Suppose a planner arranges for a group to drive between several restaurants for a dine-around. The planner checks a map to estimate the travel times based on the shortest routes between restaurants.

Planning a meeting, especially one that is large, complex or takes place in an unfamiliar location, can be a formidable task. Planners overwhelmed with stretching tight budgets and juggling multiple daily tasks may lack the time to handle every meeting detail.

Convention and visitors bureaus can grant planners more time, money and the kind of local, authentic experiences attendees crave.

In addition to highlighting the destination itself, the right experiences give attendees a break from meetings, shake things up and more often than not send them back to the business at hand energized and able to think in new and creative ways.

Meeting planners, CVBs, live event agencies, DMCs, rental companies and other suppliers must work effectively together to deliver the best possible outcome.

President and CEO Don Welsh tells how DMAI’s rebranding will significantly empower CVBs to excel.

The role of CVBs and DMOs is evolving to meet the changing needs of its markets now that we live in a digital world.

Convention and visitors bureaus show planners creative new ways to use their cities.

To a planner, a CVB is more than just a list of meeting services, it is a group of people who deliver those services with a certain disposition and personality.

Destination Marketing Organi­zations (DMOs), also known as Convention & Visitors Bureaus (CVBs), are hopping on the digital and social media marketing bandwagon to promote their destinations to planners and the public, vie with competitors for meetings, and grow return on investment.