SDMP Progress Tracker

The Sustainable Destination Management Plan (SDMP) is a five-year roadmap adopted by the Jackson Hole Travel and Tourism Board (JHTTB) in late January 2023.

The purpose of the plan is to ensure that tourism is a positive force for people, nature, and the economy. The SDMP is currently stewarded by the interim Destination Stewardship Council (DSC). The SDMP contains eight stewardship goals which are comprised of detailed initiatives, specific proposed action items (e.g. 1.3.3: Develop a “How to JH” Guide), and suggested implementation options. The 18 SDMP Year 1 Action Items are listed below along with a description of steps being taken to implement each item.

Complete Ongoing In Progress Not Started

1.1.1 = Goal . Initiative . Priority Action

Goal 1: Education & Communication

Create a common understanding of shared responsibility among residents, businesses, and visitors.

To improve user experience and efficiency, most web traffic and communications are being directed to the more robust website www.visitjacksonhole.com rather than the feedback platforms on the Engage Teton County website. Engage Teton County is expected to be used for targeted community engagement on specific issues.

The Destination Stewardship Council (DSC) Visitor Marketing, Education, and Management Working Group meets monthly. The working group includes GTNP, GTA, BTNF, Friends of the BTNF, JHMR, JHCC, YNP, JHTTB, and the public at large.
In September 2023, the working group conducted a baseline inventory of marketing/education efforts currently taking place among regional stakeholders. The group is currently reviewing the results and determining next steps.

The DSC Marketing, Education, and Management Working Group's baseline inventory gathered information on stakeholders' visitor messaging, campaigns and platforms in place across the destination at each stage of the visitor experience. Next steps for enhancing consistent, collaborative, and cohesive messaging are being developed.

Marketing/education survey results, public feedback, and DSC discussions indicate high levels of support for creating a "How to JH" guide similar to the Teton Conservation District's Mountain Neighbor Handbook. The JHTTB is discussing next steps for moving forward within current budget and statutory funding guidelines.

Goal 2: Visitor Flow Management

Align the needs and aspirations of residents, businesses, and visitors across all lands.

Goal 3: Workforce Recruitment and Retention

Increase the stability of the tourism workforce.

Goal 4: Community Housing

Advocate for and support solutions to create community housing.

The Destination Management Coordinator (DMC) met with the Director of Housing Solutions at the Community Foundation of Jackson Hole (CFJH) to discuss how the DSC/SDMP connects with their goals/strategies.
The DMC joined the CFJH Housing Dashboard Collective working group as a DSC liaison to identify potential areas of synergy/overlap.
The DMC is expected to designate a permanent liaison and potential additional tourism industry representatives for the CFJH's Housing Dashboard Collective working group.

Goal 5: Transportation and Mobility

Advocate for and support transit and mobility solutions.

START developed the local version of the Transit App and the START On-Demand app.
The DSC Transit Working Group is engaging with stakeholders including the JHCC Visitor Services team to enhance communication and support app usage by visitors and residents. The working group includes START, Teton County Regional Transportation Planning Administrator, Town, County, Yellowstone-Teton Clean Cities (YTCC), Jackson Hole Airport (JAC), and JHCC.
The DSC is amplifying outreach with outbound external communications to members' networks and www.visitjacksonhole.com. Public feedback is being directed to START.

A JHTTB and/or DSC representative participates in Teton Transportation Coalition quarterly coordinating meetings.
The DSC Transit working group meets monthly to monitor progress and support with the planning and implementation of the JAC airport pilot shuttle program taking place 12/16/23 - 4/14/24. The JHTTB/DSC are amplifying outreach through respective networks. Feedback is directed (via a QR code to an official survey) to the pilot program's working group.

Through a WOT Destination Development Program grant, the JHTTB is supporting the Teton County Regional Transportation Planning Administrator in conducting a mobility hub study to determine best practices for integrated transportation solutions.
The DSC is conducting outreach for the proposed Greater Teton Regional Transportation Task Force Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) public information sessions.
The JHTTB/DSC are amplifying outreach for public engagement through a Transportation Expo on Feb. 6 - 7, 2024.

Goal 6: Climate Action

Reduce climate risks and enhance destination resilience.

An independent Climate Action Roadmap was completed by the nonprofit JH Climate Action Collective (JHCAC).
The DMC attends Teton Climate Action Partnership (TCAP) coordinating meetings and meets regularly with Town Ecosystem Stewardship Administrator and County Sustainability Coordinator to determine areas of collaboration on climate action.
The DMC attended Mountain Towns 2030 Climate Action conference alongside the Town & County (staff and electeds), public land managers (BTNF), and nonprofits (JHCAC, YTCC, Energy Conservation Works) to further enhance local/regional collaboration and knowledge base.
The MT2030 attendees met in November 2023 to debrief and determine next steps for collaborative climate action.
The JHTTB voted to provide funding for Jackson to host the next Mountain Towns 2030 conference in 2024.
A climate action plan is being developed by the Town Ecosystem Stewardship Administrator as part of a Sustainability Management Plan. The DMC has attended public and private meetings to discuss plan's connection to the SDMP and travel/tourism.

Goal 7: Monitoring & Reporting

Monitor tourism and its impacts on people and place (all lands, all communities).

