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After interviewing dozens of destination marketing leaders, Destination Think! identified fifty individual, albeit interrelated, challenges facing the industry. They then grouped these concerns into the following four themes in preparation for their Forum in New York City in October: Profit and Planet; Cost and Revenue; Product and Promotion; Community and Collaboration; while also highlighting Leadership and Organization (see Four critical trends impacting destination marketing leadership in 2016).<\/p>\n
What\u2019s fascinating about this list is what\u2019s absent. Virtually all the items relate to issues associated with performing a destination marketing organization (DMO)\u2019s traditional and primary function \u2013 i.e., doing whatever it takes to attract more visitors. The fifty concerns suggest there is clearly awareness of change \u2013 e.g., the shift from products to experiences; the emergence of continuously evolving, more complex and diverse media channels; the need to involve residents in tourism promotion; plus adapting to dwindling budgets, changes in consumer behavior, tools and technology, etc. These are familiar, fixable problems specific to destination promotion. With more skills development and guidance from the C-suite, nearly all could be handled by managers and their teams.<\/p>\n