Tourism marketers often focus on bookings, but what if that’s the wrong goal? This session will explore what tourism can learn from the automotive world. Using the auto industry’s tier 1–2–3 model as a lens (manufacturer–region–dealer), we’ll examine the parallels to state tourism offices, destinations, and finally hotels, and discuss why measuring intent isn’t enough. This webinar will also cover how OTAs impact margins, why loyalty and retention matter more than ever, and how DMOs can shift their role, from chasing conversions to driving real demand and letting stakeholders close the deal. You'll leave with fresh thinking on how to measure the unmodeled value of your efforts and create strategies that lift your entire destination, not just room nights.

Join us for an insightful webinar designed to introduce three valuable resources offered to Destinations International members: the Compensation and Benefits Reporting Platform, the Destination Organization Performance Reporting Tool, and the Social Impact Assessment Tool. Available at no cost to destination organization members in good-standing, these tools are tailored to help you measure performance, foster progress, and drive meaningful impact within your organization. This session is ideal for leaders and team members looking to optimize organizational operations, track success metrics, and embed social inclusion in their strategies. Learn how annual engagement with these tools ensures your organization remains current, competitive, and aligned with industry best practices.

Unlock the true potential of sponsorships for your destination organization! During this BizOps Virtual Roundtable, experts will share strategies to transform sponsorship programs into powerful tools for expanding your organization’s reach and impact. Our expert panelists will cover: Expanding Sponsorship Options: Go beyond traditional cash sponsorships with in-kind donations, colunteer support, co-branding initiatives, and cause-marketing campaigns. Building Brand Awareness: Use sponsor networks to elevate brand awareness, amplify your message, and grow your audience. Finding Ideal Sponsors: Research and target businesses that align with your mission and audience, and develop a prospect list to approach potetial sponsors with confidence. Negotiation Tactics: Craft mutually beneficial sponsorship agreements, communicate your value effectively, and structure sponsorship packages to secure the resources your organization needs. This session is ideal for leaders in business development, finance, marketing and communications, and anyone eager to optimize resources and build strategic partnerships for their destination organization. Join us to learn how to attract the right sponsors, develop innovative and lasting partnerships, and drive greater, sustainable impact!

Incentive travel represents $112 billion in spending, roughly 8% of the global business events industry. Investment per participant also far exceeds other business events at an average $5,000 per participant. So how can destinations attract and win more of this valuable business? During this informative webinar, we will share the latest findings and major takeaways from the Incentive Travel Index, the annual study from SITE and the Incentive Research Foundation. Join us and discover the key trends and priorities of today’s incentive program clients and unlock the potential of incentive travel for your destination!

Destination organizations frequently come under government and media scrutiny, and too often, we are our own worst enemy. To overcome this, destination organizations must become one of their community’s shared values and confidently demonstrate how destination promotion can support and benefit the residents of the community. This must-attend session will clearly articulate the role of a destination organization in a community, provide the starting point for “Mission” and “About Us” statements, lay out the political argument for public support of destination promotion, and identify the ideas and ideals that form the basis of a community shared value.

The integration of generative AI and other technological tools in organizational strategies is inevitable. The ethical use and best practices of these tools are crucial to maintain brand authenticity, comply with AI policies, and foster positive visitor engagement and trust. This session will explore the ethical considerations, brand impacts, and AI policy implications of various digital tools including Meta platforms, Midjourney, Generative AI Virtual Agents, ChatGPT 4, Adobe Creative Suites, and more. We will look at how these tools match with organizational values and talk about the alignment of responsible AI frameworks that protect privacy, fairness, and inclusivity, while reviewing real-world user cases that show practical uses and difficulties.

Destination organizations have long been focused on selling the destination, but many are realizing that leading destination development efforts is not only appropriate, but also a key responsibility, and is crucial to the long-term survival of the organization and industry. Through the development of creative funding tools like TBIDs and other funding streams, destination organizations have found ways to generate, collect and spend attractive amounts of funding for marketing their destinations. However, two converging realities are occurring that require destination organizations to think more broadly about their mission. Join us as we dive into these current realities and their implications, plus share how destination organizations can lead their placemaking efforts from A to Z via best practices.

In a world where vendors tout AI capabilities and governments impose regulations on responsible usage, many organizations are left confused and struggle with the internal capacity to effectively introduce AI into their operations. During this virtual roundtable, an engaging panel discussion will provide expert insights on proactively managing policy creation, delivering successful AI program rollouts, and nuturing project teams for sustained AI incorporation. Come prepared to ask questions, as live audience participation is highly encouraged! Join us to gain clarity and confidence in your AI endeavors in the workplace.

EXCLUSIVE FIRST LOOK LIVE FROM MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS SUMMIT IN SALT LAKE CITY! Join this insightful session as we present the findings and results of our comprehensive study, "Destination Promotion: A Catalyst for Community Vitality." This research delves into the dynamic relationship between destination promotion efforts and the overall well-being and vitality of local communities. In this session, we will share key discoveries and data-driven insights that shed light on the transformative power of effective destination promotion strategies. From increased tourism to amplified community engagement, our research explores the myriad ways in which promoting a destination can serve as a catalyst for positive change.

Destinations have an important role to play in advancing the sustainability of their geographic region. During this webinar, we will share the steps that any destination organization can take to develop a strategy that will take into account the needs of the residents, visitors, and business community, while balancing priorities around social, economic, cultural, and environmental impacts. Building on one of Destination International’s most popular blogs of 2022, Top Seven Best Practices of Sustainable Tourism Destinations, Angela Nagy, CEO of GreenStep, will host two destination leaders who are leading the way by integrating these seven best practices into their destination strategies, performance measurement, stakeholder engagement, and communications.