DMAI Travels Abroad
Staff -- Tradeshow Week, 3/12/2007
Destination Marketing Assn. Intl. opened a European office, located in Brussels, Belgium, as part of what the group calls its Global Expansion Program. Titta Rosvall, managing director, will run the new office.
"We have two goals," said Michael Gehrisch, DMAI president and CEO. "First, to truly globalize our membership with representation outside of North America and, more important, to provide the resources that destination marketing professionals around the world need to succeed."
Specific resources include educational opportunities, such as DMAI's Sales Academy; Certified Destination Management Executive programs; and access to work done by DMAI on destination branding and performance reporting.
DMAI represents more than 1,300 members and 650 destination marketing organizations in 25 countries.
The opening of the Brussels office was a mandate that came from DMAI's strategic planning meeting in October 2005.
"Our membership is very interested in strengthening the I in DMAI," said William D. Talbert III, president and CEO of the Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau and chairman of the DMAI board of directors.
In conjunction with the new European office, DMAI also announced the British Assn. of Conference Destinations is now an industry partner. BACD is a trade organization representing conference destination marketing organizations across Great Britain.
As part of the partnership, BACD members, as well as four national tourist boards, now have full DMAI membership.
