Business Improves for Destination Management Companies

October 12, 2015

Almost 60 percent of the member Destination Management Companies (DMC) of the Association of Destination Management Executives International (ADMEI) report a stronger 3Q2015 compared to 3Q2014. Seventy-seven percent report their 3Q2015 was as good as or better than their 3Q2014. This continues the trend DMCs are experiencing all over the globe. Eighty-nine percent project that 4Q15 will be as good as or better than 4Q14.

Projections for 2016 are equally positive. Eighty percent predict that 2016 will be as good as or better than 2015 for their businesses and 85 percent project that 2Q2015 will be better than 2Q2014. For the past three years, 75 percent of member DMCs reported that they were experiencing a better year than the year prior.

Only 20 percent of ADMEI members report that the time interval between RFP and event are decreasing, a 100 percent improvement compared to 2Q2015 and 200 percent improvement compared to 3Q2014. More than 35 percent of members report an improvement in the time between RFP and event, even if it is not very much. But, 32 percent of the DMC members report no change in the lead time.

With the increase in business comes the demand for more staff. DMCs report that it is hard to find candidates, let alone with the right skill set. The following skills were ranked as important by more than 50 percent of the respondents:

Ability to write and communicate with effectiveness and good grammar.
Ability to organize their work — only looking for self-starters.
Ability to multitask.

By far, the best source of candidates were garnered from networking with current vendors and clients, with 65 percent of ADMEI members citing it as the method that generates the best set of candidates.

ADMEI-member DMCs are located in Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and South America. Almost a quarter of all member DMCs are located outside of the United States. Survey participants represent 43 percent of ADMEI’s global membership.