ensure the vitality of our natural and human ecosystems.