City Tourism Strategy: The Blueprint to Own a Passion

by Shawn Sires, Turas Media

Editor’s Note: This post has been updated to include the proprietary research methodology Turas Media uses to validate and build passion-based destination strategies.

How Cities Are Tapping Passion to Become "The Home Of" and Drive Destination Travel to New Levels

Destination marketing organizations (DMOs), economic development organizations (EDOs), and real estate developers are realizing that simply listing and creating content for geographical advantage, accommodations, and activities is no longer enough to drive sustainable growth.

There is a powerful truth: establishing a unique, emotionally resonant identity anchored in a specific passion is the new currency for attracting visitors, talent, and capital. This mirrors the shift we're seeing in individual travel, where emotional desire and deeply personal passions are trumping logistical hurdles.

This realization was the driving force behind the research that Turas Media was hired to perform for an economic development organization working with a destination interested in growing its tourism economy. Our study, which included traditional market research, sentiment analysis, and tourism data, examined how cities successfully brand themselves by focusing on a specific passion to attract tourists and drive economic growth.

Defining the Passion Economy: Fandom Meets Identity

Before diving into the strategy, it is critical to define what we mean by "passion." In the context of destination travel, passion is not merely a hobby or a casual interest; it is a core component of the traveler's identity.

It is the intersection of fandom, devotion, enthusiasm, and community.

• The Casual Tourist visits a city and looks for things to do.
• The Passion Traveler visits a city specifically because it validates who they are.

Whether it is music, sports, history, a hobby, or culinary arts, these travelers are not taking vacations; they are making "buscket-list" pilgrimages. They stay longer, spend more, and advocate louder because the destination connects with them on a soulful level.

The key finding of our research? Successful strategies extend far beyond mere marketing slogans. They create a deep, authentic connection with this specific passion that maximizes economic impact and establishes the city as a globally recognized authority. Cities like Nashville, New Orleans, and Charlotte offer compelling playbooks for cultivating this passion-driven destination appeal, making them must-do vacations.

The "Home Of" Playbook: 8 Strategies for Passion-Driven Destination Building

Destinations that successfully earn the title "home of" employ a multifaceted strategy rooted in authenticity and experience. Our analysis reveals that emotional resonance and authenticity significantly improve the appeal of destinations, turning them into captivating "must-visit" experiences that attract year-round tourism.

The strategy involves cultivating eight interconnected elements:

1. Leveraging Authentic Roots for Emotional Resonance

• The Strategy: Cities capitalize on a genuine historical connection to their defining theme, transforming heritage into a foundational part of their brand narrative.
• Why It Works: Just as individual travelers seek authentic experiences tied to their interests, this genuine historical connection resonates deeply. A city claiming a title like "home of country music" or "home of NASCAR" uses this backstory to appeal to both dedicated fans and curious newcomers.

2. Creating "Must-Visit" Touchstones of the Passion

• The Strategy: Build upon iconic physical locations, venues, or arenas that embody the chosen theme.
• Why It Works: These aren't just buildings; they're physical embodiments of the city's core passion, becoming pilgrimage sites for enthusiasts. Venues like the Ryman Auditorium or Charlotte Motor Speedway transcend mere functionality to become "bucket-list" items that drive travel intent and create powerful emotional connections.

3. Building Knowledge Hubs that Celebrate Passion

• The Strategy: Invest in museums, halls of fame, and other knowledge and experience hubs.
• Why It Works: This serves a dual purpose: preserving the city's legacy and educating a broader audience. These hubs celebrate key figures and milestones, further solidifying the city’s claim and deepening the emotional connection for visitors.

4. Curating Immersive Experiences that Ignite Passion and connect enthusiasts to deeper engagement experiences

• The Strategy: Develop a rich ecosystem of tours, attractions, and activities that allow visitors to connect deeply with the core identity.
• Why It Works: Just as individual travelers crave immersive experiences, this curated ecosystem deepens visitor engagement and drives spending. Active participation fosters a stronger emotional bond and creates lasting memories for enthusiasts and newcomers alike. As an example, Visitors to Charlotte can tour NASCAR Team Headquarters and see the details of building and maintaining the cars.

5. Facilitating Extended Stays for Passion Immersion

• The Strategy: Ensure ample and high-quality lodging options are available.
• Why It Works: Passion-driven exploration often requires time. The availability of appropriate accommodations facilitates multi-day stays, catering to dedicated enthusiasts who are willing to travel farther and stay longer to immerse themselves fully, thereby maximizing the economic impact of tourism.

6. Cultivating a Dedicated Community of Fans, Enthusiasts, and New Visitors

• The Strategy: Foster a strong sense of community with the core audience.
• Why It Works: A strong community ensures the passion remains central to the city's identity and appeal. This creates a virtuous cycle of engagement and reinforcement, turning visitors into passionate advocates.

