Paradise With a Purpose: Kara Franker on Stewardship, Technology, and Transformation

In this episode of the Business Class podcast, Stephen Ekstrom sits down with Kara Franker, President and CEO of Visit Florida Keys & Key West, for a wide-ranging conversation about leadership, transformation, and the evolving role of destination organizations.

Kara’s path into tourism is anything but traditional. After beginning her career as a criminal prosecutor in Miami, she transitioned into destination leadership—eventually taking on one of the most recognizable tourism brands in the world. When she arrived in the Florida Keys, she discovered an organization that hadn’t evolved with the times and a community asking hard questions about tourism’s role in their future.

What followed has been a massive transformation.

Kara shares how her team is rebuilding trust, modernizing operations, and introducing the concept of destination stewardship to a community long focused solely on growth. She also explores the importance of attracting “values visitors”—travelers who care about the places they visit and the communities that call them home.

The conversation also dives into:

• Why the future of tourism leadership requires transparency and over-communication
• How DMOs are shifting from marketing machines to trusted advisors for local businesses
• Why AI will fundamentally change the way destinations support small tourism operators
• How technology, data, and education will reshape tourism marketing and measurement

Along the way, Kara shares personal reflections on leadership, empathy, spirituality, and the human side of hospitality—reminding us that the heart of tourism has always been about people.

For anyone curious about where destination leadership is headed next, this episode offers a candid look at how one iconic destination is reinventing itself.

Business Class is brought to you by Learn Tourism, the nonprofit academy - harnessing the power of science, business psychology and adult education to advance the tourism industry and build sustainable economies. Learn how to engage your community, win over stakeholders and get more visitors at learntourism.org. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 2:09

What a beautiful background.

SPEAKER_01 2:12

It's not a bad place.

SPEAKER_00 2:14

I've been a few times and I've enjoyed every single moment of it.

SPEAKER_01 2:18

My name is Kara Fraker, and I'm the president and CEO of Visit Florida Keys in Key West. I'm happy to be with you today.

SPEAKER_00 2:25

It's fantastic to have you here. How did you end up in the Keys in Key West?

SPEAKER_01 2:30

So long-term Floridian by way of Colorado, but born and raised in Kansas.

SPEAKER_00 2:36

You hit every spot.

SPEAKER_01 2:37

I I've made a few rounds, but I started my career as a criminal prosecutor in Miami out of law school and then found my way into travel and tourism and have been on quite the journey.

SPEAKER_00 2:51

How do you think law school prepared you to work in travel and tourism?

SPEAKER_01 2:55

It's a brilliant preparation, but I had no clue that that was the direction I was going to go in. But to be able to analyze kind of with the legal thought process that goes into a lot of what we do at this high level, as you know, as a former CEO of a destination, there's so much legal liability, contract negotiations, politics, and the courtroom 100% prepared me for that. I would own a seaplane company and I would be taking people on seaplane tours with the bird's eye view. And I would spend part of the year in an island destination and part of the year in a mountain destination. But I don't know how the seaplane works in the mountains, except for this place called Grand Lake in Colorado. I would do it there in the summer.

SPEAKER_00 4:00

That's awesome. You know, it's funny because I'm a digital nomad. I sold my house and everything in it four years ago, and I travel full-time and I tell people I don't see myself being any one place for 12 months a year.

SPEAKER_01 4:12

I love that. You have pets, right? You have dogs?

SPEAKER_00 4:16

I have two dogs. I'm gonna turn the camera. It's a little fuzzy, but you see one of them sitting on the back of the couch, and the other one is laying right about here.

SPEAKER_01 4:27

So they just go around with you?

SPEAKER_00 4:29

Yeah, and I have a 14-year-old niece who is full-time in online and experiential curriculum. So she's traveling with me right now on a cross-country road trip.

SPEAKER_01 4:39

That's brilliant. I love that. I'm jealous. I think it's awesome.

SPEAKER_00 4:43

What has been your favorite travel experience?

