Earlier this month, we were honored to speak with Tourism Diversity Matters CEO Greg DeShields on the DMOU podcast...and that episode dropped earlier this week. Greg shares the organization's genesis story, the past year's successes (including his stellar work with the Greater Lansing MI CVB and Julie Pingston, a past DMOU guest) and where TDM is headed this year.
Check it out...and then, if it's right for your destination, give 'em a call.
If you enjoy the work of Ron White, you know the phrase. If not, just remove the "Tater."
This week, President Biden signed the omnibus spending package that includes the Restoring Brand USA Act, which provides $250 million in relief funding to the nation’s Destination Marketing Organization. It also allows the Department of Homeland Security to exempt returning H-2B workers from the statuary cap on H-2B visas and requires the State Department to create an action plan to address visa application wait times. All are desperately needed to bring our economy back.
It's been far too long since Congress and a President worked together on behalf of the industry that helps power the American economy.
It's a very Good Day. And one for which we all need to thank those in Congress that supported this effort.
The companies that have withdrawn from Russian engagement continues to grow. McDonalds (which will result in a $50 million loss in revenue per month) is one of the most notable to say nyet.
But, it isn't just shutting off commerce in an effort to encourage Russian leadership to stop this wanton act of aggression and disregard for human life. It's shutting off services...which Destinations International has just done by termination of the membership of the St. Petersburg Convention Bureau.
Along with the announcement, DI also offered a link to a non-profit organization led by D.C. chef, José Andrés, that
has been on the ground in Ukraine feeding displaced people since the outbreak of violence.
Please join DMOproz in supporting this vital lifeline for so many.
Amidst all the finger pointing regarding squandered CARES money...this is how it's done. And, yes...it was a Destination Marketing Organization that made it rain.
Visit Spokane was awarded $200,000 in CARES funds. To be fair, it was a pretty modest investment and one could expect modest returns.
But Meg Winchester and her team took that modest award and turned it into $3.8 million of hotel bookings.
It's another example of how stimulus money in the hands of a DMO has a greater impact than many of the recipients of federal funds can claim.
Just sayin...
Over the past few months of being back on the road after over a year-long hiatus, we've noticed a distinct difference in the air quality at many of the hotels in which we've stayed. Over half of the hallways we've walked smelled like weed.
When I've asked Managers if they enforce the same smoking fines as traditionally applied to tobacco, most affirm that they do. "But they don't care," said one in Florida. "What's a $250 fine if it's split 10 ways? You get to smoke weed all night with your friends for $25? It's a deal."
Flash forward to a conversation I had recently about how a silver lining of COVID was that some hotels welcomed more locals trying to break the monotony of lock-down with a weekend getaway. I asked if this would continue as a target market for the next few years. He shook his head sadly and said:
"Local Equals Marijuana."
Sad, really. But I smell a market opportunity ahead.
First off...hats off to Smart Meetings for one of the coolest magazine covers I can remember.
But kudos too for naming Puerto Rico's Kim DeRoja, US Travel's Tori Emerson Barnes, Visit Orlando's Casandra Matej, Monterey County's Lauren Siring, Las Vegas' Laurae Clifford, Walnut Creek's Nicole Hankton, Cedar Rapids' Julie Stow, Nashville's Marie Sueing, Rancho Cordova's Maggie Thyken Huss and Visit Indy's Susie Townsend to this year's Smart Women in Meetings 100.
Congratulations all...and here's to all that also roar that you may be included in next year's list.
Yesterday, Longwoods International & Destinations International released the 2021 Resident Sentiment Study, revealing how both Americans and Canadians feel about aspects of the Travel and Tourism Industry.
We'll all take our own queues from the data. Our take is that the carnage wrought by COVID has slightly improved American attitudes regarding the importance of Tourism...but not nearly as much as one would have expected or desired. A bigger attitude shift comes when residents are asked if people who use Short Term Rentals can be disruptive to neighborhoods (i.e., is this segment of our industry beginning to wear out its welcome?).
You can learn more on these questions and more here. And, thanks to Longwoods and DI for the intel.
Last Summer, the Chicago Tribune offered me online access to their content for a buck a month (or something like that). I knew that at the end of three months, they'd jack me to $15.99/month...which is where I am, questioning the true value.
But, last week, I received two e-mails from the Trib within the same minute. One asked me to "come back" for 25 cents a week for 6 months. The other asked me to come back for $1 for 6 months (click to enlarge image).
Of course, when we called to ask if we could get the deal being offered, we were told no...that we were already a subscriber. But, errr, you asked us to come back.
And we are also being asked to trust the journalism of a newspaper that can't figure out the most basic tenets of customer service.
I get that newspapers are struggling...but, really?
It was the Summer of 2014. DMOproz had just been selected by Virginia's Blue Ridge to develop a Tourism Master Plan for the region. In one of our earliest meetings, CEO Landon Howard shared that he thought that the region could be known as the Mountain Biking Capital of the East Coast. After an afternoon on a bike, a member of our onsite Assessment Team confirmed Landon's hunch, saying their trails were among the most rugged and scenic he'd ever ridden.
In the years that followed, Virginia's Blue Ridge worked with local biking interests to secure Silver certification from the International Mountain Biking Association. And last week came news that a woman's cycling team with their eyes on the Olympics in 2024 has selected the destination as its hub of operations and training center for the next three years. Through a sponsorship agreement with the DMO, the team has been renamed Virginia’s Blue Ridge Twenty24. Among the members is Jennifer Valente, who won gold and bronze in the 2021 Olympics. And, this isn't just a team that will be using the trails to prepare. They expect to host community rides and clinics so residents can get to know them and the sport.
Congratulations to Landon and the entire team at VBR. Well played and we couldn't be more thrilled.
For Destination Marketing Organizations, the heritage side of our product line is often a challenge. Museums and heritage sites are decreasingly valued by the consumers we court...and yet, we know that the compelling stories these assets tell differentiate us from other communities and celebrate our history and diversity. Adding on to this conundrum are often site managers that press DMOs to do more to promote these assets, as their livelihood depends on visitation.
In our recent work with a destination, we interviewed a museum director (among scores of stakeholders) to determine his view on the efficacy of his DMO. Initially, he shrugged off the question, saying that destination marketing wasn't going to be the key to his future success. This museum, he said, isn't enough of a magnet to draw visitors to town.
And then, he nailed what he really needed. "I need people in this community to have enough pride of place that they invite their friends and relatives for a visit," he said. "Because if their friends and relatives come for a visit, their host will bring them to the museum."
Breathtakingly brilliant.
And, another reason why a DMO's work often starts at home...and not 50 miles away.
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