83: What Is the Real Purpose of a DMO? (LIVE from DI MarCom 2026)

83: What Is the Real Purpose of a DMO? (LIVE from DI MarCom 2026)

In this episode of Destination Discourse, Stuart Butler and Adam Stoker share a live session recorded at Destinations International’s MarCom Summit, where they challenge the industry to rethink the role, purpose, and value of destination marketing organizations. The live conversation focuses on a first-principles question every DMO should be asking: Why do we exist? From there, Stuart and Adam explore who the DMO’s primary audience really is, how destination organizations should define success, and why the industry needs more honest debate about its future. Before the live session, Stuart and Adam set the tone by talking about the need for more respectful disagreement in destination marketing. They discuss the “tyranny of politeness,” the danger of avoiding hard conversations, and why real discourse is necessary if DMOs want to remain relevant in a rapidly changing travel landscape. While part of the original live recording was lost due to a technical issue, the remaining session captures a timely and important discussion about the future of DMOs and the need to move beyond inherited assumptions. Key Takeaways DMOs need to define their role from first principles, not legacy habits. The industry must be willing to debate difficult questions respectfully. The primary audience and purpose of a DMO are not always as obvious as they seem. Avoiding disagreement can prevent boards, teams, and destinations from making better decisions. The future of destination marketing will require more clarity, courage, and relevance.

82: What Should DMOs Actually Be Doing With AI Right Now? (Janette Roush and Dan Holowack)

In this episode of Destination Discourse, Stuart Butler and Adam Stoker are joined by AI leaders Janette Roush and Dan Holowack for a fast-moving, no-fluff conversation on where AI is actually going—and what DMOs are missing right now. After some classic banter (and a custom-made Stu’s News jingle created at the gym), the conversation quickly shifts into a deeper look at how tools like Claude are evolving—from simple chat interfaces into full operating systems for work. 🧠 Key Takeaways 1. The shift is from “using AI” to “working inside AI.” The biggest mindset change isn’t about better prompts—it’s about moving your entire workflow into AI. Instead of bouncing between tools, AI becomes the central environment where work happens. 2. Speed of change is eliminating excuses. What wasn’t possible a few weeks ago is now possible. Waiting for the “right time” to adopt AI is no longer viable. 3. DMOs need an AI champion—now. If there’s one actionable takeaway: assign (or hire) someone responsible for AI across the organization. This person doesn’t need to be highly technical, but must be curious, capable, and empowered. 4. Organization-wide adoption beats individual experimentation. Letting employees experiment independently creates fragmentation. The real opportunity is aligning teams around shared tools, shared context, and shared workflows. 5. Build a “master context” for your organization. Centralizing your brand, strategy, and knowledge into a structured AI-readable format ensures consistency—and dramatically improves output quality. 6. Culture matters as much as tools. Adoption requires permission. Teams need psychological safety to experiment, fail, and share what they’re learning without fear. 7. AI will eliminate administrative work first. Reporting, data gathering, slide creation, and repetitive workflows are already being automated—freeing teams to focus on higher-value thinking. 8. Leaders should ask for data—not reports. Instead of static summaries, AI enables dynamic exploration. Point AI at your data and ask questions in real time to uncover insights. 9. Doing nothing is the biggest risk. Unstructured, “bring your own AI” usage creates security risks, knowledge loss, and inconsistency. Intentional adoption is safer than ignoring it. ⸻ 🔥 Notable Moments * A custom AI-generated Stu’s News jingle steals the show * Live discussion of Claude’s new design and Adobe integrations * Real-world examples of automating social media decision-making * A candid look at how organizations are (and aren’t) keeping up * A strong warning: DMOs risk irrelevance if they don’t evolve ⸻ 🎯 Bottom Line This episode isn’t about AI theory—it’s about operational reality. The tools are here, the shift is happening, and the gap between adopters and laggards is widening fast.

81: Are DMOs Still Thinking Like Marketers Instead of Experience Creators? (Matt Vinson)

