Official destination marketing organizations (DMOs), also known as convention and visitor bureaus or tourism boards, are in the business of inspiring people throughout the world to travel, ultimately creating a vibrant travel industry which fuels 1 in 12 jobs on the planet.
Additional
insights on key travel motivators, activities, statistics and local
impact are detailed in DMAI's infographic "The Global &
Local Benefits Travel".
"Every
day, destination marketers leverage their passion and knowledge of
their communities to market and deliver amazing experiences to
travelers," Michael D. Gehrisch, President & CEO of the
Destination Marketing Association International (DMAI) says. "While
the love for their destinations often comes from their own local
experiences, the DMO professionals' passion is ignited by the
understanding that visitors to their respective destinations create
sales for local businesses,
support local
jobs for residents and support the tax base for
local government."
A
record 467 million international visitors traveled during the first
half of 2012, and the United Nations World Tourism
Organization forecasts that
international tourism is firmly on track to reach a milestone one
billion tourists by the end of the year. This growth in the travel
industry will continue to support 9% of the Global Domestic Product
(GDP) and 255 million jobs across the globe.
"This
year, the G20 world leaders recognized this travel industry for the
first time as a key driver for job creation, economic growth and
poverty reduction," Gehrisch says. "This well-deserved
recognition adds to the long list of reasons to celebrate World
Tourism Day and specifically to celebrate destinations, which are at
the heart of travel and tourism."
Travel
is a broad and diverse industry employing a vast workforce, from
hotel and restaurant employees, to museum curators and tour
guides, to retail clerks and transportation providers.
Travel and tourism further supports employees in other industry
sectors, such as construction, manufacturing and finance. Uniquely,
travel and tourism is one of the few industries that creates jobs
that mostly cannot be outsourced, meaning more local jobs for
local residents.
"People
travel for places and experiences around the globe," Gehrisch
says, "and DMOs are the curators of those experiences, utilizing
expert local knowledge to be the best voice for their local
community. The passion that destination marketing professionals bring
to their communities and the power of their marketing
and sales efforts
are now being realized as real revenue generators. Investing in
tourism marketing is one of the smartest, most efficient and
immediate returns for generating new and much needed revenues for
destinations.
