Advocacy and marketing are often viewed as separate functions, but the most effective destination organizations recognize that they are deeply connected. The stories a destination organization tells, the audiences it engages, and the value it demonstrates every day all contribute to building trust, credibility, and support long before an advocacy challenge arises.

Through two destination case studies, explore how marketing initiatives have strengthened advocacy efforts by increasing community understanding, reinforcing organizational value, and building stronger relationships with residents, elected officials, and key stakeholders. Attendees will gain practical insights into how thoughtful marketing can serve as one of the most effective advocacy tools available, creating a stronger foundation for navigating policy discussions, funding conversations, and moments of public scrutiny.

Public policy is increasingly shaping the environment in which destination organizations operate. From governance and funding to housing, workforce, infrastructure, and quality of life, today’s policy landscape requires destination leaders to anticipate emerging issues rather than simply respond to them.

Drawing on Destinations International’s work tracking destination policy trends across North America and globally, this session will examine the common issues influencing destinations and the insights gained through that work. Explore a practical framework for developing a destination-specific policy approach, including methods for identifying priority issues, monitoring legislative and community developments, and establishing an internal process that supports stronger advocacy and more informed decision-making.

As climate-related disruption becomes more visible, destination organizations are being asked to help communities navigate both risk and opportunity. This panel will use El Niño as a practical entry point for discussing how climate events affect the visitor economy.  Destination leaders will share their experiences with recent natural disasters and explore how DMOs can best communicate uncertainty without creating alarm and maintain trust when visitor-economy needs intersect with community recovery. The discussion will offer practical ideas for positioning destination organizations as credible partners in climate adaptation and economic resilience.

You don’t need a large budget or a big team to build influence for your destination. Designed for DMOs with operating budgets of $0–3 million, this session explores how small DMOs can make advocacy part of how they operate by building relationships, telling compelling stories, using data, creating coalitions, and consistently showing up where conversations and decisions are taking shape. Through real-world examples, a focused case study, and facilitated discussion, attendees will leave with practical ideas for strengthening partnerships, activating advocates, and ensuring their destination has a voice where it matters.

Jayne DeLuce

President, CEO & Foundation Executive Director

Experience Champaign-Urbana

 

 

 

 

As destination organizations grow, so do the complexity and expectations surrounding advocacy. Designed for destination organizations with operating budgets of $3–10 million, this session examines a real-world advocacy campaign from a mid-sized destination organization. Through a focused case study and facilitated discussion, participants will explore strategies for engaging elected officials, business leaders, community partners, and industry stakeholders while balancing competing priorities. 

John Urdi, CDME

President & CEO

Visit Huntington Beach, CA

 

 

 

 

Large destination organizations often lead advocacy efforts across complex political, economic, and community landscapes. Designed for destination organizations with operating budgets of $10 million and above, this session explores a real-world advocacy campaign from a large destination organization. Through an in-depth case study and facilitated discussion, participants will examine executive-level strategy, coalition leadership, public policy engagement, and cross-sector collaboration used to address significant community and industry challenges. 

Frida Bahja, Ph.D.

Director of Research

Experience Kissimmee

 

 

 

 

Audits are a routine and essential part of organizational governance, yet in today’s environment they can quickly become highly visible public events that shape perceptions of a destination organization and its leadership. Whether driven by financial oversight, governance concerns, or heightened public interest, audits require thoughtful communication, transparency, and strategic leadership.

Through a candid case study from a destination organization that experienced a high-profile public audit, this session will examine the realities of managing increased scrutiny while maintaining stakeholder confidence. Gain practical guidance on preparing for audits before they occur, responding effectively throughout the process,

Advocacy and social impact increasingly intersect around community trust, shared priorities and demonstrating the value of destination organizations. But does bringing these functions together make both stronger, or risk diluting the purpose and expertise of each? In this unscripted debate, destination leaders will take opposing sides on where advocacy and impact should intersect, where they should remain distinct, and what effective collaboration looks like in practice.

Strong community relationships can become one of a destination organization’s most valuable advocacy assets, especially when funding, policy decisions or public perceptions are at stake. In this interactive session, explore practical strategies from DI’s Destination Professional’s Guide to Community Engagement and see how destination organizations are building trust, strengthening resident connections and turning community partners into informed advocates. Assess where your organization stands, identify an engagement opportunity to strengthen community support and begin developing an action you can put into practice immediately. Leave with adaptable examples, practical tools and a focused next step for moving community engagement from intention to action.

Tony Snell Rodriguez

Director of Community Engagement and Inclusion

Visit Milwaukee

Karen Mitchell, CDME

Sr. Project Manager 

Regional Tourism Organization 4 Inc.

Alyssa Poulin, MTA, CTA

Director of Content Development

Destinations International

 

 

Explain It Like I’m Nine starts with a simple challenge: strip away the industry jargon and explain what destination organizations actually do in a way anyone can understand. 2.0 takes that challenge one step further: how do you make that story matter to the person standing in front of you? In this hands-on session, build simple, community-centered language that connects your organization’s work to what residents, business leaders, elected officials and other stakeholders value. Leave with conversation starters, an elevator pitch and practical language that will help shape a new community advocacy resource.

Explain It Like I’m Nine starts with a simple challenge: strip away the industry jargon and explain what destination organizations actually do in a way anyone can understand. 2.0 takes that challenge one step further: how do you make that story matter to the person standing in front of you? In this hands-on session, build simple, community-centered language that connects your organization’s work to what residents, business leaders, community partners and other stakeholders value. Leave with conversation starters, an elevator pitch and practical language that will help shape a new community impact resource.

For more than 30 years, the Colorado tourism funding case has served as the industry’s defining example of the consequences of eliminating destination promotion. Today, however, destination organizations face a much broader range of challenges, from funding reductions and governance changes to political scrutiny, reputational attacks, and evolving expectations of community value.

Be among the first to preview Destinations International’s newest research initiative, a modern successor to the landmark Colorado study. This research examines 21st-century examples of destination organizations that have been defunded, disrupted, or devalued, exploring the factors that led to these challenges, their impacts on communities, and the lessons they offer for destination leaders today.