We were delighted to attend the award-winning show for the UK short stay industry, the Short Stay Show In London yesterday (12 March).
We were also honoured to join the first DMO Summit hosted by Quality in Tourism as part of the show, with our MD Angie taking the stage to discuss Destination Management Organisations.
The DMO Summit was a great opportunity for leaders to come together and understand more regarding the short stay industry however with the current situation surrounding COVID-19, a number of speakers and attendees were sadly unable to attend but there were still plenty of interesting debates!
The opening panel focused on Destination Growth, looking at visitor management strategies that support destination growth in a sensible, steady & sustainable way. One of the key challenges that were discussed was “overtourism” in an area. Yet it’s important for DMO’s to have a compelling year round product on offer for the consumer, which leads to a vibrant high street and evening economy.
The other main discussion point from this session was the duty of care that a destination has, not only to those within the industry but also the consumer. Angie, our MD made it clear that it’s imperative as DMO’s, to ensure that hosts are made aware of their responsibilities. Currently many do not check to see whether their insurance allows rental of a room / their home, let alone any insurance implications they may come up against.
Another discussion touched on successful partnerships and how DMO’s can work with platforms like Booking.com and HomeAway to raise awareness of the destination. Booking.com work with DMO’s to hold an event, where accommodation providers are invited to discover more about the market trends for the area, using the intelligence.
Angie also made the point that DMO’s host journalist trips, trade visits and go to trade shows to promote the destinations and potential visitors then use platforms like Booking.com to select their accommodation rather than a destination website.There is more that the platforms could be looking at to support DMO’s, as many are short on resource; both time and money.
There were many valuable discussions during the first DMO Summit with a number of topics covered in a short space of time. It was clear from the sessions, that there are lots of opportunities and ideas for how things could work with collaboration and partnership of DMOs across the country.