A vision is a picture of a future, desired outcome.  It is important because it draws people around a common ideal of what they would like to see for the future.  The task force’s vision should be tied directly to the community’s vision and fit with the overall community’s attitudes and values.  It should contain not only a direction for tourism development, but also desired outcomes for the community. 13

You will need to have a planning or "visioning" session to develop your vision statement, and you will need to seek out an experienced person from your community to help facilitate the session.  Before you start working on the vision, you should make a brief presentation to those present so that everyone is "up to speed" on the current situation.  There are several different approaches to this process, and your facilitator will have some ideas.  Here are some suggestions:

• Divide participants into groups and provide each group with paper and pens, and ask them to list ten key words or phrases that describe what they think the community should be like, both generally and with respect to its tourism sector, in ten years.
• Have a representative from each group report back to the full group and record all the words/phrases on a flip chart.
• Ask the whole group to pick out the commonalities of the words, and to come to a consensus as to which words/phrases/thoughts should be included in the vision.
• Either craft a draft vision statement or establish a small committee to take away the words and phrases that have been developed and come back with some specific proposals for review by the larger group.

Review and revise your vision from time to time.  If the task force is unable to achieve its vision, it must create a new vision, or it will no longer have a purpose.  Changing conditions often necessitate a change of focus and vision.  Stimulating and steering your organization toward a clear vision of the future presents continual challenges, but helps focus your energies on the most important tasks.  The following chart will help you in drafting your vision statement: ¹⁴

Sample Vision Statements

• Tourism will focus on eliminating usual seasonal unemployment by developing festivals and events during those periods.
• Tourism will target development of high-quality restaurants and accommodations to enhance opportunities for other business development.
• Tourism activities will be encouraged as a means of preserving and restoring historic downtown areas and neighborhoods.
• Tourism will create quality jobs that will allow youth to find meaningful careers and stay in the community.

14. Adapted from Gartrell, Richard B. 1988.  Destination Marketing.  Dubuque, Iowa