Business Press Blind Spot: Start Selling Growth Stories

Destinations too often focus their media strategy through a tourism lens, sharing where to stay and what to do. Those stories, however, are only part of the picture. Destinations are waking up to the fact that they aren’t just places to visit, but gateways to investment.

When a city earns attention for attractions, infrastructure, its culinary scene or quality of life, those stories influence more than travelers. Investors, developers, employers, meeting planners, entrepreneurs and future residents are listening, too.

So let’s say it all together: Business press matters. Investment is one of the clearest languages cities and communities respect. It signals momentum. It tells residents their community is growing. It tells elected officials tourism is not a “nice to have.” It tells developers and employers that a place is worth watching. 

When tourism offices fail to budget for business press, they do a disservice to their own story angles. They leave the community’s growth narrative incomplete. Here’s why.

1. Tourism Stories: Investment Stories in Disguise

A new hotel is more than a place to sleep. It signals developer confidence. A new attraction is more than a visitor experience. It’s capital investment. A restaurant district is more than a dining scene. It is a small business ecosystem. You get the picture.

Break free from pitching these stories uniquely under the banner of tourism and reframe them as business stories. Leisure angles are important for travel media, but you’re leaving story potential on the table by not tweaking them for business media who seek inspiring stories that provide unique or interesting narratives.

When pitching a business story, ask yourself: Even if someone won’t visit, could this story be interesting from a business perspective?

2. Business Press: Beyond Tourism Audiences

The business press influences investors, executives, developers, site selectors, entrepreneurs and civic leaders. A good business story about your destination can have powerful ripple effects on your tourism industry and community as a whole. 

When a story details growth, infrastructure and commercial opportunity, it attracts more of all of these things. When investors and developers are eyeing your destination favorably, that’s a big win for tourism, meetings, economic development and resident pride at the same time.

When pitching a business story, ask yourself: Could a developer or investor be inspired by this story to consider opening up something new in the destination?

3. Tourism: Reveals Livability and Quality of Life

Tourism stories create awareness and familiarity for a destination through experiences that don’t typically make business headlines. But angled differently, these stories can help deepen the narrative and build more credibility behind a community’s momentum.

By highlighting positive tourism stories through a business lens, you can help tell a broader story about a community’s livability and their quality of life. This type of coverage will resonate with a business audience who will be able to understand better if a community is a place that can attract and retain talent.

If travelers are flocking to a destination and it’s having positive effects on the community, you’ve got a great pitch for business journalists looking for some good news. Tourism gives economic development a public-facing story and business journalists are eager to share it.

When pitching a business story, ask yourself: Does this story show concretely how things are changing in our community for the better thanks to tourism? Is there an obvious visual to go with it?

4. ED Offices: Ill-Equipped for Earned Media

In many communities, economic development offices do not have dedicated PR teams or deep media relationships. They may be strong at investor relations and business retention, but less equipped to shape a national business media narrative.

For tourism offices, that’s an opportunity to jump in and support their storytelling. DMOs understand the best practices to pitch media and position their destinations. With the right strategy, they can help tell the broader business story in a way that benefits the entire community.

When pitching a business story, ask yourself: If we land this business story, will our local EDO send over a bottle of Champagne?

5. Ignoring Business Press: Reducing Destination’s Influence

When the business press is left out of the media mix, destinations risk being seen only as places to visit. As stewards of destinations, DMOs benefit by also showcasing themselves as places to invest, build, hire, meet or grow.

A stronger media strategy connects tourism, business, culture and community momentum. It helps a destination move from “come here for the weekend” to “pay attention to what is happening here.” Those stories ultimately benefit everyone.

The best destination stories do more than drive visitation. They build confidence. They show that a place has momentum and economic relevance. 

When pitching a business story, ask yourself: Does this make it clear that people live, work and succeed in our destination in addition to visiting on vacation?

For tourism offices, business media is not outside the lane. It’s an untapped resource and one of the most important ways to prove why tourism matters in the first place.

Re-evaluating your role as a destination steward? Get in touch with Karyl Leigh Barnes at Karyl.Barnes@aboutdci.com to discuss how you can expand your destination’s storytelling abilities beyond travel media and tell the business stories that will support your efforts.