In the world of destination marketing, I’ve found that one of the most useful metaphors I can share is also one of the simplest: you’re either hunting or you’re farming.

Let me explain.

Imagine for a second that a zombie apocalypse has hit (bear with me). You’re out in the wilderness with your family, trying to survive. You’ve got two options to feed your loved ones: you can hunt, or you can farm.

Hunting? You grab your gear, head out, and—if you’re lucky—you bag a deer. That deer feeds your family for a few days. Then what? You have to go back out and do it again. There’s no continuity, no sustainability. You’re only as successful as your last kill.

Farming, on the other hand, is slower to start. You clear the land. You plant seeds. You water them. You wait. You work. But if you stick with it? You’ll have food to feed your family for the entire winter—maybe longer. It’s sustainable. It’s reliable. It builds resilience.

And that’s the perfect analogy for what we’re seeing in marketing today.

The Old Way: Hunting with Paid Media

So many organizations—especially those facing pressure to show short-term results—default to hunting. That’s your traditional paid media strategy: run ads, get clicks, drive conversions. And it works… for a little while.

But when the campaign ends, so does your impact. The second your budget runs out, the clicks stop coming. And what’s worse, it’s getting more expensive every year to reach fewer people. Fragmentation in media consumption, algorithm changes, rising ad costs, and growing consumer skepticism toward traditional advertising all contribute to this decline.

Add in tightening privacy laws and reduced third-party data access, and the road ahead looks even rockier for paid-centric strategies.

The New Way: Farming with Owned Media

Now contrast that with an owned media strategy—your podcast, your blog, your YouTube series, your email list. Content that you own, not rent. These assets require more up-front effort and a longer timeline, yes, but they pay you back over and over again.

Take Traveling the Spectrum, for example. We worked with Visit Myrtle Beach to create and market a streaming series that highlights autism-friendly travel. It’s not a Myrtle Beach commercial—it’s a beautiful, human-centered show that just happens to take place there. And guess what? That story has legs. It lives on Peacock. It’s being shared and reshared. It just got picked up for season two. And people who never considered visiting are now booking trips because of a show that’s truly resonating with them.

Or take podcasts like Unexpected Adventures in North Alabama or The Intercoastal Podcast from Beaufort, South Carolina. These shows didn’t go viral overnight. They were built episode by episode, story by story. But now they’re powerful trust-building tools, stakeholder engagement platforms and even earned media springboards.

That’s farming.

Why It Matters Now

The tourism industry is undergoing a major shift. And the destinations that will thrive five years from now are the ones that start planting today.

Owned content gives you control. It’s not subject to sudden CPM hikes or social platform shutdowns. It’s yours. It builds equity, brand and community. And community is what drives sustainable tourism.

It’s also what future-proofs your destination. As AI and voice search continue to reshape how travelers plan, the destinations with rich, high-quality content will be the ones that show up in the answers. Not because they paid for placement—but because they’ve built authority.

But What About ROI?

This is where a lot of destination marketers—and especially their boards—get stuck. They ask, “What’s the direct return? Can we prove this podcast drove X bookings?”

Not all value is linear. Especially in the destination marketing industry, some of the most important impacts, like brand perception, community pride, stakeholder trust and visitor inspiration, can’t be measured with a single pixel. That doesn’t make them any less real or valuable.

That said, the ROI is there. I’ve watched destinations use their podcasts to warm up travel writers and influencers before a visit. I’ve seen episodes turn into booking drivers for outfitters and tour operators. I’ve heard from stakeholders who went from skeptics to superfans because they got to tell their stories on a platform that celebrates the region. Owned media works wonders for organizations willing to commit to the long game.

So Where Do You Start?

The best part about owned media is that it’s scaleable and budget-friendly. Start small with an affordable microphone and record your first podcast episode. Film a walking tour on your iPhone. Publish a blog post that dives deep into a local tradition. The important thing is to just start.

Perfection isn’t the goal—consistency is. Your audience will grow with constant valuable posting. Before long, you’ll have a content garden that feeds your destination’s brand year-round.

As the saying goes, “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second-best time is today.” Connect with me on TourismIQ, shoot me a LinkedIn message or email me at adam@thebrandrevolt.com if you’re interested in farming for your devoted community.