DMO Accreditation Surpasses 100; Promotes Uniform Service

Planners can increasingly expect a more uniform level of service from the destination management organizations (DMOs) they turn to for local information and ground arrangement assistance. The Destination Marketing Accreditation Program (DMAP) has reached a major milestone and now has more than 100 destination marketing organizations (DMOs) that have earned accreditation.

Developed by Destination Marketing Association International (DMAI), the industry-wide accreditation program is designed to recognize DMOs that meet or exceed industry standards. DMAP has accredited DMOs throughout the United States (35 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico), Canada, and Europe.

To become accredited, a DMO must successfully complete a rigorous application process, requiring evidence of compliance with 54 mandatory standards and 33 voluntary standards. The standards set by DMAP cover a wide variety of topics including governance, finance, management, human resources, technology, visitor services, group services, sales, communications, membership, brand management, destination development, research/market intelligence, innovation, and stakeholder relationships.

When dealing with accredited DMOs, planners can expect to encounter, as a mandatory standard, a menu of meeting and/or convention services. These include lead distribution, destination information, site inspection facilitation, business referral services, attendance promotion and a post-event customer satisfaction survey. The DMO will also provide dedicated staff trained in destination knowledge and customer service to meet the needs of the group market. On a voluntary level, DMOs may offer a written description of reservations and housing capabilities, multi-lingual staff and registration personnel. Alternately, they will be able to refer these services out to local vendors.

“The benefit that an accredited DMO may offer to a travel seller, that a non-accredited DMO may not, is that 20 of the standards deal with the service aspect, Therefore, the meeting planner is assured that the staff of the DMO has a commitment to training, that leads will be handled consistently, service will be provided consistently and there will be a certain level of excellence that they provide, “says Andi Arabak, director of accreditation for the DMAP.