Think Like A Visitor

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...