SPEAKER_01 4:47

I like this travel experience because it's so wild. Like it's not like a planned typical vacation. My husband has worked for the Department of Justice for the better part of the last decade, handling the most grisly crime across the country, gang cases, organized crime cases that you can imagine. And he had this really long trial in Alaska, like a two, three-month trial with some really bad folks. And so my daughter and I went out to visit him, and we just packed this itinerary of doing really she's nine now, so she was probably six or seven. And so he was in the courtroom dealing with all of the insanity of that case, and we were in a helicopter landing on a glacier, and just the two of us and the pilot. And so that was just something that I woke up that morning and I'm like, Lola, you want to go land on a glacier? Let's go do it.

SPEAKER_00 5:45

Yeah, that's the best thing. You know, I tell people leave time in your schedule to get lost or to fill it in with those things that just are on a whim. What's something that you would suggest to people who are visiting the keys that they fill in that spare moment with?

SPEAKER_01 6:04

There's just so much, especially people who are into water, the environment, wildlife. Because if you like sea turtles, you should go to a sea turtle release. And that happens all the time in Marathon at the sea turtle hospital. If you're into manatees, you can go paddleboarding and see manatees in a bunch of places. You can see crocodiles if you're in Key Largo. Bird watching is incredible. So anybody who's into wildlife, I would say pick your favorite animal, key deer. Like little, do you know what key deer are? They're like the size of dogs. Yes, like deer the size of dogs. And it was like elk were so giant compared to the deer. But I tell people all of the time, you need to spend time with wildlife. Do the bars, do the attractions, go out in a boat, do all of that, but figure out how you can spend some time with nature.

SPEAKER_00 6:57

So, how did you end up in the Keys?

SPEAKER_01 7:00

So I was in Colorado and I knew that eventually I wanted to make my way back to Florida, which is where I'd spent a lot of time. And so when the Keys position opened up, it was a typical recruiter position and applied for it and went through all of the nuances. I didn't understand at the time how much the destination was going to need as far as transformation. But when I did start to figure that out, which wasn't until I was in the role, I was like, bring it. This is, I was meant to do this. I tell people, it's like if you took a DMO and you buried it in the sand in like 1992, and it was a time capsule, and then you dug it back up in 2024 when I started in September. And it was just like, oh, okay, we've got some work to do.

SPEAKER_00 7:53

How do you see the destination changing over the next five years?

SPEAKER_01 7:58

Well, no one has ever talked to the Keys community about the concept of destination stewardship. We have the highest ADR in the country, but no strategic time spent on quality of life for residents. What does balance look like? How do we take care of the islands? How do we take care of the coral reef? How do we take care of the water? How do we take care of the people and the culture and those elements? So to me, these next five years, or yes, we have a standard to uphold. We've got to keep that ADR where it is. We need to keep the hotels fill, but we need the best kind of traveler who cares about the destination and they're going to be nice to people when they're here and they're going to empty their pockets. I'll take both.

SPEAKER_00 8:55

I I refer to them as values visitors.

SPEAKER_01 8:57

Yes. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 8:58

Not value visitors, values. And values with BS. And I think more and more we are seeing people choose destinations based on what their personal beliefs are and what their personal values are. And when your community is empowered to be stewards, there is this element of one teaches and two learn. So you might be teaching the visitor how to also be a steward while also learning about what's important to them and how you can tap into that even more, even deeper. I love that. Yeah. So you mentioned you have a daughter.

SPEAKER_01 9:37

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 9:38

How is she most like you?

SPEAKER_01 9:41

She is a carbon copy. It frightens my husband day in and day out. He was, you know, she's blonde, she's funky, she's got way too much energy. She speaks to people like they are adults. Like she's an adult. She has adult conversation because she's an only child. She's around adults all the time. So she is me.

SPEAKER_00 10:05

That's funny. How are you most like each of your parents?