7. Welcoming Newcomers to the Passion

• The Strategy: Actively engage and educate new fans.
• Why It Works: Smart "home of" cities ensure the longevity and growth of their associated industry or cultural movement by expanding their reach and cultivating future generations of enthusiasts.

8. Amplifying Passion Through Signature Events

• The Strategy: Strategically leverage major events to draw visitors and reinforce positioning.
• Why It Works: Major events act as a powerful magnet, maintaining visibility, attracting significant visitor numbers, and continuously reinforcing the city's unique positioning on a global stage. Crucially, this strategy helps ensure the city becomes a year-round destination for travelers, thereby increasing annual tourism.

The Turas Media Methodology: How We Decode Passion

How do we identify which passion a city should own? Our findings aren't based on intuition alone; they are the result of a rigorous, multi-layered research framework designed to quantify the intangible.

To develop the "Home Of" strategy for our clients, Turas Media deploys a proprietary methodology that blends hard economic data with advanced sentiment intelligence. Here is the process we use to decode a destination's potential:

1. Emotional Sentiment Mapping (ESM)

Traditional research asks if people visited; we ask how they felt about the entire experience.

• The Process: We utilize AI-driven sentiment analysis tools to analyze data points across social media, travel forums, and review platforms. Crucially, we broaden our scope beyond attractions to evaluate current hospitality offerings, food and beverage scenes, and service standards.
• The Goal: To move beyond star ratings and identify specific "passion keywords." We map these emotional spikes against specific destination assets to see where the "soul" of the city lives—and whether the supporting infrastructure (hotels, dining) reinforces that narrative or dilutes it.

2. The "Touchstone" Asset Audit

A city cannot claim to be a "Home Of" without the physical infrastructure to back it up.

The Process: We conduct a physical audit of the destination's assets, categorizing them into three tiers:

• Tier 1 Icons: Globally recognized landmarks.
• Tier 2 Hubs: Educational and community spaces (Museums, Halls of Fame).
• Tier 3 Ecosystem: Supporting businesses (themed hotels, bars, tours)

The Goal: To identify "passion gaps." If a city claims a specific title but lacks a dedicated preservation society or public touchpoints, the claim rings hollow. This audit reveals exactly what needs to be built.

3. Comparative Passion Benchmarking

We don’t just look at the client; we look at the top examples and comparable destinations that may be competitive.

• The Process: We benchmark our subject destination against established "Passion Capitals" like Nashville, Cooperstown, and Hollywood.
• The Goal: To isolate the specific variables that drive their success. We analyze their event calendars, hotel occupancy rates during "off-seasons," convention and event space, and average visitor length of stay to build a predictive model of what a fully realized "Home Of" economy looks like.

4. Economic Impact & Feasibility Modeling

Passion and personal interest are a powerful economic multiplier.

• The Process: We correlate "passion intent" with spending data.
• The Goal: To prove the ROI of the strategy. Our models demonstrate that "passion travelers" differ significantly from casual tourists: they book earlier, stay longer, and are less price-sensitive regarding experiences. We use this to forecast the economic uplift of shifting the destination's brand from generic "leisure" to specific "passion."

Turas Media Takeaway

The success of these passion-centric cities offers a compelling playbook for destination development. By strategically cultivating these interconnected elements, cities can move beyond being mere transit points to becoming recognized authorities and sought-after destinations for individuals driven by specific passions.

For Economic Development Organizations (EDOs) and Real Estate Developers, this methodology serves a critical dual purpose: Risk Mitigation.

While marketers use this data to sell the destination, developers and investors can use our Sentiment Mapping and Asset Audits to validate capital investments before breaking ground.

This approach answers the critical question—"If we build it, will they come?"—by identifying exactly which hotels, venues, and F&B concepts the market is actively craving.

Following this analysis, we were engaged by a specific destination to apply the "Home Of" framework. We assessed their key interconnected elements to identify their greatest opportunities, then developed a strategy to achieve a true redefinition of their destination.

Strategic ownership of a powerful destination narrative is a key differentiator in the modern tourism and visitor economy. Whether you are marketing a city or building the infrastructure that defines it, tapping into the power of passion is the most reliable way to drive long-term growth.

What is Your City’s "Home Of" Potential?

Every destination has a heartbeat—a unique passion that, when properly amplified, can drive year-round visitation and sustainable investment. But identifying it requires more than intuition; it requires proof.

At Turas Media, we help destinations and investors move from guessing to knowing.

Whether you are a DMO looking to redefine your brand narrative or a Developer seeking data to validate your next mixed-use destination or theme park project, our "Passion Audit" provides the roadmap you need.

Ready to see the data behind the passion?