One would be hard pressed to identify a destination with more assets in the pipeline than the Greater Raleigh Region. $400 million Convention Center expansion, $75 million HQ Hotel, $300 million in Arena Upgrades, $75 million Sports Complex…and more. Visit Raleigh’s Denny Edwards joins us to tell the stories behind how so many projects came to fruition. From Conventions to Sports to Major Events…you’ll hear it all.

For some destinations Esports is a mystical new market that they’re just not sure how to address. For others, they may believe the early adopters have already sown up the opportunities. On this episode of DMOU, Esports expert Ed Tomasi de-mystifies this exciting new market and shares how virtually every community can assess where in the sport’s ecosystem they reside and whether they can thrive. Ed offers the stages that every community must traverse to effectively compete…and a great Bonus...

The philosophies that underpinned the art and science of the Destination Marketing world changed 15 years ago this Summer. That’s when Maura Gast first uttered those now famous words, “If you Build a Place…” On this edition of DMOU, Maura shares the backstory of how her “Building Blocks” came to be and how the entire community development sector is coming around to recognize that “it all starts with the visit.” Plus, she shares her thoughts on additional ways to explain the value of DMOs and...

One of the newest marketing opportunities out there is NIL (Name / Image / Likeness)…and we touched on it briefly in Episode 122 with Experience Columbia SC’s Kelly Barbrey. On this edition of DMOU, we sit down with Destination Ann Arbor CEO Sarah Miller to hear how they have entered this arena and what they believe the future holds for them and other DMOs in this space. We also discuss her experience as a relatively new CEO...and talk about our shared experiences at the A&W. Join us.

Sister Cities. Many communities maintain such relations but how many maximize the opportunity before them? On this episode of DMOU, Mary Kay Wydra (Explore Western Mass) and Carline Boland (Dingle Peninsula Tourism Alliance) share their sensational experience of developing a bi-continental relationship that drives culture, heritage and significant visitation between the two destinations.

On this very special edition of DMOU, Destinations International’s Chief Social Inclusion Officer Sophia Hyder Hock shares the evolutionary shift from EDI to a more inclusive platform in which DMOs can move beyond silos to develop truly welcoming initiatives. We talk about how this concept came to fruition and how DMOs can successfully utilize new resources through the Social Inclusion portal of the DI site. And, you’ll hear how Sophia’s parents elegantly reacted when, as a child, she asked...

Community engagement has never been more important than it is today for Destination Marketing Organizations. And, after a public debate that called into question the importance of Explore Fairbanks to its community, the DMO has a stepped up its outreach. CEO Scott McCrea joins DMOU to discuss his DMO’s recent foray into local radio, their work in welcoming service men and women to town each week and flipping their membership program to partnership. Plus a Bonus Round Question that involves...

You’d have to have been living under a rock to not have seen the international media attention VisitLEX has received after sending an interstellar message of welcome to the TRAPPIST-1 solar system. On this episode of DMOU, we hang with VP of Marketing Leslie Miller to get the inside story on how the initiative came together and how it plays into the broader campaign to build brand awareness for Lexington.

There's a reason why Chamber-DMO combos aren't as prevalent as they were in the '80s and '90s...and that's because they generally don't work all that well. But, the ones that do, tend to rock their communities. Cheryl Kilday is the CEO of Destination North Myrtle Beach and, on this episode of DMOU, she shares how she has cherrypicked the best aspects of both models to create a community asset that drives the economy and the region's Quality of Life. And, how 55 community leaders landed 138...

After over 45 years in the Tourism trenches, Randy Fiveash retired last year for the second time after a sensational career in the Destination Marketing world. From his local DMO work in places like Branson, Myrtle Beach and Gatlinburg to leading State Tourism Agencies in Kentucky and Connecticut, he’s seen it all…and, on this episode of DMOU, we learn his life lessons that still resonate today. From paying it forward to sharing his thoughts on what we once knew about Destination Marketing...

As we kick off a new year of conversations on DMOU, we start you off with a bang. Visit Lauderdale’s Stacy Ritter is a force of nature…and has been an unapologetic voice against some of the policies coming from the current State’s political leadership that have caused some conventions and events to cancel bookings in her destination. We talk about how the culture of the community and the DMO simply require no less of a response, as well as discussing her DMO’s work in the DEI space before...

The Iowa City/Coralville metro population is roughly 175,000...and yet they host global events on an annual basis. In our last episode of 2023, we welcome our friend Josh Schamberger, CEO of Think Iowa City, to share his thoughts on the evolving role of Destination Marketing & Leadership Organizations and why the size of a destination means very little when you execute like no place else. It's a fascinating conversation with one of the thought leaders in our sector that proves second and...