SPEAKER_01 10:09

Oh, that's tough. I'm a lot like my dad, I would say. You know, he is all for adventure. He's all for living his life in the moment. My mom too, but him especially. He was a physician. He's retired now, and he's in Costa Rica right now. So he travels the world. We came to Florida and we came to the Keys all the time. So he could ply fish. So he's living his best life. And I think that he's proud of me because I'm in a destination that he wants to visit all the time.

SPEAKER_00 10:45

That helps.

SPEAKER_01 10:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:48

And and your mom? How are you most like your mom?

SPEAKER_01 10:50

Yeah, my mom, you know, she is, she's got the gift of hospitality. And I don't know that I have that gift, but I can sell hospitality. And she's so empathetic and she cares about people in a deep way. And that's what I strive to be like as well.

SPEAKER_00 11:15

What is the kindest thing somebody has ever done for you?

SPEAKER_01 11:19

I don't know why this popped into my head. This is so personal. But after I had my daughter, about a month after I had my daughter, I ended up in the ICU for a week and was a pretty significant health issue and was happy to make it through. Just the outpouring of support of people who came to my hospital room. My husband and I didn't have family nearby and a newborn who can't come to the ICU. He was spending his nights taking care of her, a month-old baby, and days with me, or vice versa, and flying his parents into town. And I maybe I'm thinking about that because we just kind of celebrated the anniversary of when that happened. And every year of Valentine's Day, I think about that and how I just couldn't believe that people showed up for me like they did during a time of really deep need.

SPEAKER_00 12:20

There was an article I read recently, and it said, You no longer have to ask, How can I help you? You just show up. Yes. Yes. Just show up and to be present. What is your favorite hidden gem?

SPEAKER_01 12:38

Like anywhere in the keys.

SPEAKER_00 12:40

Yeah, anywhere.

SPEAKER_01 12:42

Well, I mentioned, well, I'll pick a keys one first. And I don't know if it's hidden, but I think it's the place that everyone has to go. Have you heard of Robbie's and Isla Murata? It is this fabulous family-owned business that have been around for decades. Like I went when I was a kid. That family is incredible, but the experience of feeding the tarpon at their dock is so prolific. Like we just had the CEO of Brian Griffin and his wife came down to the keys. They were here last week. And I'm like, he's like, we've got a few hours in between our meetings. Where are we gonna go? I'm like, you're going to Robbie's. Let's go to Robbie's. So I don't know if it's hidden, but it's my favorite place to send people in the keys. A hidden gym, I would say, have you ever been to Grand Lake, Colorado?

SPEAKER_00 13:35

I have not, but I added a pin to my map when you mentioned it.

SPEAKER_01 13:38

Yes, because it's hidden, in my opinion. There's not much of Colorado that's still hidden. But if so it's on the other side of Rocky Mountain National Park, because everyone thinks of the Estes Park side. And you go over Trail Ridge Road, and it's only open a few months of the year. And on the other side is this idyllic little mountain town called Grand Lake. Not a lot of hotels, but my family has a few vacation rentals there. So I go every year, and the boating is spectacular, and the water is freezing year-round.

SPEAKER_00 14:53

That's always nice for a hot summer day swim.

SPEAKER_01 14:56

Yes, like a cold plunge.

SPEAKER_00 14:58

Yeah, but you have to jump in. You can't walk in slowly.

SPEAKER_01 15:02

No, all the way in.

SPEAKER_00 15:04

Immediately. Let's see. What is something about you that would surprise most people?

SPEAKER_01 15:12

I am a very spiritual person. And I don't wear that on my sleeve, so I think that would be surprising to people. But faith in spirituality is very important to me.

SPEAKER_00 15:26

In what ways do you live your faith?

SPEAKER_01 15:29

Well, the golden rule for sure, do one to others how you would want done to you. But trying to see people through the eyes of how their maker sees them. Because so many times we just are running through life, dealing with frustration after frustration, whether it's the traffic or not getting what you want at the grocery store or waiting in lines or whatever it is. And everybody's always going through something. And so I'm really trying to teach myself how to take a beat and to look at somebody. Like sometimes I try to imagine somebody, like even meeting you for the first time. What did you look like when you were a kid? Like, what did you look like as a seven-year-old?

