Think Like A Visitor

  One of the most overlooked questions in destination marketing isn't, "What should we do next?" It's "What should we stop doing?" Every destination marketing organization is filled with programs, events, publications, partnerships, and traditions that once made perfect sense. Many were successful. Some were innovative. Others were created to solve a specific challenge that no longer exists. Yet year after year, they remain in the budget, on staff work plans, and on board agendas simply because they've always been there. That isn't strategy. It's inertia. Peter Drucker frequently described strategic abandonment as one of management's most important responsibilities. He believed organizations should regularly examine everything they do and ask a difficult question: If we weren't already doing this today, would we start doing it now? For DMO leaders, that question can be surprisingly uncomfortable. Legacy Programs Have Hidden Costs Ev...

Destination Marketing Organizations are relationship-driven businesses. Success depends on collaboration, creativity, trust, and a shared commitment to serving visitors, stakeholders, and the community. While DMO leaders spend considerable time building external relationships, one of the most difficult leadership challenges often emerges internally: managing an employee who has become toxic to the organization. Toxic employees can be found in organizations of every size. They may be high performers, long-term staff members, or even individuals with strong industry knowledge. What makes them toxic is not necessarily their job performance but the negative impact they have on workplace culture, morale, teamwork, and organizational effectiveness. For a DMO President-CEO, ignoring the problem is rarely an option. The first responsibility of leadership is to objectively identify the behavior. Toxicity can take many forms: constant negativity, gossip, undermining coworkers, resistance to chan...

For many destination marketing organization CEOs, the job description appears straightforward: attract visitors, support the local tourism industry, and promote the destination. In reality, however, the most important responsibility of a DMO leader may have little to do with marketing at all. Today's DMO CEO serves as a chief "sense maker." Every day, destination leaders are bombarded with information. Research reports arrive weekly. Stakeholders offer opinions from every direction. Board members bring their own priorities and perspectives. Elected officials have expectations. Industry trends emerge and evolve rapidly. Economic conditions shift. Technology changes. Consumer behavior changes. Sometimes, seemingly contradictory data points compete for attention. The challenge is not a lack of information. The challenge is determining what matters. One of the CEO's most valuable contributions is filtering information overload into meaningful insight. Staff members, board...

  If you lead a Destination Marketing Organization, criticism comes with the territory. Sometimes it arrives in a board meeting. Sometimes it appears in an email from a hotel partner. Occasionally, it shows up on social media where everyone can see it. Whether the criticism is fair, unfair, constructive, or emotional, how you respond often matters more than the criticism itself. One of the most valuable tools a DMO President/CEO can use is the RAIN Method: Recognize, Allow, Investigate, and Nurture. Originally developed as a mindfulness practice, RAIN offers a practical framework for processing feedback without spiraling into self-doubt or shutting down emotionally. Recognize What Is Happening The first step is simply acknowledging your reaction. When criticism arrives, most leaders experience an immediate emotional response. You may feel defensive, embarrassed, frustrated, angry, or even fearful. Before responding, recognize what is happening internally. Ask yourself: What am I fe...

For many Destination Marketing Organization (DMO) leaders, the monthly financial report presented to the board is far more than a collection of numbers. It is a reflection of the organization's stewardship, transparency, and accountability. Board members rely on those reports to make informed decisions, monitor organizational health, and fulfill their fiduciary responsibilities. Strong financial reporting doesn't happen by accident. It is the result of sound accounting procedures, clearly defined responsibilities, and internal controls that protect both the organization and the people responsible for managing its resources. Here are ten essential financial practices every DMO should have in place. 1. Separate Financial Duties No single employee should control every aspect of a financial transaction. The person approving expenditures should not be the same person writing checks or reconciling bank statements. Separating responsibilities reduces the opportunity for errors or frau...

There is a strange expectation placed on Destination Marketing Organization leaders. The Executive Director or President-CEO is often expected to be a strategist, cheerleader, crisis manager, fundraiser, politician, economist, public speaker, mediator, salesperson, and visionary, sometimes all before lunch. The pressure can become relentless. Unlike many leadership positions, DMO leadership carries a unique emotional burden. Your success is publicly measured. Hotel occupancy, tax collections, visitation numbers, stakeholder satisfaction, political relationships, community perception, staff morale, media narratives, and board expectations all seem to converge in one office. And because tourism is tied so closely to economics and public perception, every challenge can feel personal. Many DMO leaders quietly carry stress they never openly discuss.  That silence can become dangerous. Mental health is not weakness. Burnout is not failure. Anxiety is not incompetence. In fact, many of th...