Destination Marketing Organization DMO Gold Standard Explained

The DMO Gold Standard™

What Is The DMO Gold Standard?

The Gold Standard is much more than a call for destination marketing organizations (DMOs) to become comprehensive travel information agencies which place the visitor assets of an entire city, county, state or nation at the fingertips of the public. It also packages a strategic combination of foundation marketing practices that, ideally, should be in place before the first dollar is invested in advertising or sales. Thus, the Gold Standard allows these additional benefits to be realized:

Marketing resources are directed towards tourism assets in proportion to economic potential;

DMO effectiveness is tracked over time with public awareness and satisfaction benchmarks;

All communications are systematically reviewed to remain accurate, comprehensive and useful;

Cost effective communication lines are opened with visitors before, during and their visit; and

A genuine, authentic brand identity is cultivated that not only resonates with visitors but also leverages the full backing and support of the business community and general public.

The strategic decision to become a Gold Standard compliant agency should be supported at the highest level. The Board of Directors or governing authority must make a sustained financial commitment to providing continuous, comprehensive destination information and fulfilling other Gold Standard requirements. The consumer travel market should be elevated to top priority, at least equal to any other markets or objectives pursued in a program of work.

New destination marketing agencies, or major market DMOs with extensive visitor assets, may require three to five years of sustained effort to achieve Gold Standard status. Mature DMOs in smaller markets, especially those with a leisure travel emphasis, may attain the gold standard much faster. Although most DMOs fulfill several Gold Standard tenants, there is not yet one DMO in the world today that reflects them all. (See the entire list of prioritized Gold Standard elements here.)

To learn how close your DMO comes to meeting the Gold Standard protocol, a "Gold Standard Self Assessment for DMOs" can be downloaded here. Based on a scale of 1-100, users can rate each Gold Standard attribute and determine if the DMO being evaluated makes a passing grade. The 2013 self-assessment will be available prior to the Destination Marketing Association International (DMAI) Annual Convention in July 2013, when the latest element of the Gold Standard will be unveiled.

Until an official body can confer Gold Standard recognition or incorporate all of the elements into a comprehensive accreditation or certification program, the Lake Havasu City Convention & Visitors Bureau (Ariz.) -- where the concept was documented, tested and perfected -- aims to become the first and only DMO with Gold Standard status, to be achieved by June 30, 2014.

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