Destination Marketing Association International (DMAI) and European Cities Marketing (ECM) announce partnership – American & European Destination Organizations & CVBs join forces
From left to right:
Bettina Bunge, ECM Vice President Meetings Industry and Director, Dresden Marketing
Don Welsh, President & CEO, DMAI
Ignasi de Delàs, ECM President
and Deputy Director Turisme de Barcelona
Tammy Blount, Chair Elect, DMAI
and President & CEO, Monterey County CVB
Destination Marketing Association International (DMAI) and European Cities Marketing (ECM) recently announced a Memorandum of Understanding that will promote and deliver key research and educational resources to respective members while working together to build the value of each organization.
“With this alliance, European and American DMOs establish permanent links to cooperate. This agreement will enable both organisations to provide their members with an enhanced offer and a wider range of services available. We are very proud of this new milestone and want to congratulate DMAI on its achievements and valuable contribution to the international Meetings Industry as a whole”, said Ignasi de Delàs, President of ECM and Deputy General Manager of Turisme de Barcelona.
“This partnership includes a powerful collection of activities and initiatives that will offer valuable education and research opportunities that will be beneficial to both DMAI and ECM as well as all stakeholders,” said Gary C. Sherwin, CDME, DMAI Chairman and President and CEO of Visit Newport Beach & Company Inc. Through the partnership, several key projects will be initiated in the coming years. The first two activities include DMAI’s DestinationNEXT program and the Annual ECM Summer School program.
“This partnership helps further demonstrates DMAI’s mission to empower our members with the tools they need to help their destinations excel,” said Don Welsh, President and CEO of DMAI. “DMAI offers competitive destination tools, such as DestinationNEXT, to help destination organizations and CVBs thrive and we look forward to collaborating with ECM to provide these tools for success.”
“This collaborative agreement is positioning ECM as the organization improving the competitiveness and performance of cities and creating better city marketers through renowned tools in research or education. We are delighted to strengthen our ECM Summer School, with an American touch in the programme; this broadens the perspectives offered to the students, educate European destinations on trends in the North American market and outlines ECM development in the Meeting Industry worldwide.” added Bettina Bunge, ECM Vice-President for the Meetings Industry and Director of Dresden Marketing Board.
**ENDS**
* European Cities Marketing (ECM) is the only non-profit organization improving the competitiveness and performance of leading cities of Europe by providing a platform for convention, leisure and city marketing professionals to exchange knowledge, best practice and widen their network to build new business. ECM has a leading role in promoting city marketing as a profession. European Cities Marketing is linking the interests of members from more than 100 major cities in 36 countries. More information can be found on www.europeancitiesmarketing.com.
Contact information
Flavie Baudot, press@europeancitiesmarketing.com, +33 380 56 02 00
Destination Marketing Association International (DMAI) is the world’s largest resource for official destination organizations, convention and visitors bureaus (CVBs) and tourism boards. In July 2017, DMAI will become Destinations International. Destinations International is about serving destination marketing professionals first and foremost. Together with more than 4,700 members and partners from nearly 600 destinations in approximately 15 countries, Destinations International represents a powerful forward-thinking, collaborative association; exchanging bold ideas, connecting innovative people and elevating tourism to its highest potential. For more information, visit www.destinationmarketing.org.