Welcome to a special 1 of 3 podcast episode arc around the release of our brand-new research study, Destination Promotion: A Catalyst for Community Vitality and its key findings. The report emphasizes the pivotal role of destination organizations in shaping the economic and cultural landscape of communities far beyond the realms of traditional tourism.  Our discussion will unravel how these organizations, by transcending their conventional focus solely on the hospitality sector, act as catalysts for a broad spectrum of economic benefits. Through research and analysis provided by Tourism ..read more

Today’s podcast episode and the first for the new year takes into the realm of community connectors for the greater good of collaboration. (a tongue twister) As destination organizations, our role and primary stewardship is the Community! We foster economic development, quality of place, and community vitality. All through the power of collaboration! In many ways, collaboration is our greatest asset as we are neither silos nor single-source solutions for many of the problems facing our destinations. We operate best in a space with many shared lanes but always come to the table with the brand ..read more

Today’s podcast episode and guests is our final one for 2023 and a reflection of our advocacy committee for destinations international. Destinations International is a tapestry of volunteer committees and task forces that help guide and initiate much of the output and direction the association takes year after year. Committee members constitute a myriad of different organizations across the members of destinations international and volunteer their time in a number of different ways.  For the advocacy committee, we are comprised of over 65 individuals across destinations and suppliers who ..read more

Today’s conversation and guests to the show are here to discuss the flagship research project that was just released at Annual Convention, the 2023 DestinationNEXT Future Study. What is the future study for those unaware?  Well, Picture this: Over 800 destination leaders from 62 countries, all coming together to share their take on the sector’s trends and strategies shaping our landscape. This isn't just any report – it's the biggest and most extensive survey of its kind, providing a sneak peek into the future of destination promotion and our communities.  2023 marks a decade of th ..read more

As a listener of the show, we talk tales of advocacy of both the past and present but today is one hypothetical for a near-term future. This isn’t going to be your typical talk around A.I that we have heard in our sector but instead, all about understanding how A.I can be used for Destination Advocacy. To talk through these possibilities, I’m happy to welcome to the show, Janette Roush, Executive Vice President Marketing and Digital of NYC Tourism + Conventions NYC Tourism + Conventions Destinations International The Architects of Destination Advocacy Podcast is a part of the Destination Mar ..read more

Today’s conversation and guest is a deeper dive into one of the largest regional demographics of our membership of destination organizations, which is in the Southeast corner of the United States.  Destinations International understands we can’t always be everywhere and try to work with regional and community entities that geographically represent these highly clustered areas of destination organizations. And for good reason, even though we are seeing more and more advocacy issues across state/province and international lines, we can still see highly concentrated and visible issues that ..read more

Today’s conversation is all about ship building in a sense. Running a destination organization is tough, managing one in a pandemic is tougher but what about trying to actually be creating a brand-new destination organization through a once in a century event? (We hope)  Today’s guest is all about what it’s like to launch a ship in the roughest of waters and somehow steer it through to the other side in hopes of finding prosperity and vitality for one’s community.  Please welcome to the show, Jeff Lawson, VP tourism of Lake Champlain Chamber AKA Hello Burlington, VT. Hello Burling ..read more

Today’s conversation and guest is intended to be a peak behind the curtains of managing the destination’s brand through extremely polarizing times. I’ve mentioned at lengths at which the world has begun to spin, it seems in more illogical ways and an outcome of that resulting in issues and policies entering the zeitgeist of our communities in a polarizing fashion.  The job at a destination organization was already tough because of the pandemic and many other complications from 2020 but how do you push through with your brand and promotion against political or social issues that feel like ..read more

Starting out 2023, this is the first year I think we can confidently say what a return to business events looks like for our industry. In the past 3 years, we’ve seen the ebb and flow, the starting and stopping and starting again of business events navigating the pandemic and its many variants and also various country-level regulations around the mitigations surrounding those risks. But with the added twist of political and global unrest as well as climate change.  What is left now is business events returning to an entirely new industry landscape shaped by policy, procedures, and people ..read more

2022 for many of us could be called the next normal year through our progression of the pandemic timeline we are all in. With the return of events, holiday gatherings, social events and other pre-pandemic activities, some might even call it “normal.”  With that, we have seen some societal norms shift as well, and one I would argue being the biggest shift and potential winner of 2022 is the adoption of cannabis and hemp through both policy, legislation, and social intersections. A green wave, one could say.   Of course, this has many intersections with our sector and the role a desti ..read more