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VALLETTA, Malta —Tourism leaders from Spain, Malta, California, Mexico’s Jalisco state and Croatia called for a change in how destinations measure success during a panel discussion at the World Travel & Tourism Council’s Global Summit in Malta. Their message: visitor numbers alone cannot show whether tourism is working. Destinations must also consider benefits to residents, pressure on infrastructure, protection of local identity and where tourism spending goes.
The discussion explored how to attract visitors who stay longer, support local businesses and respect the places they visit. From Spain’s move toward tourism “curation” to Croatia’s emphasis on carrying-capacity data, speakers described an industry increasingly concerned with managing the consequences of its own success.
The session, “Destination Stewardship: The Right Kind of Growth,”was moderated by Don Welsh, President and CEO of Destinations International. Participants included Caroline Beteta of Visit California, European Parliament member and former Croatian tourism minister Nikolina Brnjac, Jalisco Tourism Secretary Michelle Fridman, Malta Tourism Authority CEO Carlo Micallef and Turespaña Director-General Miguel Sanz.
Spain: From Catching Visitors to Curating Demand
Sanz offered one of the panel’s most memorable descriptions of the changing role of tourism boards.
Years ago, he explained, destination marketers behaved like fishermen: heading into international markets to catch as many visitors as possible. Today, their work increasingly resembles that of curators, selecting demand that fits a destination’s needs and the investments businesses are making.
Different visitors create different impacts. When they travel, where they stay, what they spend and how they engage with a community all matter.
Sanz also challenged the assumption that protests in Spanish destinations simply mean residents do not want tourists. His interpretation was that communities want authorities to manage tourism better—and make it work for the people who live there.
That requires a broader approach to decision-making. Visitors matter, but so do residents, tourism workers and businesses investing in the destination.
He cautioned against expecting a single measure to solve complex problems. Local decisions on short-term accommodation must be understood within their particular context, while national, regional and municipal authorities need to work with the private sector.
Investment remains essential, he argued. Better streets and public infrastructure are part of the answer, but businesses also need confidence that destination marketing will help support the products they are developing.
Malta: Protecting the Welcome That Makes Tourism Work
For host destination Malta, the challenge is how to guide growth while preserving the hospitality that helps attract it.
Micallef described efforts to spread tourism across the year, strengthen winter demand and work closely with private businesses. A more balanced calendar can help sustain employment and investment while reducing dependence on the busiest summer months.
He said Malta is increasingly able to make deliberate choices about the markets, visitor segments and air connections it wants to develop.
However, attracting a particular visitor requires more than an advertising campaign. Accommodation, service standards and the wider experience must deliver what the destination promises.
Micallef described an approach that encourages continued investment while steering it toward quality, stronger service and properties with a clear identity.
Resident support is another asset Malta wants to protect. Visitors must respect the destination and the people who live there, he said, while authorities need to address problems before resentment takes hold.
His message also contained a practical qualification: visitor volume still matters. Air connectivity and tourism businesses need sufficient demand to operate successfully.
The task is to make that demand serve Malta’s long-term interests, while safeguarding its heritage and distinctive character.
Jalisco: Visitors Know the Attractions, but Not Always the Destination
Fridman illustrated Jalisco’s marketing challenge with a simple audience exercise.
Few people raised their hands when asked whether they knew Jalisco. More recognized Puerto Vallarta, and tequila generated a much stronger response.
Her point was clear: many travelers already know something about Jalisco without recognizing the state that connects those experiences.
Rather than concentrate development on Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara, Fridman described a strategy that links established destinations with emerging communities, cultural experiences and regional routes.
That gives visitors more reasons to explore, while creating opportunities for places that have received less attention.
It also allows established tourism centers to refresh their offer rather than depend indefinitely on the same attractions and patterns of growth.
Fridman questioned the industry’s traditional reliance on hotel nights and other volume indicators. Those measurements can demonstrate activity without adequately explaining its effect on a destination.
Jalisco’s priority, she said, is to attract visitors who stay longer, spend more, consume local products and take an interest in local identity.
That final point was central to her argument. Infrastructure can be built and promotion can be purchased, but a destination’s identity cannot simply be bought with a larger budget.
For Jalisco, protecting its Mexican character is therefore part of its competitiveness.
Croatia: Tourism Decisions Need Evidence
Brnjac brought the discussion down to the practical systems that allow destinations to manage growth.
Drawing on her experience leading Croatia’s tourism sector, she described the pandemic as an opportunity to reconsider longstanding problems, including seasonality and uneven development between regions.
Local communities, she said, needed to participate in shaping the response from the beginning.
She outlined Croatia’s approach to destination management planning and carrying-capacity assessment, examining issues such as water, electricity, utilities and housing alongside tourism’s economic contribution.
These connections matter. A destination may have enough accommodation to welcome more guests while its infrastructure—or its housing market—struggles with the consequences.
Brnjac argued for decisions grounded in evidence and tailored to the places experiencing pressure. A problem concentrated in a city center, for example, may require a different response from one affecting an entire municipality.
She also warned against treating restrictions on short-term rentals as a complete solution in themselves.
The broader challenge is to understand how tourism development affects residents, identify where pressures arise and coordinate action across government, destination organizations and businesses.
Her approach placed social and environmental effects alongside revenue in assessing tourism’s performance.
California: Responsible Travel Begins Before Arrival
Beteta recognized a common thread across the panel: destination organizations are expanding their role from marketing into management.
For California, she described the importance of longer stays, cultural experiences and food tourism—travel interests that can connect spending with a stronger appreciation of place.
She also emphasized tracking resident sentiment. Communities must participate in tourism’s benefits and in the decisions shaping its future.
Visitor education begins before arrival, she said. Expectations about responsible behavior can be communicated while people are choosing and planning their trips.
That creates an opportunity for destinations to reinforce one another’s work. A traveler introduced to responsible tourism in Malta may bring that understanding to a later visit to California.
Despite competing for visitor spending, destinations share an interest in protecting the places that make travel worthwhile.
A More Demanding Definition of Success
Across the discussion, growth remained an ambition. What changed was the definition of a successful outcome.
More arrivals can support jobs, air routes and investment. But the panel repeatedly returned to the need to examine where visitors go, how they behave, what they contribute and whether residents share in the benefits.
For tourism boards, that means a more demanding assignment: promoting a destination while helping shape its development.
For travelers, it could mean more opportunities to discover communities beyond the familiar hotspots.
And for residents, the measure of success is closer to home—whether tourism strengthens the place where they live.
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