A story from Visit Greater Palm Springs (VGPS) has been chosen to feature in the 2023 Green Destinations Top 100 Stories. The selected Good Practice Story, titled "Nine Cities, One Oasis: Building a Tourism TEAM of Champions," narrates the establishment of VGPS’ TEAM GPS. This program brings together the region's cities and prepares its tourism and hospitality workforce to pursue a shared objective: sustainable tourism.
As per a VGPS press release, tourism is a significant economic activity in the Greater Palm Springs area, which includes Palm Springs, Desert Hot Springs, Cathedral City, Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert, Indian Wells, La Quinta, Indio and Coachella. Tourism contributes $8.7 billion to the local economy and sustains one out of every four jobs.
The VGPS story highlights that despite the collective economic impact of tourism, there was an "uneven distribution of destination knowledge" across the Greater Palm Springs cities. The story explains this issue stating: "Our region faces the challenge of an uneven sharing of resources and wealth, complicated by the layout of the valley. The variation and disparities in socioeconomic status in the region means that less-affluent populations were working and living in a world-renowned resort destination without ever having experienced the joys and frustrations of travel and tourism for themselves."
According to VGPS' account, work on the TEAM GPS initiative began in 2020. The primary motivation for this program was COVID-19 and its effect on the workforce. VGPS aimed at creating a program to rebuild its workforce with an emphasis on sustainability. TEAM GPS involves a three-hour course which can be taken either in-person or online. Upon successful completion of this course, participants are designated as TEAM Champions which grants them access to a digital pass offering discounts, tickets and experiences. They also receive a monthly newsletter along with invitations to mixers, city tours, special training sessions and other activities aimed at team building. As of June 2023, over 750 TEAM Champions have completed the program.
The story concludes by stating: "Essentially, an initiative like TEAM GPS, which could be easily replicated and tailored to other regions, teaches us to not only love our destination, but it also promotes an understanding of the values of sustainability and inclusion among our stakeholders and partners and underscores the power of collective impact."