A destination marketing organization (DMO) is an
organisation
An organization or organisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is an entity—such as a company, an institution, or an association—comprising one or more people and having a particular purpose.
The word is derived from ...
which promotes a location as an attractive travel destination. DMOs are known as tourist boards, tourism authorities or "Convention and Visitors Bureaux".
They primarily exist to provide information to leisure travellers. Additionally, where a suitable infrastructure exists, they encourage event organisers to choose their location for
meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions, collectively abbreviated as MICE.
DMOs are generally tied to the
local government
Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...
infrastructure, often with supporting funds being generated by specific taxes, such as
hotel taxes,
membership fees, and sometimes government subsidies.
However, in many cases, the observed decline in tourism following cutbacks to public-sector expenditures has motivated the tourism industry to create a
private sector
The private sector is the part of the economy, sometimes referred to as the citizen sector, which is owned by private groups, usually as a means of establishment for profit or non profit, rather than being owned by the government.
Employment
The ...
coalition in order to provide the functions of a DMO.
References
{{Tourism
Tourism marketing
Marketing organizations
Services marketing