Destination Development and
Institutionalization Strategies
In the OIC Member Countries
160
When appropriate the board may include elected officials which allows for better collaboration
and gives the DMO more lobbying power when it comes to legislation.
Great Lakes Bay, a regional DMO that covers six destinations in Michigan, identified
elected officials and representatives from organizations that complement their
tourism efforts, such as local chambers of commerce, and economic development
corporations, and invited them to serve on the DMO’s board. Its collaboration with
government officials and chambers of commerce gave the DMO a voice regarding
legislative issues important to tourism. 423
The DMO should have an Executive Director or Chief Executive Officer who is responsible for day
to day decision making, and who reports to the board, and to whom each of the department heads
reports. In terms of the departments within the DMO, they need to reflect the activities for which
the DMO is responsible. If the DMO is responsible for promotion, product development, as well as
marketing, then each should be a separate department with distinct performance metrics. The
management side needs to look out for sustainability issues and serve as stewards of the culture
and environment to make sure there is a good destination for generations to come.
Consider this example of a sea-side destination with good diving/snorkeling. It is
costlier to educate local excursion boats about protecting the reef and putting
underwater rangers on popular sites to help project the reefs, and many local visitors
might find it slightly annoying that they need to keep a safe distance of a few meters
from the reef and never touch it. For marketers who are tasked with attracting more
visitors, this becomes a low priority. But in the long run, protecting the reef will ensure its
continued success. If this management is simply under the wing of the marketing department, it
may feel in the short run like the tourism management division is upsetting the visitors by not
letting them touch the corals and using a considerable part of the “marketing budget” for things
that are not helping the marketing team reach their sales goals. Therefore, each need to be
separate but equal divisions with their own staff and budget. If anything, the management side
(when taking decisions to protect the culture/environment) should take precedence over the
marketing decisions. Barcelona has led the way with this. Their tourism management team has a
separate budget in a separate building with its own staff.424
The number of staff employed in a DMO is determined by budget, but does not necessarily reflect
on the success of the DMO. There are examples of successful DMOs with small staff that can
maximize coordination with stakeholders to achieve great results.
DMOs may employ a limited number of staff members and outsource additional work as well as
rely on volunteers, in the case of events.
Guam Visitors Bureau employs 35 staff members, but subcontracts most of the services to
contractors to avoid the overhead, while the internal staff focuses on administration. 425
To be successful in product development, the product development team needs to include people
who have an urban planning background or an economic development background.426
423 Destinations International (2017). Destination NEXT Practice Handbook. 1-89.
424 Interview with Doug Lansky, destinations consultant, travel writer, and keynote speaker.
425 Interview with President and CEO, Guam Visitors Bureau
426 Interview with Vice President, Destinations International