SPEAKER_00 16:12

I was cute.

SPEAKER_01 16:15

I bet you had hair.

SPEAKER_00 16:17

I did. I had a lot of hair.

SPEAKER_01 16:20

But you know what I mean? Just like thinking about people in a way that's not just like hustling through life. And how does their maker see them?

SPEAKER_00 16:30

What is something you wish more people knew about the keys?

SPEAKER_01 16:36

Well, for as amazing as Key West and Deval Street is, and it's lined with incredible bars and incredible experiences and history. And every famous people or famous person that you can think of on your list, Hemingway, Buffett, Kenny Chesney, have been in those bars drinking those drinks, singing those songs, and that's phenomenal. But I want people to know too that Key West has that history beyond the bars in a really deep and fascinating way. And that they should spend the time drinking, do it, do get the party out. You gotta get it out, you know. But to also spend time really embracing the history is well worth the time.

SPEAKER_00 17:28

If you could only make one change to the destination and your duration at its helm, what would you want that to be?

SPEAKER_01 17:40

One? I mean, we've just done so many. I gotta pick the We've changed everything. And not everyone likes that, by the way. You know, change and transformation, that's a tough pill for some to swallow. How do you handle that with frustration? How do I handle it? Overcommunicate. You know, there wasn't a CRM at all. We didn't have a list. Like, I couldn't just be like, let's email all the GMs in the destination, or let's talk to all the restaurateurs. We didn't have a list. And so we've been building out, let's even rewind. So it's a big budget destination. It's a Florida style budget, right? It is a big budget destination. There were about a dozen people on staff when I started. And so everything was outsourced agency-wise. And then those agencies had had the account for 30 years. And there were terrible audits that came out, and there were criminal charges that came out, all of this drama that came out from that. And so the process, it was almost like a scrape job, like building a DMO from the beginning, but without all of the excitement, like the community around you, because the community is like whiplash, or like, what has happened? One, we don't know if we like tourism. We know that we need it. We don't know if we like it. So why are you even here? And then the businesses who were had spent all of that time getting to know these agencies and the agencies running the show were like, wait a minute. We spent 40% of our marketing budget, which is pretty substantial, on broadcast TV. And now you're not gonna, we're not gonna see as many TV commercials because you want us to do digital. What are you talking about? And when I finally got to the point where I'm like, to our boards, I'm like, we need to do an RFP process. One of those agencies started picking up the phone and calling all the stakeholders and saying to them, she's gonna put you out of business. You better get rid of her. That was like three months in. And so to come in with that and to have to rally the support and also prove to them, look, like, I'm here for you. We're here for this community, we're gonna make tourism work for the residents, not the other way around. And we can do it with balance and we can do it with this mindset of destination stewardship. And they were like, all right, prove it. And so that's what it's been. It has been overcommunication, bringing people in, having them like look at every piece of what we're doing, like over-the-top transparency. And it is works in the sense that they see that we are not just talking the talk, we're walking the walk, and we're here to benefit the community and the residents and the businesses. And that's a hard thing to do.

SPEAKER_00 21:04

What did I not ask that you wish I did?

SPEAKER_01 21:08

You didn't ask me anything about AI. Aren't you into AI?

SPEAKER_00 21:12

I'm a huge AI nerd.

SPEAKER_01 21:14

I I heard that about you.

SPEAKER_00 21:16

Yeah, we're pretty deep in it. I have my certification in AI ethics and governance from Brown.

SPEAKER_01 21:21

I got mine from MIT.

SPEAKER_00 21:23

And we use it in everything that we do. You know, everything. You know, from being better at our meetings and communication to creating better curriculum for ambassador training or resident training or, you know, even just email follow-up.

