Representing more than 1,300 professional members from more than 600 convention and visitor bureaus in 25-plus countries, Destination Marketing Association International's (DMAI) members are the trusted, official source of travel information. They represent travel and tourism-related businesses at the local and regional level that serve to promote the long-term development and marketing of a destination. As an association, DMAI serves as the gateway between a diverse population of convention, meeting, and tour professionals, and a global network of destinations.

What does this mean for meeting planners? DMAI offers meeting planners direct access to member bureaus, helping you gain a planning partner at any of our 600-plus meeting destinations. Destination marketing organizations (DMOs), also called convention and visitor bureaus (CVBs) or tourism boards, can help you with all the logistics you need to hold a successful meeting. Take advantage of their expert knowledge of the destinations they represent and their immediate contact with hotels, conference centers, convention centers, and government officials. Best of all, you'll find most CVB services are complimentary - saving you money, time and hassles.

How do CVBs help meeting planners?
CVBs make planning and implementing a meeting more streamlined and less time-consuming. They give meeting professionals access to a wide range of services, packages, and value-added extras. They can help you add the personal touches that make your attendees feel welcome. Before a meeting begins, CVB sales professionals can help locate meeting space, check hotel availability, and arrange for site inspections. CVBs can also link planners with the suppliers - from motor coach companies and caterers to off-site entertainment venues - that can help meet the prerequisites of planning any event.

No matter the type of meeting you're planning, from a family reunion to a large convention; or the size of the meeting being organized, from 50 to 50,000; all meeting professionals are encouraged to use a bureau's services. In fact, some larger bureaus even have staff members dedicated to small meetings.

Among the advantages of going through a CVB to plan a meeting:

• CVBs can assist planners in all areas of meeting preparation and provide planners with detailed reference and collateral material
• CVBs can establish room blocks at local hotels
• CVBs will market the destination to attendees via promotional material, thereby encouraging attendance
• CVBs can act as a liaison between the planner and community officials, clearing the way for special permits, street closures
• CVBs can obtain special letters of welcome from high-ranking government officials and in some cases, can bring officials to speak at a meeting
• CVBs can offer suggestions about ways meeting attendees can maximize free time, along with helping to develop spouse programs and pre- and post-convention tours.

CVBs are the trusted, knowledgeable source of information for your meeting destination. Plus, they want every client leaving their destination to come back. Don't hesitate to call a CVB for your planning needs: Remember, the CVB is working for you.

Tools That Work for You

DMAI has created tools to quickly and effectively communicate the needs of meeting planners to hundreds of destinations around the world - The Meeting Information Network (MINT) and the Online RFP System.

MINT - DMAI currently houses the industry's largest database of historical meeting data, accessible anywhere via the Web. The Meeting Information Network (MINT) contains vital meeting information on more than 34,000 meetings from 17,000 organizations, including associations, corporations, military reunions, sporting events, and government institutions. This data was collected using Post Convention Reports (PCRs) from customers, hotels, and facilities. PCRs are the cornerstone of MINT. They provide detailed information on meeting demographics, contact names, room pick-up, and future bookings.

CVBs frequently check MINT to weed out false leads. In many cases, your meeting history has been reviewed before you've even met with a CVB representative. Just like you need a good credit report for a loan, it's important to maintain an accurate meeting history to substantiate your RFP for your next meeting destination.

Accurate meeting history also leads to more efficient negotiations with CVBs. An accurate MINT report provides bureau staff insight into your space, room block, and start-date needs. Your detailed historical room pick-up information can help cut hotel attrition costs by revealing exactly what your meeting has blocked versus picked up in past years. These factors translate into higher quality proposals tailored to your specific needs.

To verify your organization's profile accuracy, e-mail mint@destinationmarketing.org and request a copy of your profile. Meetings reported to MINT must use 50-plus rooms on peak, be held on a regularly scheduled basis, and rotate within at least one state.

Online RFP System - A free, instantaneous vehicle for sending out your requests for proposals, DMAI's Online RFP System connects you with your future meeting destinations. Available at www.destinationmarketing.org under the Resources menu, the Online RFP distributes your meeting specifications to CVBs around the world, enabling you to request information specific to your needs in minutes.

DESTINATIONS SHOWCASE
Conduct a Month's Work of Business in One Afternoon
Two times a year DMAI conducts a fast-paced, productive one-day exhibition and conference where meeting professionals meet face-to-face with hundreds of destination representatives from around the globe. Designed specifically for qualified meeting planners, Destinations Showcase offers a place where meeting professionals explore potential meeting destinations, attend valuable education sessions, and network with industry leaders.

