A Brief, Chaotic History of the Modern DMO

(How we got here. Why it’s weird. And where Carol hid the login.)

Tourism is both bigger and smaller than you think.

It moves trillions globally. It also moves Janet’s Facebook meltdown about downtown parking and a heated debate over whether the Visitor Guide should include the corn maze or not.

It’s a $2 trillion industry powered by:

• Public funding

• Political drama

• Canva Pro

• And three staffers, one of whom is Carol

The reason I write about it,

Obsess over it. Clown it a little (okay, a lot)...

Is because this is my lens.

This weird little world of destination marketing?

It’s a perfectly dysfunctional microcosm of how American institutions behave.

You want to understand politics, power, burnout, branding, civic identity, and why no one opens your newsletters?

Start here.

DMOs are where public dollars, community pride, small-town politics, and "please make this go viral" all show up to the same meeting.

And if I can make sense of this machine?

I can make sense of the world.

Let’s take a walk.

A Chaotic Timeline of Destination Marketing

(Slightly historical. Fully unhinged.)

1896: Detroit Invents the CVB

Detroit creates the first Convention and Visitors Bureau to bring more meetings into town and fill hotel rooms.

That’s it. That’s the post.

Founding vibe:

• No TikTok

• No funnel

• No stakeholder comms plan

• Just mustaches, hotel ledgers, and blind optimism

This is the first time a city said:

“What if we actually marketed this place?”

And just like that, the DMO is born. Shout out to the DMO OG, Detroit. We see you, all resilient and stuff.

Early 1900s: The Pamphlet Push

Cities across America follow suit, launching booster clubs, tourism bureaus, and info counters at train stations.

If you got off a train, someone handed you a pamphlet and a hopeful smile.

Visitor Services is born. Also born:

• The folding map

• The Welcome Center

• The unpaid intern named Clara who knew everything and got no credit

Town slogans start appearing:

“The Gateway to Somewhere Else”; “Home of the World’s Largest Something”

It’s charming. It’s civic. It’s the beginning of what we now call “fulfillment.”

Mid-Century (1940s–1960s): The Chamber Era

Tourism gets absorbed by local Chambers of Commerce. Because obviously the people who organize mixers and golf tournaments should also manage your regional brand.

What could go wrong?

This is The Great Misalignment.

Also known as:

“Put Larry from Rotary in charge of the billboard. He knows a guy.”

1960s–1980s: Hotel Tax = Real Budget

Lodging taxes become widespread. Tourism finally has a line item instead of a lemonade stand.

States start passing occupancy tax laws (Texas = 1959; many others follow in the ’70s–’80s)

DMOs begin forming as independent 501(c)(6) orgs. Suddenly, there’s budget… and with it, expectations.

Also in this era:

• Travel & tourism commissions

• Job titles like “Convention Sales Manager”

• A lot of beige polyester

1970s–1990s: Acronyms & Association Soup

The national trade association, founded in 1915 as the Association of Convention Secretaries, renames itself approximately 47 times:

IACB, IACVB, DMAI, And finally, Destinations International in 2017

You are here. No one agrees on what to call it. Everyone agrees you better go to the conference.

1990s–2000s: Carol. The Calendar. And Clipart That Tried Its Best.

The internet arrives. Sort of.

Your DMO now has:

• A website (under construction)

• A logo (leaf, wave, sunrise, or all three)

• And Carol, who runs everything

Carol is:

• The front desk

• The online calendar AND the physical binder

• The kiosk attendant

• The only one who knows how to print on letterhead

Tagline: “Live, Work, Play.” Vision: unclear. Mission: keep Carol alive and caffeinated.

1990s–2000s: The Women Enter (Uninvited, Immediately In Charge)

While the legacy guys were still mailing VHS welcome kits, the women entered.

They came in as:

• Membership managers

• Communications coordinators

• Event planners

In six months, they were:

• Managing stakeholders

• Running strategy

• Fixing the mayor’s broken messaging

They didn’t get the title. They got:

• A mug

• A plaque

• And a 7:30 AM meeting about what the logo “feels like”

But they stayed.

And they’re the reason your destination still has a brand at all.

2010s: The Feed Awakens

Social media storms in like a tipsy tourist with no itinerary.

Suddenly, you’re expected to:

• Be funny

• Be informative

• Be 24/7

• Never post anything “divisive,” “political,” “boring,” or “too sassy”

Someone accidentally goes live from the lunchroom. The reel of the goats at the petting zoo outperforms your entire ad campaign. The hotel GM wants to know why he wasn’t tagged.

But, finally, something clicks.

DMOs find their voice in the feed.

Not always strategic. Not always polished. But finally... human.

2020: The Pivot Olympics

Travel halts. Your funding? Gone. Your new job?

• Small biz hotline

• Mask signage production

• Free Zoom therapist for restaurant owners

Your entire department becomes:

• A wellness hotline

• A gift card fulfillment center

• A community grief counselor

Some ghosted. Some led. Some made TikToks with their mayor.

And the ones who stayed?

Are still here—still fighting to make place matter again.

2021–Now: The Reckoning

Tourism is back. Sort of.

Now you’re expected to:

• Fix workforce

• Solve housing

• Run PR for the entire city

• Align with community values

• Track resident sentiment

• “And post a sunset by 5:00”

The staff is smaller. The problems are bigger. The board still thinks “placemaking” means putting up a bench.

But something’s shifting.

DMOs are getting braver. Louder. Smarter.

Maybe even a little dangerous.

🔮 The Future DMO (She’s Not Here to Make a Brochure)

She’s done proving herself in budget hearings and “just one more stakeholder meeting.”

She’s already running:

• A destination brand

• A community trust operation

• A data program

• A public education campaign

• A burnout prevention hotline

• A weekly e-news with a 38% open rate (thank you very much)

She shows up in:

• A blazer on top

• Biker shorts on bottom

• And slides titled: “What We’re Not Doing Anymore”

The board asks for a flyer. She gives them a funnel. Someone tries to change the font. She changes the narrative.

She is:

• Strategic

• Sleep-deprived

• And no longer available for unpaid emotional labor

She is the future. And she will not be ignored.

❤️‍🔥

I didn’t learn this from a text book. I learned it from the "insidey-outside". DMO supplier since '91, babes.

From flip phones and fax machines. From meetings and murals. From the front lines and the back room.

Now?

I’m mostly known as the lady who fusses at DMOs on LinkedIn.

True. But also true?

I love this industry. I believe in this work. And I fight for it daily. From the largest institutions to the smallest towns with one ice cream shop and a dream.