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From “Heads in Beds” to “Catalyst for Community Vitality”: the role of Destination Organizations in a More Competitive World

Destinations International’s 2024 Advocacy Summit highlights how destination organizations have become an essential public good  

Washington, DC (November 7, 2024) – Destinations International (DI), the world’s leading association representing destination organizations and convention and visitors bureaus (CVBs), shared insights and announced new resources to support and advance the travel and tourism industry during its 2024 Advocacy Summit, held in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, October 22-24. The underlying message, represented in the theme “The Advocate as Catalyst,” is that the tourism industry, and destination organizations in particular, need to be recognized as catalysts for community vitality and an essential public good rather than simply sales and marketing organizations, as in the past.

The 2024 Advocacy Summit continued to advance DI’s work to build awareness that the days when destination organizations were measured primarily on number of visitors or “heads in beds” is over and destination promotion today must be regarded as essential to a community's vitality, on par with education, healthcare, emergency response, utilities and other public services. 

“Destination organizations are redesigning themselves to be both visitor and resident facing organizations with community-wide social goals alongside traditional sales and marketing goals,” said Jack Johnson, DI Chief Advocacy Officer. “In today’s globalized competitive environment, they are an essential community asset responsible for programs that promote their community as an attractive travel destination and enhance its image as a dynamic place to visit, live, work and invest. What makes these organizations essential is their unique destination knowledge, brand management savvy and promotional expertise – all of which not only attract visitors but contribute to a community’s social and economic vitality.”

At the summit, DI elaborated on its latest industry brief, A Catalyst for Community Vitality: Defining the 21st Century Destination Organization, which more clearly defines the 21st century destination organization through the lens of purpose, mission and impact. The brief is intended for destination organization leaders as well as elected officials, public policy experts and media who are involved in the travel and tourism sector. The brief also is available on the new Destination Effect website, created by DI in partnership with Tempest, as an open resource to educate key stakeholders on the important role of destination organizations and their impact on local communities. The website will be expanded in coming months to include case studies and additional resources.

DI also released an updated 2024 Tourism Lexicon across four countries: the United States, Australia, United Kingdom and Canada (including French Canadian). The Tourism Lexicon aims to provide destination organization leaders with a tactical communication tool to address the shifting political landscape and highlight the need that destination promotion is for the well-being of every person in a community.   

Other topics explored during the summit include the record number of elections taking place around the world in 2024 and 2025 and their potential impact on the travel and tourism industry; societal issues and how they are perceived can impact travel decisions about destinations; and use of visitor “personas” to integrate emotional resonance with logical KPIs and provide a more comprehensive framework for evaluating the work of destination organizations. 

DI’s annual Advocacy Summit gathers leaders from across its 750 destination organization members to provide updates and engage in conversation about key developments in the sector and emerging trends. Almost 200 participants from around the globe attended this year’s summit, which highlighted essential resources and tools funded by the Destinations International Foundation to tackle unique challenges with data, advocacy resources and insights for the travel and tourism industry.

The 2025 Advocacy Summit will take place October 21-23, 2025, in Sacramento, CA.  

Event partners for the 2024 Advocacy Summit included:

•    Arrivalist
•    Brand USA
•    CFO by design
•    Civitas
•    Clarity of Place
•    CLIA
•    Connect
•    Destination Think
•    DMOproz
•    Epsilon
•    Expedia Group Media Solutions
•    Fired Up! Culture
•    Future Partners
•    JLL
•    Longwoods International
•    Madden Media
•    Miles Partnership
•    MINT+
•    MMGY Global
•    MMGY NextFactor
•    Relic
•    SearchWide Global
•    Simpleview
•    STR
•    Tempest
•    Tourism Economics
•    Tripadvisor
•    TrueOmni
•    Zartico

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About Destinations International
Destinations International is the world’s largest and most reliable 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 the Destinations International Foundation
The Destinations International Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering destination organizations globally by providing education, research, advocacy and leadership development. The Foundation is classified as a charitable organization under Section 501 (c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Service Code and all donations are tax-deductible. For more information visit www.destinationsinternational.org/about-foundation.