Destinations International Sets Course for Destination Leadership at 2025 Advocacy Summit 

New reputation and sentiment research offers destination organizations essential insight for strategic leadership

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Oct. 23, 2025) – As nearly 200 destination leaders gather in Sacramento, California, for Destinations International’s 2025 Advocacy Summit, the association shared powerful new research and resources to help destination organizations strengthen reputation, advocacy and long-term success. This includes the release of The Advocacy Leadership Imperative, as well as previews of the 2025 Resident Sentiment Survey for the United States and Canada and research on the impact of destination reputation on travelling consumer perceptions. 

“These valuable new insights set the tone for this year’s Advocacy Summit,” said Don Welsh, president & CEO of Destinations International. “At a time when reputation and relevance are so tightly intertwined, our members need both the data and the leadership tools to navigate issues, protect funding and earn community trust. This research arms them to do exactly that.”

The Advocacy Leadership Imperative

Destinations International (DI) released The Advocacy Leadership Imperative, produced with MMGY NextFactor and supported by the DI Foundation, which outlines a new model for destination advocacy that goes beyond communication to embed advocacy across governance, strategy and performance. The report draws from DI’s ongoing DestinationNEXT Futures Study, which found that 42% of destination organizations anticipate funding reductions within three years, underscoring the urgency for stronger advocacy capacity.

“Advocacy has become a leadership discipline,” said Cassandra (McAuley) Gilbertson, managing director of MMGY NextFactor. “Destination leaders must connect community impact to visitor success, diversify funding without losing public trust and measure value in ways residents recognize. The most resilient organizations are those able to achieve that alignment.”

Research meets action at the Advocacy Summit

Additional research and resources shared during the Advocacy Summit provided a strong foundation and key insights that fostered three full days of learning, discussion and strategy development, including:

• 2025 Resident Sentiment Towards Tourism Findings for Canada and the United States – the much-anticipated “early release” of the 2025 Canada and United States Resident Sentiment Towards Tourism Study, presented by Amir Eylon, president & CEO of Longwoods International, offering a comprehensive review of resident perspectives on tourism’s economic, social and community impacts that serve as a critical benchmark for evaluating the role of tourism in community well-being and long-term viability.

• Destination Reputation: Impact on the Traveling Consumer’s Considerations – a preview of the latest in the family of destination reputation research reports developed by Destinations International and Future Partners that examines how advertising and promotion can shape public perception and address reputational challenges facing destinations. Erin Francis-Cummings, president & CEO of Future Partners, previewed findings from the study, which explores which styles of messaging, creative elements and campaign strategies are most effective in influencing destination consideration and rebuilding trust.

In addition, at the Summit Destination Wayfinder introduced Wayfinder Pulse, its latest product offering for destination organizations. While annual plans provide full access to the Destination Wayfinder technology platform and destination management framework, Pulse delivers a one-time, diagnostic assessment that gives destinations a clear snapshot of their destination management capability. Through a virtual, fully facilitated assessment across the complete spectrum of destination management capabilities, paired with a complementary insights report, Pulse equips destination leaders with the clarity they need to guide strategic planning and decision-making. 

“This year’s Summit is about connection and courage,” Welsh added. “We’re giving destination leaders the evidence, the examples and the network to lead confidently no matter the climate.”

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About Destinations International

Destinations International is the world’s largest and most trusted resource for destination organizations, convention and visitors bureaus (CVBs) and tourism boards. With more than 8,000 members and partners from over 750 destinations, the association represents a powerful forward-thinking and collaborative community around the world. For more information, visit www.destinationsinternational.org. 

About Destinations International Foundation

The Destinations International Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering destinations globally to excel through innovation and resource incubation. The foundation innovates new ideas and ways of doing things and incubates new tools and resources to improve the efforts of DI members. It launches and manages future-facing programs and initiatives, develops next-generation professional development and tools, and fosters short- and long-term cooperative relationships around the globe on behalf of the association.  

About MMGY NextFactor 

Founded in 2015, MMGY NextFactor consults with travel and tourism brands to build sustainable visitor economies and stronger communities. As part of the MMGY Global family, our team delivers strategies and insights to help destinations around the world prepare for the next era of travel. We build specialized strategic, destination and recovery plans using our proprietary DestinationNEXT Scenario Model and Assessment Tool to drive success for destination economies, residents and travelers. For more information, visit nextfactorinc.com. 

About Longwoods International 

Longwoods International is a leading travel and tourism research consultancy with headquarters in Columbus, Ohio, and Toronto, Canada, and offices in Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee and Wisconsin. It conducts Longwoods Travel USA®, the largest ongoing survey of American travelers, as well as image, advertising effectiveness, advertising return on investment, sentiment and other custom research in 12 countries around the globe. https://longwoods-intl.com/ 

About Future Partners
Future Partners was founded by Dave Bratton and Erin Francis-Cummings in San Francisco, California, in 2003. It is a team of market researchers that work with over 250 organizations and travel brands around the U.S. and the world to provide insights and strategies that capture hearts, minds and market share. Future Partners connects human behavior and understanding to bring the future of travel within reach. For more information visit https://futurepartners.com/.  

About Destination Wayfinder

Destination Wayfinder is an industry-led initiative and destination management tool enabling destination organizations to measure, monitor and improve destination stewardship capability and outcomes. Through strategic investment in research, technology and collaboration with the Global Stewardship Innovation Lab – a network of thought leaders, researchers and stewardship practitioners – Destination Wayfinder delivers a best-practice destination management framework designed to guide organizations toward sustainable and regenerative outcomes. Learn more at www.DestinationWayfinder.com.