As most destination marketing organisations are still operated along traditional lines under the direction of local government, reacting rapidly to support tourism partners through these changes can be highly challenging.
This vision will be visible through a new paper titled The Future of DMOs: The ECM Manifest which will be presented in the opening session of the ECM International Conference, and distributed online from the start of the event.
“At last year’s Conference, TOPOSOPHY presented a landmark report for city marketers in Europe on the Sharing Economy. This year’s report focuses on the Future of DMOs. It gives a real vision of how they should re-organise their activities internally and externally, and emerge with a strengthened role in order to face the future with confidence”, said Manolis Psarros, CEO of Toposophy.
Commenting on this vision, ECM President Ignasi de Delàs added: “Throughout Europe, DMOs are facing similar demands to re-think what they do. Budget cuts, political pressure and shifts in consumer behaviour mean that it’s time for DMOs to find a new, strengthened role in attracting all types of talent, ideas and investment for their cities, regions and nations. ECM is already playing a strong role in supporting cities when disturbance is the only constant in urban travel. As practitioners, we want to share our vision with the tourism and meetings industry and this report is the perfect example of our work.”
The ECM International Conference will be held from May 31-June 3, 2017 in Dubrovnik, Croatia. It will bring together Europe’s city marketers and tourism professionals with industry thought leaders and leading tourism academics from around the globe to debate and navigate the new normal in urban travel and tourism.