Join us for an insightful webinar discussion designed to provide a refresh to valuable resources offered to Destinations International members: the Compensation and Benefits Reporting Platform, the Destination Organization Performance Reporting Platform, and the Social Impact Assessment Tool. We will also provide details on the redesign of these platforms launching in 2026. 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 impact in their strategies. As many of you have recently concluded your most recent fiscal year, now is the perfect time to explore how ongoing engagement with these tools helps your organization stay current, competitive, and aligned with industry best practices.

CALLING ALL SMALL DESTINATIONS: Join our virtual roundtable to explore the unique challenges and opportunities of managing HR in small teams. From streamlining processes to fostering strong team culture, this session will offer practical insights and peer discussions tailored for lean organizations. Facilitated by Destinations International's Small Destination Organization Subcommittee. Important Note: This opportunity is only available for Destinations International members representing destination organizations funded by $3 million USD or less. This session will not be recorded.

Join us for the release of the 2025 DestinationNEXT Futures Study, which explores the trends, forces, and signals shaping the future of destination organizations. In this session, you'll get an inside look at the most recent findings and discover what they mean for your strategy, your stakeholders, and your community. We'll unpack emerging (and ongoing) geopolitical factors, trends and strategies destination organizations need to consider, and shifting expectations, all grounded in original research and expert foresight. Whether you're planning your next strategic plan or simply trying to keep up with the pace of change, this session will help you make sense of what's coming and how to lead through it.

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.