SPEAKER_01 21:39

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 21:40

We use it for everything.

SPEAKER_01 21:42

So I feel like it is the duty of the DMOs to teach our businesses, especially the small businesses, how to harness AI. And I think that we need to be the clearinghouse for all of the different LLMs and how they're going to pull the information, if they can count on the DMO, because a website's obviously going to be a different animal going forward. It ain't about SEO, as you know anymore. So then, but if we can be the trusted source, the trusted advisor, if I can make sure that they have a list of the top fishing guides and we're not relying on other things and that they have visibility. And if I can teach them about their tech stack and what that means and how to clean their data, I that's like foundation one. And the next step, I think, is like agents, but yeah, it scares people when we talk like that.

SPEAKER_00 22:40

Because the traditional SEO is gone. Yeah. It's gone. And you know, destinations, I think it was Patrick in Buffalo. And he mentioned that the metrics for determining web performance are just way off whatever they expected three years ago. Because you're not getting the direct hits as much as you were.

SPEAKER_01 23:04

No.

unknown 23:06

But you

SPEAKER_00 23:06

Still have to somehow find a way to quantify that the work that you're doing is working.

SPEAKER_01 23:14

So then if we as DMOs position ourselves as the educator for businesses, then I think that's an easier sell to change the KPIs. Look, we are like all the CEOs are saying we are harnessing this technology forward. We're going to fail forward. We're going to try stuff. We're going to do this. This worked. This one didn't. Here, let's let me show you how it works as we're doing it. We're not the experts, but let me introduce you to this person, this person, this person. Then we become the trusted advisors when it comes to tech, and travel is not known for that. And then next step, let's change the KPIs because they're changing one way or the other. But what we have to make sure is it, oh, you guys are irrelevant. We don't need you anymore.

SPEAKER_00 23:57

Yeah. It makes perfect sense.

SPEAKER_01 24:00

And don't you think it goes hand in hand with the idea of destination stewardship?

SPEAKER_00 24:04

Absolutely. You know, you have people, place, and profit, right? The three P's of uh stewardship and sustainability. And without those working in tandem, it everything is a skew. And and it's correct. You know, the role of a DMO has shifted from being responsive to solely the hotel revenue manager to being responsive to the community.

SPEAKER_01 24:31

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 24:32

And Adam Burke, who I believe you know, a mutual friend, yeah, said what's good for the resident is great for the visitor, even when the reverse is not always true.

SPEAKER_01 24:42

Absolutely. Under the underline that three times. Excellent.

SPEAKER_00 24:46

What would you like to ask me?

SPEAKER_01 24:49

So you have the interesting perspective of sitting in your seat and speaking to a lot of my peers. What advice do you have for me in a destination that has been through so much transformation? How do I try to be successful?

SPEAKER_00 25:06

That community relationship. You already said this, but it is education. We have a responsibility to educate our residents so that they in turn can deliver better businesses, better experiences, so that we can teach visitors together to be better visitors. Yes. And so that we can teach future visitors why they need to come and visit, why they need to make a stop. You know, it's all education. Tourism is about education. It's you know, and for me personally, my life shifted about 10 years ago when I realized as much as I love to travel, as much as I love art and history and music and culture and food and nature and you know, all of these things, it was the fact that I got to learn along every step of the way. And I think the strongest destination leaders are those who are lifelong learners. That's brilliant. Once in a while I come up with something good. Well, that wraps it up. But if you want folks to plan a visit, where would they where would they go to do that?

SPEAKER_01 26:21

Visit portikeys.com.

SPEAKER_00 26:23

Fantastic. Any closing thoughts?

SPEAKER_01 26:26

Thank you. Thank you for all the work that you do. I'm a big fan, and I really appreciate the opportunity to talk with you today.

SPEAKER_00 26:34

Fantastic. So that wraps up the interview. Nice and simple. You are wonderful.

SPEAKER_01 26:38

You are wonderful. Thank you.