The summer season is still in full swing! Get the latest insights and information from this week’s DMO Download. Check out the takeaways from Destinations International’s most recent convention, learn how Canada’s festivals are supporting the local economy, what marketing can do to boost your funding opportunities and so much more.

Destinations International, a professional organization for destination organizations and convention and visitors bureaus, held its annual convention this summer. The convention featured opportunities to connect destination professionals and presented new ideas and insights from industry leaders. This article from HospitalityNet highlights some of the key takeaways from this convention:

• DMOs are prioritizing inclusion and diversity in their marketing efforts and within their organizations. Visitors are paying attention to inclusion, accessibility and diversity when making their travel decisions and are willing to pay more for it.
• Cultural experiences are important to visitors and good for business in destinations, so it’s important to showcase your region’s multicultural experiences.
• The industry is seeing a shift from destination marketing to destination management as the sole focus on the traveler to how they can uplift entire communities.
• Destinations are recognizing their role in promoting sustainability. While destinations can’t single-handedly save the environment, they can encourage more sustainable practices within their communities.
• DMOs need to focus on emerging platforms such as Tik Tok to secure user-generated content.

Be sure to dive deeper into these takeaways to learn more about how you can push your destination toward success.

The trend is here to stay: destinations are celebrating their region’s heritage by preserving and promoting their festivals and events. This news release from Canada Economic Development for Quebec regions is simply the latest example of how this trend is working entering into the financial side of tourism. Let’s check out what’s happening in Quebec:

Canada announced that they will be awarding over $30 million to Quebec to support 14 festivals and events across the province. Since this funding, the region has seen economic improvement and growing numbers of visitors, proving the value that these heritage events present to the community.

“Our festivals are an important means of conveying our culture and heritage in Quebec and all across Canada. It’s great to have them back and to see our artists once again performing on the stages of our favourite festivals. The pandemic has not been easy for them and we continue to be there to support them in the recovery,” Pablo Rodriguez, the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Quebec Lieutenant said. “With this assistance, our cultural events can continue to showcase our culture, attract visitors from all over and create good jobs for the local population. I’m sure that festival-goers from one end of the country to the other will be out enjoying themselves this summer and all through the year.”

Let Quebec inspire your destination’s own cultural celebrations. Keeping your region’s special events and traditions alive will not only allow you to achieve all the economic benefits but also establish your area as a better place to work and live for your residents.

Many DMOs are responsible for building, maintaining or promoting assets that highlight the very character of their communities. Knowing how to use a marketing strategy to prove sustainability and credibility is essential when vying for funding. Proving to investors that you have a reliable plan to attract end-users, help local businesses and create jobs gives legitimacy to your hard work. Implementing marketing strategy for your project, community or organization can help demonstrate your destination’s credibility and potential for success. This webinar from Bull Moose Marketing’s VP of Business Development and non-profit funding extraordinaire, Josh Sherretts, covers:

• Synchronizing your strategies with realistic funding goals
• Determining your funding goals and creating actionable plans to reach them
• What funding institutions are looking for when offering grants
• What you need in your toolkit to successfully apply for funds
• Advice on how to stand out in your funding application

For DMOs, winning grants and securing funding can make all the difference in your organization’s efforts in your community. This is why having a solid marketing plan can show funding institutions — and the world — that your vision is worth investing in to make the world a better place.

A successful marketing campaign takes time and well-placed funds to develop, and in the marketing world, you must be willing to change your strategy if you don’t see the desired results. There comes a time when you should let go and move on to a new digital strategy. Here are seven common signs that it’s time to ditch your digital strategy and try something new:

• If your costs considerably outweigh your returns or you aren’t breaking even on your digital marketing expenditure, then it’s time to rethink your plan.
• When a digital marketing strategy begins to linger over the strategy deadline or is failing to achieve timely, positive results.
• If you’ve started modifying various components or marketing strategies to rescue a campaign but the results aren’t improving, then it’s time to reconsider your tactics.
• When poor results become a long-term pattern, it’s a solid indication that your digital marketing plan framework needs to be updated.
• Don’t allow one bad apple to ruin the whole strategy. Stop a bad campaign as soon as it threatens to undermine what is working.
• No matter how strongly you believe in something, if the general population isn’t reacting positively, then you should reevaluate your approach.

If you notice any of these signs in your marketing plan then it may be time to reconsider your marketing strategy. This webinar discusses marketing strategy and how to get started for heritage tourism areas and organizations. This is a must-see resource for post-COVID-19 travel and tourist marketing strategy.