Over the past 5 years, observers of Puerto Rico Tourism’s comeback from hurricanes, earthquakes, Zika, the Pandemic and political turmoil have marveled at the brilliant efforts of Discover Puerto Rico in guiding that renaissance. CMO Leah Chandler shares the remarkable story of a start-up DMO that took its time to understand its existing brand awareness, and then strategically built out a series of initiatives and promotions that have resulted in five years of record growth to the island....

Josiah Brown (Famous Destination Marketing) is one of this sector's newest thought leaders. We had the opportunity to work with Josiah on a destination assessment project in 2018 and were instantly taken by his "outsider" grasp of the intricacies of Destination Marketing. In this episode, we go deep on his take on what DMO pros get wrong when explaining the power of what we do...as well as his thoughts on the muddled state of branding, taglines and campaigns. And, a pretty hilarious story...

After a brief travel-induced hiatus, DMOU is back with a wide-ranging conversation with New York City Tourism + Conventions' Fred Dixon. As Chair of Destinations International, Fred has laid out an ambitious agenda for his year including DEI and Accessibility, Global growth, Member sustainability and a renewed emphasis on meetings and business events. We discuss these topics and more...including a fascinating (and fun) story of how his DMO partnered with Taylor Swift. Join us...and it's good...

It was 2011 when several DMO pros in Illinois began discussing the potential to introduce State legislation to add Tourism Improvement Districts into their funding mix. Earlier this year, that legislation finally passed and was signed into law. Rockford Area CVB CEO John Groh and Visit Quad Cities CEO Dave Herrell return to DMOU to share the up and down story of persistence, negotiation and being ready when the political winds were right. Even if your State already has TID legislation in...

If there is a short list of thought leaders in the DMO world, Rick Antonson is always on that list. He was our first guest 20 years ago on the DMOU Teleseminar and our first guest on the the resurrected DMOU Podcast (and that says a lot). On this episode, he’s back to talk Destination Marketing…but also to share thoughts about his latest book, Train Beyond the Mountains: Journeys on the Rocky Mountaineer. Rick and I go deep into the meaning behind travel, the connections made and the life...

As Destination International’s Advocacy Summit is just around the corner, there’s no better time to talk with Visit Rapid City’s Brook Kaufman who, when she was with Visit Casper, ran and won a seat on her County Board. On this episode, you’ll hear why Brook thinks that more DMO pros should run for office…as well as her experiences during the last Total Eclipse of the Sun and how, as the first non-resident to helm Visit Rapid City in 40 years, she built a culture of trust with both...

PCMA CEO Sherrif Karamat is one of the deepest thinkers in the business events space. And, not unlike those old EF Hutton commercials, when Sherrif talks, I listen. So, when he said that DMOs were falling behind his members in the adoption of AI at Destinations International’s Annual Conference this summer, that was more than enough to earn an invitation to DMOU. Join us for a fascinating discussion of how he believes AI can reduce the mundane and better connect us to our clients…and where...

Experience Columbia SC's Kelly Barbrey joins DMOU to share how her DMO has reimagined the traditional Ambassador program into a sensationally high-profile strategy that utilizes select residents as subject experts to share the destination's stories. She also outlines the success of the Pimento Cheese Passport campaign and her organization's initial foray into NIL Sponsorship of Collegiate Athletes.

When the moderator went to the audience this year at the Annual Convention of Destinations International asking, "what keeps you up at night," Lviv's Olena Pavlyuk held out her mobile device and replayed a recording of an air raid siren. In this fascinating episode of DMOU, Olena shares how war has changed her community into one of volunteers, how Lviv has become a hub for medical tourism through UNBROKEN...and how the DMO secured and serviced over 600 events last year, despite the constant...

Almost half of American States have legalized the recreational use of cannabis...but many DMOs in those States struggle with ways to promote the advantage they possess against States that don't. In this episode of DMOU, we talk with Brian Applegarth, the foremost expert in the intersection of cannabis and tourism, about how to escape the stigma...and focus on the health, wellness and inclusionary aspects of this amazing community asset. A fascinating episode.

Each year at the Annual Convention of Destinations International, we roam the halls asking a single question. This year, that question was how DMOs were beginning to utilize Artificial Intelligence (or AI). In this episode, you'll hear from a handful of DMO pros on how they are using AI to jump start ideation and save time in the composition of written communiques. And, as you'll hear, this is just the beginning for our sector.

This week, we welcome back Adam Stoker (the Podcast Whisperer) for a thought provoking conversation on how DMOs should view their role in promoting their communities. According to Adam, for years, we have been "renting" visibility in traditional media, online, etc. Shouldn't we be owning it? And, to use another analogy (hunter / farmer), should we be targeting consumers or cultivating them? A fascinating conversation that deserves your listen.