Reacquired by DMAI in November 2005, Destinations Showcase achieved record-breaking attendance at its 2006 shows, with hundreds of worldwide destinations exhibiting and more than 1,000 meeting professionals in attendance. A 20-year hospitality tradition, this show easily facilitates a meeting between planners and exhibitors specifically for the purpose of site review and selection. Education sessions taught by industry experts focus on timely issues and ways to save you time and money.

Meeting professional attendees enjoy the effectiveness and convenience the one-day show offers. "If you've never been to Destinations Showcase, save the date on your calendar," said Lindsay Barber, manager of communications for National Agricultural Aviation Association. "It is a one-stop shop for planning your meetings." Planners routinely attend with RFPs in hand and are encouraged to plan ahead with a pre-event exhibitor list. For more information, visit www.destinationsshowcase.com. Full registration is complimentary for planners. Attend and earn credit toward your CMP certification. Dates for 2007: March 1, 2007: Washington, D.C. June 28, 2007: Chicago

Gain Instant Access to Destinations
DMAI has partnered with DestinationsTV to offer the unique Destinations Showcase trade show available online, 24/7, 365 days a year. Destinations Showcase Online is a state-of-the-art comprehensive, user-friendly Web site housing streaming video clips, destination "fast facts," and direct links to dozens of destinations worldwide. This online expo offers a unique opportunity for meeting professionals to visit destinations online and get an overview of their meeting facilities and amenities instantaneously throughout the year. For more information, visit www.DestinationsShowcaseOnline.com.

CVB Accreditation Program Launched
In fall 2006, DMAI launched the Destination Marketing Accreditation Program (DMAP), starting initially with a beta test and a full program rollout scheduled for early 2007. Currently utilized by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the health care industry and institutions of higher education, accreditation programs are becoming increasingly popular with organizations that wish to define standards of performance for their member constituents and measure their compliance. DMAI research shows that 93 percent of DMO executives say their organization would seek accreditation if an acceptable program was developed by the association.

DMAP aims to provide a good method to assure staff, volunteer leadership, and external stakeholders that their destination marketing organization is following proper practices and performing at an acceptable level for the industry. "This new accreditation program will provide a platform for official destination marketing organizations to assure their stakeholders that they have achieved the highest accepted standards," remarked DMAI President & CEO Michael Gehrisch.

A CVB Profile
CVBs are the official, non-partisan source of unbiased destination information. As an umbrella organization, a CVB's mission is to promote the long-term development and marketing of a destination. The bureau acts as an information clearinghouse, a convention management consultant, and marketing body for the community they represent.

CVB Snapshot*
Below is a look at the average convention and visitors bureau.
Visitors Centers - On average, a destination has two official year-round visitor centers. Bureaus operate the majority (77 percent) of these with 76 percent paid staff and 24 percent volunteer staff. Almost half (45 percent) of the visitor centers operate a store.
Convention Centers - Two-thirds of destinations have a convention center. Almost half of the centers have no booking criteria and an additional 38 percent have a room night criteria. The average size of the primary convention center is 268,000 gross square feet. Typically, there are 13 hotels and 2,800 rooms within a half-mile of the primary convention center.
Hotel Rooms - The average number of hotel rooms within a CVB's area is approximately 13,600.
Average Tax Rates in a Destination - 12.2 percent total tax on a hotel room, with 6.7 percent as the average hotel room tax and 5.5 percent the average sales tax; 11.7 percent car rental; 2.7 percent special restaurant tax. On average, 55 percent of the collected room tax monies fund the bureau.
CVB Structure - The majority (61 percent) of CVBs are independent not-for-profits; 18 percent are under the umbrella of the government; 5 percent are part of a chamber of commerce.
Revenue - The average gross revenue of a CVB is U.S. $4.4 million. Board Composition - A typical CVB board consists of 19 voting members.
Staff Size - The average bureau has 11 full-time staff and three regular part-time employees.
Satellite Offices - Overall, almost one-third (30 percent) of CVBs have out-of-town/satellite offices, primarily in Washington, D.C. and Chicago.
Membership - Almost half of CVBs are membership organizations, averaging 569 members comprised of lodging (23 percent); attractions/cultural organizations (17 percent); event services/suppliers (17 percent); restaurants (16 percent); and retail (11 percent).
Funding - The majority of bureaus (87 percent) receive funding from hotel occupancy taxes.
Expenses - CVBs spend almost half (43 percent) of their budget on sales and marketing, with media advertising as the top activity (17 percent of total expenses).