Whether it's a citywide convention or a small meeting in one hotel, today's business event strategists face mounting pressure to deliver more: increased attendance, deeper engagement and measurable return on investment.

That's where destination organizations come in. These are your free planning partners who provide support at every stage of the event lifecycle, from destination selection site visits to post-analysis. They’re the local experts who know the ins and outs of their destinations and open doors you didn’t know existed.

Let’s get back to the basics of what these organizations do that benefits you as an event strategist and how you can optimize your collaboration with them.  

"A destination organization is responsible for promoting a community as an attractive travel destination and enhancing its public image as a dynamic place to live and work. Through the impact of travel, they strengthen the economic position and provide opportunity for people in their community." 
- From Destinations International’s “The New Tourism Lexicon: Rewriting Our Industry’s Narrative”

What Is a Destination Organization?

Convention and visitors bureaus, or CVBs. Destination marketing/management organizations, or DMOs. Tourism office/authority. These are just some of the examples of destination organizations, primarily nonprofits, which:

• Drive group and leisure economic impact through the marketing of and connection to the destination’s assets
• Give meetings and events access to a wide range of services with their destination and serve as an extension of your planning team
• Contribute to the need and design of destination and community development
• Serve as an advocate for both the local community and the incoming visitors and groups

Why is this important for you to know? Understanding what destination organizations do lays the groundwork for you to build strong, meaningful, mutually-beneficial partnerships with them. It helps you understand what they view as success as a partnership with you. Because your success = their success. 

“It's going to create memorable experiences for not only those local entities—but also for your attendees and delegates. And, ultimately, that's going to encourage repeat visitation to that destination in the future. They want to see your event succeed because that is success for their destination.”

EMILY SCHEIDERER
Senior Director of Education, Sales and Services
Destinations International

That’s why, when it comes to planning your event, many destination organizations have teams that provide services dedicated to the success of your event. There are two sides involved. 

1. Sales: Finds the best fit for your event and the destination. During location site selection, you’ll work with the destination organization’s sales professionals on:

• Hotels, venues and infrastructural understanding
• Dates, rates and space
• Need dates and availability
• Knowledge of where your event fits into the big picture—going beyond an individual venue, looking at the other local factors that could impact your event or attendee experiences beyond

2. Services: Actualizes the best experiences for attendees while extending the destination’s brand and future visitation. After you sign your contract, you’ll work with the destination organization’s services professionals on:

• Building excitement and attendance prior to the event and resources during the event
• Tapping into the destination’s cultural and creative capital, infrastructure and economic capital, and human and relational capital to not only increase attendee experience—but also support your bottom line
• Meeting important needs, like accessibility and environmental impact
• Understanding the post-event impact and sharing the message with stakeholders

These parts of the destination organization can help with a range of event sizes—from big citywide events that require convention center space and multiple group hotels to smaller meetings that are self-contained to one property. As a general rule, Destinations International advises including the destination organization if your event needs 10 overnight guest rooms or more.

The Value of the Destination Organization to the Event Strategist

If you’re wondering, “Why can’t I just work with the venue, hotel or a third-party organization?” You can! But you need to work with the destination organization AND hotels (global/national or property-specific contacts), venues, restaurants, attractions, destination management companies (DMCs) and third parties. The value of the destination organization cannot be replicated within those additional relationships because those other relationships are important within their own set of assets. 

There are five foundational value pillars of the destination organization that support incoming meetings and benefit the event strategist.

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Client Vision Advocate

Supports logistical elements of the event and the broader mission of the event strategist’s 
organization.
 

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Destination Influencer 

Works as a trusted advisor who eliminates independent research, connects the need of the event to the destination assets and drives stakeholder satisfaction.

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Community Connectors

Serves as a curator of community knowledge, helps the event fit into the larger picture of what is going on in the destination and connects the event strategist to the local suppliers that meet event needs and decrease costs.

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Intellectual Capital Broker 

Acts as a broker of the assets within a destination, supports the event strategist in making connections that will create custom experiences and rich content, enhancing attendee satisfaction
and giving tangible impact and ROI to report to stakeholders.

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Impact Advocate

Provides consultation to remove guesswork and offers insight into the impact of an event on the economy, attendee behavior and greater community value.

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Continuous Support: From Pre-Planning to Post-Con

Reaching out to the destination organization at the beginning of the event lifecycle ensures the organization can offer you all its available, no-cost services and that its local experts help you see a full picture of the options that can best contribute to the overall event experience. 

Example Services

“A DMO is more than an ambassador for a city; they are a powerful strategic partner. I always include the DMO on any RFP I send, because they have a vested interest in making sure our mutual client’s event attracts attendees, showcases the destination and is executed flawlessly. In addition to offering expert local knowledge, they provide free resources for groups including site visit assistance, offsite venue selection, promotional support, welcome materials and more. Their work brings tangible economic impact to the cities and regions they serve. That shared sense of purpose makes DMOs deeply committed to your success.” - Deborah Borak, CMM, SMMC, Senior Vice President/Team Director. ConferenceDirect

The Case for Working with Destination Organizations

Event success looks different now. That means your collaboration with the destination organization needs to look different, as well. There are more reasons now than ever to have a deep-rooted relationship with the destination organization that includes collaboration beyond logistical items.

The factors driving your destination site selection are often mirrored in the ones driving your delegates’ decision to attend. Here is a look at some of those evolving factors and where destination organizations can support you in meeting those needs.

Overcoming Destination Reputation

Working with destination organizations can help you overcome perceptions, shape the narrative, support the best destination selection and drive attendance.

“Destination Reputation: Responding to Societal Issues”—the multi-method approach study published by Destinations International, in collaboration with Future Partners and with support from the Destinations International Foundation—included a survey of 400 meeting planners and in-depth interviews with 12 meeting planners to offer insights and tools designed to address concerns.

With the report finding reputation for safety as the No. 1 factor that impacts destination site selection, connecting and working with the destination organization can provide you with statistics and sources that combat the issue or tell a deeper story of the progress the destination is making, as well as data on previous event attendance and satisfaction rates.