Tourism destinations rarely get the opportunity to start over.
Yet sometimes that’s exactly what’s required.
When Kara Franker stepped into the role of President and CEO of Visit Florida Keys & Key West, she discovered a destination organization that felt like a time capsule. Systems were outdated. Community relationships needed rebuilding. The organization's structure hadn’t kept pace with how modern destinations operate.
Her description of the situation was striking.
It felt, she explained, like someone had buried a destination marketing organization in the sand in 1992 and dug it back up in 2024.
What followed has been a remarkable effort to rebuild—not just a tourism strategy, but trust between the destination, its residents, and its businesses.
For decades, many destinations measured success with a single metric: growth.
More visitors.
More hotel nights.
More revenue.
The Florida Keys already had those things. In fact, the destination boasts one of the highest average daily hotel rates in the United States.
The challenge wasn’t attracting visitors.
The challenge was balance.
Franker believes the next chapter of tourism leadership must focus on destination stewardship. That means protecting the environment, supporting residents, strengthening local culture, and ensuring tourism continues to benefit the community long-term.
Three elements must work together:
If any one of those falls out of balance, the destination eventually feels the consequences.
This philosophy is leading the Keys toward a new strategy: attracting travelers who care about the places they visit.
Not just value visitors.
Values visitors.
These are travelers who respect the destination, engage with the culture, and want to contribute positively to the places they explore.
Transforming a destination organization rarely happens quietly.
Franker inherited an organization with a large budget but a very small internal team. Most of the work had historically been outsourced to agencies that had held contracts for decades. In some cases, those relationships created resistance when modernization became necessary.
Change in tourism can feel uncomfortable because so many stakeholders are involved.
Hotels
Restaurants
Tour operators
Local government
Residents
Everyone has a voice—and often strong opinions.
Franker’s approach has been simple but demanding: radical transparency and constant communication.
When stakeholders don’t trust the process, they resist it. When they are invited into the process, they begin to understand it.
The result has been a gradual rebuilding of confidence that tourism leadership can serve both visitors and residents.
Perhaps the most fascinating part of the conversation focused on the future role of DMOs.
For decades, destination organizations were primarily marketing entities. Their primary function was attracting travelers through advertising campaigns and promotions.
That model is changing rapidly.
Today’s destinations increasingly serve as educators and trusted advisors for their local tourism businesses.
Small operators—charter guides, tour companies, restaurants, and experience providers—often lack the time or expertise to keep up with emerging technologies.
Artificial intelligence is accelerating that challenge.
Franker believes destination organizations have a responsibility to help local businesses navigate these changes.
That means teaching operators:
Rather than simply promoting businesses, the DMO becomes a knowledge hub for the entire visitor economy.
That shift may prove to be one of the most important evolutions in tourism leadership.
A powerful insight from the conversation came from a simple idea:
What’s good for residents is usually good for visitors.
When destinations protect their natural environment, travelers benefit.
When communities feel proud of their culture, visitors experience something authentic.
When residents are engaged in tourism, hospitality becomes genuine rather than transactional.
Destinations thrive when tourism works with communities rather than on them.
The Florida Keys are now exploring that balance more intentionally than ever before.
Franker’s leadership journey is also unusual.
Before entering the tourism industry, she worked as a criminal prosecutor in Miami.
That experience prepared her for the complex realities of destination leadership—contracts, public policy, negotiations, and the political dynamics that shape tourism decisions.
It also gave her a mindset rooted in analysis and resilience.
Leading a globally recognized destination through change requires both.
The tourism industry is entering a period of rapid transformation.
Artificial intelligence is changing how travelers discover destinations.
Community expectations around tourism are evolving.
Environmental stewardship has become non-negotiable.
Destinations that thrive in the next decade will likely share several characteristics:
They will prioritize stewardship over unchecked growth.
They will invest in education and technology for local businesses.
They will engage residents as partners rather than bystanders.
They will attract travelers who share the community's values.
The Florida Keys offer an interesting example of how that transition might unfold.
Rebuilding paradise is never simple.
But the destinations willing to do the hard work today may be the ones visitors—and residents—value most tomorrow.
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