DMOU: Destination Marketing Organization University

199: Brad Barnett • Insourcing to Build Authenticity and Leadership Capacity

When one leads a Destination in one of the most remote regions of the country, one often must view their role through different eyes. And Visit Keweenah’s Brad Bennett ce

198: Olivia Toth • Building Destination by Maximizing Existing Strengths

In our work around the country, we rarely see DMOs that target first year college students as potential semi-permanent 4-year visitors. In this episode of DMOU, Knox Coun

197: Travis Scott • Meeting Destination Challenges Head-On

In this episode of DMOU, you’ll meet Travis Scott, CEO of Visit Big Bear, who, in his first three years there, has developed actionable solutions to several of his destin

196: Kristen Pironis • Building Trust and Community Investment in Your DMO

When Kristen Pironis took the helm of Visit Annapolis and Anne Arundel County, she had her work cut out for her. The DMO was emerging from a crisis of confidence in a COV

195: Gary Sherwin • The Power of a Private-Sector Tourism Improvement District

Gary Sherwin is the CEO of Newport Beach & Company, a DMO that features an organizational model that I’ve always believed to be the most elegant and effective out there.

194: Kyle Edmiston • What's Ahead for Destinations International

Fresh off our time in Portland at the Annual Convention of Destinations International, we had the opportunity to welcome Visit Lake Charles CEO and new DI Board Chair Kyl

193: Meaghan Ferrigno • Destination Canada's Bold Embrace of Data, Research and AI

Destination Canada is very likely the most innovative DMO on the planet when it comes to redefining the tourism industry’s impact (both social and economic). Now, they ha

192: Matt Pivarnik • Making the DMO-Chamber Combo Work

Matt Pivarnik has held community leadership positions in Tulsa, Topeka and, now, in Myrtle Beach. All three DMOs have been connected in one way shape or form to their Cha

191: Kristen Reynolds & Michael Jacobson: The 15 Year Journey to Create Chicago's TID

Establishing a Tourism Improvement District is rarely easy…but in Chicago, it took almost 15 years. But, when the City Council approved the first TID in Illinois earlier

190: Chris Ihrig • Developing a Pathway to Destination Leadership

I've always referred to my friend Chris Ihrig as "the Culture Guy" (probably because his company is called Fired Up! Culture). But after reading his latest book "Would Yo

189: Dan Rowe • Leading Through Crisis

Over the past 18 years, Dan Rowe built Visit Panama City Beach into one of the most recognized DMOs in the Southeast, growing its influence well beyond its marketing mand

188: Gary Wheat • Honey, We Bought a Radio Station

When we launched DMOU as a tele-seminar series over 20 years ago, it was designed to showcase the coolest innovation out there in Destination Leadership. For Visit Macon,

187: Auvis Cole • Building Trust and Collaboration with Industry Partners

When Auvis Cole stepped into the role of Director of Discover Crystal River, he sensed a lack of organizational connectivity with his industry partners…and set out to imp

186: Amir Eylon • How Events are Driving American Tourism in 2026

On this episode of DMOU, we welcome back our friend Amir Eylon from Longwoods International. Their monthly analyses of American traveler sentiment are always must-reads f

185: Ryan Short • Going Beyond Place Branding to Achieve a Civic Brand

Ryan Short works in an arena that many refer to as “place branding.” But, he believes that our communities deserve more…and has written a book called The Civic Brand: The

184: Brad Jones • Developing Ambassadors, Transit Solutions and Culinary Magic

Going in, I thought we were going to talk about how Brad Jones is nailing the Tourism Ambassador Program in Bellevue WA (and before that, in Rochester MN). But our conver

183: Christine Lawson • Maximizing Global Events to Build Brand

Santa Clara has the unique honor of hosting both the Super Bowl and FIFA World Cup matches in the same year. As we ramp up to Super Bowl 60, we speak with Discover Santa

182: Megan Knott • Creating a Culture of Collaborative Community Development

What if your governmental leaders and your hospitality partners were completely bought in to your DMO’s strategies, funding and program of work? On this edition of DMOU,

181: Tania Armenta • On Developing Community Trust, Partnership & Vision

We’re kicking off the New Year on DMOU with one of our favorite DMO pros, Visit Albuquerque’s Tania Armenta. As she marks 10 years as CEO, Tania looks back on the work to

180: John Urdi • Developing Community-wide Investment in a DMO

We close out 2025 with one of our favorite conversations of the year. Mammoth Lakes’ John Urdi (soon to be the CEO of Surf City USA) shares how his community embraced a T