DMOU: Destination Marketing Organization University

Tavis Hall (CEO of Experience Waterloo IA) breaks rules. He recently positioned his community as the Black Capitol of the 5th Whitest State in the nation, refers to his DMO as a DXO and is running fo…

Eugene OR is in the midst of a simply amazing year, hosting a non-stop schedule of premier, state, national and international track and field events including, for the first time in the United States…

When we saw the Rutherford Bound Tourism Master Plan, we knew we had to meet the people behind it. On this episode of DMOU, we talk with the Rutherford County NC TDA's Don Cason and Destination by De…

For years, DMOproz has espoused the concept that DMOs should be the marketing agency for every aspect of a community (not just the Visitor Economy). But, nobody has made that case as eloquently as De…

Visit Corpus Christi CEO Brett Oetting's first day in his new destination coincided with the moment that the world stopped in 2020. And yet, he says his team was more productive in its first year tha…

We discovered Nicole Hankton (Director of Sales and Marketing at the Walnut Creek CVB) when she was named one of this year's 100 Smartest Women in Smart Meetings magazine...and we were immediately at…

In theory, merging a Destination Marketing Organization with a Convention Center sounds like a logical collaboration. In practice, however, that's not often the case...except in Akron OH, where Gregg…

As the Destination Marketing sector began to seriously address inequality and diversity after the Summer of 2020, SearchWide Global helped develop an organization that would go beyond "committee work…

The Oregon Coast Visitors Association has identified Climate Change as an existential focus of its work. And, unless you are a Climate Change denier, this is becoming an issue that many DMOs will nee…

It wasn't necessarily the pandemic that powered Visit Champaign County to rethink its role in the community...but it gave them time to work through powerful goals in their Strategic Plan. On this edi…

Visit Sarasota County's Virginia Haley joins us to discuss a recent collaboration with the Economic Development Corporation of Sarasota in which the EDC came up with the tagline and VSC brought it to…

Over the past two years, the face-to-face interaction with which we all believed was crucial to initiating relationships and closing business was replaced by Zoom meetings, e-mails communiques and te…

As we all attempt to emerge from the ravages of the pandemic, the efficacy of Visitor Information Centers continues to be a hot topic in our discussions with DMOs around the country. And, when we fin…

Most Destination Marketing pros understand the power of video to drive brand identity and awareness. But, most don't work on as many levels at Visit Tri-Cities' CEO Michael Novakovich. On this roller…

It's the first week of the New Year...and how are those resolutions going? During the Holiday Season, we checked in with West Virginia Tourism's Chelsea Ruby, who recently commissioned a study to ide…

As we round out another challenging year, we posed a question in the halls of the Destinations International Advocacy Summit to Destination Leaders from across the Americas: What will you do new in 2…

In the weeks and months after Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico put into play plans to develop an independent Destination Marketing Organization and ultimately hired Brad Dean to build the agency from scr…

Stillwater's Cristy Morrison holds a distinction that few, if any, do. She has led the Destination Marketing effort for her city as a City Department, a Division of the Chamber and as an Independent …

Since his arrival in the Quad Cities, CEO Dave Herrell has been on a mission to awaken his community to its boundless potential as a premier travel destination. Attempting to counter an all too preva…

Every few years, Destinations International commissions a Futures Study to attempt to identify next steps for DMO pros to consider as we move our sector forward. The latest was released this July at …