Business Development: Insights Into Destination Marketing Organizations
by John Bass

Do you have trouble making sense of all the tourism associations that represent your city or region? Do you wonder about the purpose of all those different associations? Have you ever thought that maybe they could help market your business? You are not alone. Most tourism operators would answer “yes” to these questions. 
This article will help answer those questions, explain more about Tourism Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs), and provide some insight into their marketing programs and organizational structure. The objective is to help you determine if participating in a DMO, also known as a tourism association, offers advantages for your business. 
What is a regional, sub-regional, or city DMO, and what is its purpose? These organizations are similar in that they carry out umbrella marketing activities for the specific tourism area that each DMO represents. The annual strategic marketing plan is the backbone of its operation. The marketing plan combines a mix of tried and true programs along with new ideas such as website marketing, e-commerce, and member suggestions. It’s important to note that the marketing planning process is very adaptable. 
To help you understand the geographic layout, 6 regional DMOs were established when Tourism BC was restructured as a Crown Corporation in 1997. A few of the regional associations are Tourism Vancouver Island, Vancouver Coast & Mountains, and Northern BC. Sub-regional DMOs may pre-date the Tourism BC restructuring or were established to serve a smaller group of communities that can work more effectively when they cooperate. An example of each includes the Northern Rockies & Alaska Highway in northeastern BC, and Oceanside Tourism on Vancouver Island. Finally, the city DMOs exist in most larger cities such as Victoria, Kamloops, or Prince George. 
As tourism business operators, it’s important to know that regional DMOs’ activities benefit the public in the vacation planning process. To do this, they maintain websites, produce annual travel guides, host toll-free numbers, and fulfill requests for brochures. City DMOs also offer these services, though their most visible function is to assist visitors who are on vacation within the community. As an example, city DMOs generally operate the local Visitor Information Centre, which racks brochures and is staffed by counsellors.
Depending on your business location, there may be up to 3 tourism associations that you could join. Unfortunately, there are no simple answers or short cuts to determine which DMO will best represent your interests. The best thing to do for you and your business is to be diligent. Do your research and determine your operation’s needs. It would be short-sighted to simply shrug off these associations and assume they are ineffectively competing for your scarce marketing dollars.
Naturally, the DMO’s goal is to market the region for the benefit of all its tourism operators. However, most associations are membership-based with a unique fee structure. Fees are generally tiered based on different levels of membership, and participation in marketing activities. They can also be determined by your business sector or volume (i.e. room capacity or other metrics). A common perception is that the fees are restrictive rather than inclusive, and that the associations provide greater benefits to members (often bigger operators including larger hotels and motels). In truth, the associations are very inclusive and actively recruit new businesses, aiming to promote their region to its greatest advantage. However, it’s fair to say that, as with any organization, membership has its privileges!
To better represent all of the tourism operators within its region, some DMOs have taken a new approach and switched to the “Stakeholder Model”. This new approach is more prevalent amongst regional DMOs and is a change from the fee-based membership model. As a result, an immediate difference you may realize is that your first dollars can stream directly into marketing activities rather than membership.
All DMOs develop annual strategic marketing plans to describe their programs and action plans. Most DMOs will provide a summary of the plan on request, which will detail a calendar year’s worth of activities with target demographics and relevant timelines. If your business does join an association, you will be kept up to date on their marketing activities via e-mail. You will also have an opportunity to streamline your marketing plan with theirs. Regardless of the programs that you and your business participate in, there is a consistent potential for savings over the “go at it alone” marketing approach. 
Is it worthwhile to join one of the DMOs in your region? You will have to do some research to find out more about these organizations. More importantly, make sure to know your own marketing plan and budget. If there are obvious advantages through complementary marketing activities (i.e. saving and other benefits accrue), then the answer is probably “Yes, it’s worthwhile to participate”. Through collaboration and cooperation with your local DMO, you can leverage more results with your marketing dollars and do your part to collectively market your region as a tourism destination. 

John Bass operates Concentric Consulting & Communications, providing research, writing and design services. He can be reached at concentricconsulting@yahoo.ca.