In this episode of Destination Discourse, Stuart Butler and Adam Stoker are joined by Matt Vinson from Visit Dallas for a conversation about what destination marketing can learn from fresh perspectives, especially from sports, technology, and outside industries. After a chaotic intro, Adam’s public apology, and Matt’s brave admission that he hates the Stu’s News theme song, the group dives into the rapid evolution of AI tools like Claude Design, Claude Code, ChatGPT, Gemini, and Copilot. They explore what these tools mean for DMOs, why context is becoming one of the most important organizational assets, and how AI may change staffing, workflows, design, websites, and even the future of SaaS. Matt shares his perspective as someone who came into the DMO world from sports, including what surprised him most about the industry: the number of vendors, the politics of public funding, the limited number of dominant technology platforms, and the challenge of proving ROI when DMOs do not control the full customer journey. The conversation also tackles risk aversion in the DMO space, the “cycle of stagnancy,” the need for more experimentation, and why DMOs may need to become builders of tools, not just buyers of software. Finally, Matt shares lessons from sports marketing that destinations should embrace, especially the power of events, experiences, and deeper human storytelling. The group closes with a discussion on destination-owned events, community-driven experiences, and why the future of DMOs depends on creativity, courage, and a willingness to ask “what if?” Topics covered include: Claude Design, Claude Code, and the changing AI landscape Why context is critical for using AI well How DMOs may need to rethink org charts and AI training What sports marketing can teach destination marketers The challenge of attribution and proving ROI Why vendor selection may need to become more future-focused The opportunity for DMOs to build their own tools Why events and experiences may become essential travel motivators The importance of human-centered storytelling How DMOs can move beyond promotion and become true community builders

80: Do We All Need To Be More Scrappy?

In this episode of Destination Discourse, Stuart Butler and Adam Stoker record together in Myrtle Beach for a conversation that gets personal, practical, and a little uncomfortable—in the best way. Stuart introduces a framework he’s been shaping over time: scrappy always wins. But this isn’t about doing more with less or glorifying hustle. It’s about something deeper. Scrappy is defined here as the intersection of courage and imagination—the willingness to challenge assumptions and the creativity to find a better way forward. Stuart shares how growing up with visual impairment and color blindness shaped the way he sees the world today, forcing him to question norms and build solutions differently. That perspective has carried into his professional life, where challenging the status quo isn’t optional—it’s the job. The conversation explores: * Why “scrappy” has been misunderstood—and what it actually means * The role of first principles thinking in breaking out of industry habits * What it looks like to truly obsess over the customer, not just talk about it * Why you have to be willing to “hug the cactus” and do the hard things others avoid * How long-term thinking unlocks ideas that don’t fit neatly into annual plans Stuart and Adam also reflect on real-world examples, including the creation of an award-winning TV show focused on neurodivergent travelers—an idea that didn’t come from following a playbook, but from rethinking what a destination brand could be. At its core, this episode is a challenge: In a world where technology is changing faster than ever, playing it safe is the riskiest move you can make. If you’re in destination marketing—or any industry facing disruption—this one will push you to rethink how you approach your work.

79: Are DMOs too focused on the D and not enough on the O?(Matt Stiker)

In this episode of Destination Discourse, Stuart Butler, Adam Stoker, and returning guest Matt Stiker tackle one of the most entertaining—and surprisingly important—questions in destination marketing: Are DMOs too focused on the “D”… and not enough on the “O”? Yes, the title is a little clickbaity. Yes, the jokes write themselves. But underneath it is a real conversation about relevance, value, and what DMOs actually exist to do. The episode kicks off with Stu’s News, where the team briefly revisits the rapid evolution of AI tools and how they’re shifting work from “helping” to actually doing. But the real meat of the episode is a thoughtful (and occasionally juvenile) debate about the future role of DMOs. Matt introduces the idea that DMOs may be over-indexing on promoting the destination while under-investing in the strength and clarity of the organization itself—especially when it comes to proving value to stakeholders. Stuart pushes back, sharing how Visit Myrtle Beach is evolving its role beyond promotion into full stewardship of the tourism economy—from air service and major events to infrastructure, workforce, and even utilities. His perspective: if you’re only talking about marketing, you’re underselling the real impact. Adam brings a needed balance, warning against overcorrecting. If DMOs lose focus on driving visitation, none of the rest matters. The destination still has to perform—and that starts with compelling promotion. What emerges is a more nuanced truth: * Outside your market, it’s all about the destination * Inside your community, it’s all about the organization * And long-term relevance depends on getting both right The conversation also challenges the industry’s reliance on outdated metrics like website traffic and attribution, arguing instead for a bigger-picture view: economic impact, community outcomes, and the ability to influence what wouldn’t happen without you. In this episode: * The real meaning behind “the D vs the O” * Why DMOs must evolve beyond promotion * Who the true “customer” of a DMO actually is * Why attribution is getting harder—and less relevant * The risk of overcorrecting away from destination marketing * How to communicate value without relying on vanity metrics * Why “this stuff doesn’t just happen” might be the most important message of all Key takeaway: You need the D. You need the O. But if you can’t explain why your organization matters, someone else will eventually decide it doesn’t.