Through a WOT Destination Development Grant, the JHTTB is working with the University of Wyoming's WORTH Initiative on a two-year data collection, monitoring, and dashboarding project.
UW has developed a scope of work and is soliciting proposals from companies to provide services for a destination data bank and dashboarding service.
The team has collected 340 potential indicators from a wide variety of existing data sources. UW is creating a stakeholder survey to identify the most salient indicators to include on a public dashboard.
UW and the JHTTB are creating a visitor intercept survey to collect firsthand data. The research questions "aim to elucidate the multifaceted aspects of the visitor experience, including its economic and ecological dimensions, and ultimately, to refine the strategies employed to enhance visitor engagement and sustainability in Teton County."
The data collection project will include a resident sentiment survey that is expected to be completed biannually.

Goal 8: Governance

Maintain effective all-lands tourism governance, collaboration, and plan implementation.

The DSC conducted public outreach to invite additional members of the public at large to increase representation on the council. Additional members joined in January 2023.
The DSC created Terms of Reference to create shared expectations and accountability of all members.
DSC updates and meeting minutes are posted at https://industry.visitjacksonhole.com/sdmp/destination-stewardship-council.

The DSC identified, prioritized, and implemented priority action items per this document.
The DSC formed marketing and transit working groups. Potential additional working groups include climate action (Year 2), data/monitoring (Year 2), housing (Year 2), and workforce (Year 2).

The JHTTB led a formal public launch campaign across multiple channels in February 2023.
The DMC and JHTTB Communications Manager created a communications plan for internal and external DSC/SDMP communications via listservs, websites, and public presentations.
The DMC/JHTTB continue to enhance DSC outreach including creation of the "Responsible Tourism Rundown" targeted listserv with 1,800 recipients - many of whom signed up while participating in the SDMP creation process.

The DSC discussed Town/County adoption and decided to continue working on priority action items independently prior to seeking formal adoption. The DSC/JHTTB continue to enhance awareness of the SDMP, its implementation progress, and its relation to existing plans utilized by county and town staff.
The DMC plans to meet with elected officials prior to the 2024 budgeting season to enhance awareness and understanding of SDMP as it relates to existing Town/County plans, priorities, and staff direction -- particularly correlated with the newly created Ecosystem Stewardship Administrator (Town) and Sustainability Coordinator (County) staff roles.

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Goal 1: Education & Communication

1.1.3 Maintain the recently launched community engagement platform on tourism via Engage Teton County, developing this site as a hub for information releases.

1.3.1 Establish a Responsible Visitor Education Taskforce of tourism stakeholders that will meet quarterly to oversee education programs and outreach campaigns and ensure education is integrated into destination marketing efforts targeting the community as well as tourists.

1.3.2 Develop content distribution strategies to ensure consistency and continuity of responsible visitor messaging and campaigns among frontline stakeholder groups, and use platforms that reach visitors throughout their experience (at the planning stage, pre-arrival, and while in the destination).

1.3.3 Develop a “How to JH” guide that outlines “know before you go” trip planning, principles of responsible recreation and environmental stewardship, respectful interactions with the community including frontline workers, and general local etiquette and tips.

Goal 2: Visitor Flow Management

2.1.1 Establish visitor management action team. First step will involve determining which sectors, organizations, and community stakeholders need to be represented on the action team and identify at least one representative from each group to participate in regularly scheduled meetings.

2.1.2 Coordinate initial meeting(s) to define the scope of the action team and collective agreements (e.g., governance, process agreement, and public).

Goal 3: Workforce Recruitment and Retention

3.1.1 Create industry-level workforce pipeline development programs.

3.1.3 Advocate for immigration reform that enables the recruitment of immigrant and international workers.

Goal 4: Community Housing

4.1.1 *YEAR 2 ITEM: Work with Teton County, housing NGOs, and federal and state agencies to inventory existing projects, funding mechanisms, and opportunities for additional housing sources.

Goal 5: Transportation and Mobility

5.2.1 Support the first generation of a transit application being developed by START.

5.1 *YEAR 2 ITEM: Support expansion of affordable public transit around mobility hubs

Goal 6: Climate Action

6.1.2 Support the development and implementation of the Jackson/Teton Climate Action Roadmap.

Goal 7: Monitoring & Reporting

7.1 *YEAR 2 ITEM: Establish an accessible and regularly updated destination data bank.

Goal 8: Governance

8.1.1 Design network structure and scope of work for the destination stewardship council.

8.1.2 Form a destination stewardship council that builds on the existing SDMP Steering Committee.

8.1.3 Destination stewardship council defines year one SDMP quick wins and guides implementation of priority actions. Action teams will need to be formed to oversee implementation of quick-win projects.

8.2.1 Design and implement a comprehensive change management process to establish a permanent destination management and management organization.

8.2.2 Build capability and capacity of the JHTTB to oversee the change management process, including the interim and permanent governance structures.

8.3.1 Implement a comprehensive SDMP launch campaign that engages tourism businesses, public-sector agencies, the NGO community, and the wider community.

8.3.2 Present SDMP to County Commissioners and Town Council Members and seek formal adoption of SDMP from County Commissioners and Town Council.