The Destination & Travel Foundation is a complementary organization to both DMAI and to the U.S. Travel Association.  Tackling the most pressing issues of the day and the vexing problems ahead, the Destination & Travel Foundation engages industry leaders and experts in various fields to determine innovative and creative strategies. The ultimate goal is to prepare the industry to deal with the rapidly changing business environment.

Visitors Information Center Study
This inaugural research program focuses on the budgets, strategies and initiatives of 284 U.S. and Canadian DMOs which reported welcoming over 10 million walk-ins to their VICs in 2012. The participating DMOs operating budgets ranged from under $500,000 to over $10,000,000, allowing specific comparisons to your peer organizations. The goal of this study is to provide DMOs with a unique and invaluable informational resource to guide their VIC marketing, budgeting and planning. The study will also provides your organizations with a basic framework for measuring the ROI of the your VIC, something that fewer than one in five DMOs are currently assessing. 

Marketing Activities Study
The DMO Marketing Activities Study was conducted and released in 2012 for the first time. More than 240 DMOs participated in the study that provides information on U.S. DMO leisure marketing best practices, which is essential for DMOs as they develop and target their marketing efforts in the most efficient and effective manner possible. This inaugural research program provides DMOs with a unique and invaluable informational resource to guide their budgeting and planning.

Digital & Mobile Marketing Toolkit
In today’s fast-paced consumer environment DMOs must stay ahead of customer and industry trends to inspire more people to travel, experience and spend in destinations throughout the world. This 84-page document offers a comprehensive analysis of current digital, social and mobile marketing trends and consumer behavior shifts affecting the travel and tourism industry. The toolkit covers the most widely used technologies and emerging technology trends, including dynamic case studies from ten DMOs; best practices enable DMO and travel professionals at all levels to successfully implement mobile and digital marketing strategies for their destination.

• Annual Foundation Dinner and Dream Auction
• Destination Excellence
• Junior Achievement Travel & Tourism
• Kirkland Scholarship
• Student Work/Study Program
• Leadership/Governance
• Contact Destination & Travel Foundation
  

Foundation Resources

• Futures Study
• Oxford Study: ROI of Business Travel
• How the Visitor Industry Contributes to the Local Economy: An Analysis of Phoenix Hotels' Property and Visitor-related Taxes
• Research Guidelines for Meeting and Convention Spending Studies
• Standard DMO Performance Reporting: A Handbook for DMOs
• Sustainability Resources
• Project 85 - The Drive Market

• January 2010
• June 2011
• March 2012
• July 2012