Destination Development and
Institutionalization Strategies
In the OIC Member Countries
2
DMOs in the Tourism Chain of Command
Source: DinarStandard Analysis
DMOs oftentimes, although not always, play a critical role in enhancing a country’s tourism industry at the
destination level, overseen by a National Management Office with local government accountability, with
10,000 estimated to be in existence. 1 They are tasked with directly managing the development of resources
and attracting tourists to benefit local communities.
(2) The most developed DMOs are independent, well-funded organizations at the forefront of
attracting tourists to a destination
DMOs are shifting away from being predominantly government entities over the past 40 years to public-
private partnerships, with their functions predominantly centered around product development and
promotion, stakeholder engagement and at more sophisticated levels, resource stewardship and strategy.
At the more sophisticated levels, DMOs follow a number of differentiating best practices:
 Functions: Leading DMOs have four distinguished functions, usually operating independently of
local or national tourism ministries or offices – in addition to developing destinations and
promoting destinations, they are also effectively engaging stakeholders and communities, and
playing a strategic role in managing resources and obtaining feedback.
 Product development and marketing: DMOs play a critical role in developing destinations as
products, supported by multi-pronged online, offline and event-based promotional activities. In
terms of destination development, DMOs ensure the core resources, supporting infrastructure and
amenities, and the broader ecosystem, is conducive to tourists. This role is dynamic and has seen
1 Pike, S., & Page, S. J. (2014). Destination Marketing Organizations and destination marketing: A narrative analysis of the literature.
Tourism Management , 41, 202-227. doi:10.1016/j.tourman.2013.09.009
National Tourism
Body
National
Management
Office
National Steering
Committee
DMO DMO DMO Industry
Associations
Role
Convenes all stakeholders
at a national level to
facilitate tourism industry
development
Represents industry
participants from
individual segments of the
value chain – such as
hotels, restaurants,
transportation
Role
Develops tourismstrategy,
accountable to federal
government
Tasked with delivering
overall tourism strategy at
a national level
Provides support to
individual DMOs
Ownership of developing
destinations at a local (part
of a state/region) or
regional (a full state/
region) level
Accountable to regional
government