The sixth edition of the report draws on a global survey of 537 participants from 36 countries and explores the key trends and response strategies shaping the future of DMOs. While traditional economic impact from delegate spending remains important, the study underlines that events also generate broader economic, social and environmental outcomes that destinations can no longer afford to ignore.
The author of the analysis notes that the “events impact movement” is about building a stronger value proposition for the industry: if DMOs can identify, strengthen, measure and report event impacts effectively, they will be “part of a much more successful and sustainable industry.”
Impact at the heart of funding and advocacy
Two of the eight strategic themes in DestinationNext explicitly reference impact. Theme 1 – “Securing Investment Through Advocacy and Impact” highlights the growing pressure on destination funding.
“One of the findings of the study is that 42% of DMO respondents reported their funding is at risk in the next three years.” At the same time, public scrutiny of destination funding is increasing and government allocations are more frequently questioned. While competition for incentives and subvention funds is intensifying, governments are asking for clearer evidence of value.
In response, the second-highest rated strategy for DMOs is to “lead destination advocacy by strengthening government relations to shape supportive policies,” while the third is to “strengthen local community engagement and sentiment to build sustainable support.”
The report notes that “the industry is redefining success, with KPIs increasingly focused on social impact, including resident sentiment, community benefit (and) environmental sustainability, rather than just visitation or spend.”
Collaboration and intentional event strategies
Beyond funding, the study stresses the need for stronger collaboration and policy alignment. Theme 3 argues that “destination organizations will need to invest in skills and systems that support multi-stakeholder collaboration, policy engagement, data-driven planning, and organizational agility.” This is directly linked to event impact, as meaningful impact strategies require coordinated work with multiple partners.
Theme 6 – “Driving Impact Through Intentional Event Strategies” goes further, reflecting growing scrutiny of the real costs and benefits of hosting major events. The report notes that “there is growing scrutiny over the real costs and benefits of hosting major events, making transparency, evaluation, and community consultation essential.”
It also describes how the role of DMOs is evolving: “Leading organizations are acting as conveners and catalysts, bringing together rights holders, venues, businesses, and government to co-create event strategies that reflect shared goals.”
A key shift in mindset is captured in one of the study’s most cited messages: “In this next era of event strategy, the winners won’t be those who host the most events, but those who host the right ones” – a shift that aims to “unlock not only economic growth, but enduring brand strength and social impact.”
In line with this, the 17th highest-ranking strategy is to “leverage our region’s priority economic sectors to generate business events” – effectively using events to support government efforts to grow targeted industry clusters, while strengthening the case for public support.
Regeneration, resilience and new metrics
Impact also runs through Theme 7, which focuses on regeneration and resilience. The report argues that DMOs must broaden their focus beyond visitor numbers and traditional tourism spend: “Across the globe, destination organizations are grappling with a growing imperative: to build a visitor economy that delivers economic, social, and environmental value – not just now, but for the long term.”
It calls on destinations to align with global frameworks such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals and to rethink how they measure success: “Traditional metrics like hotel occupancy and visitor spending offer only a narrow view of success. Leading destinations are developing multidimensional KPIs that also account for resident sentiment, environmental health, cultural vibrancy, and long-term economic impact.”
The seventh highest listed strategy is to “establish multi-dimensional data-driven KPIs to measure and enhance both economic and social impacts of a sustainable visitor economy.” Consistently, the second highest reported trend is the development of “multi-dimensional KPIs that go beyond traditional economic metrics to effectively measure and communicate the industry’s full economic, social, and environmental value.”
A gap between ambition and measurement
Despite the strong narrative around impact, the report also shows that practice has not yet fully caught up with ambition. The most important KPIs for bureaus are still dominated by tourism economic impact and visitor numbers. Community benefits and social impact KPIs rank 13th, while long-term legacy impacts appear in 16th place.
The analysis suggests this may reflect a lack of robust tools and methods rather than a lack of interest, noting that the industry has “not yet developed effective ways to measure those types of KPIs.”
The conclusion is clear: “Given the clear message from this report that we are convinced of the importance of the event impact movement to our future success and sustainability, perhaps developing meaningful metrics and practical measurement processes in relation to impacts is essential.”
For travel trade professionals and destination leaders, DestinationNext 2025 confirms that impact – economic, social and environmental – is no longer a “nice-to-have” narrative but a strategic imperative. The challenge now is to translate this into practical frameworks, data and partnerships that can genuinely shape event strategies and secure long-term support from governments, communities and investors.
Tags: DMOs Destinations International