We close out 2025 with one of our favorite conversations of the year. Mammoth Lakes’ John Urdi (soon to be the CEO of Surf City USA) shares how his community embraced a Tourism Business District that extended past lodging to include restaurants, retail and attractions. But it goes further, as his destination has endured California fires. And his DMO has played a leadership role in attempting to mitigate the environmental realities that threaten the very existence of the destination. Join us.

Domenic Bravo is one of the most unconventional DMO pros in America…which is why his approach over the past five years as the Director of Visit Cheyenne has found an amazing level of both success and community support. On this episode of DMOU, you’ll hear how an event strategy drove visitation and community support during the darkest days of COVID…and how the DMO has embraced the nighttime economy as a way to invigorate the vitality and magnetism of the community. Join us.

Kelly Haussler is the Director of Destination Development at Ottawa Tourism. She served as lead on their 10-year Destination Stewardship Plan that focuses on 3 primary pillars: Planet, Place and Prosperity…and when they all work in concert, magic happens. Such as a Destination Food Recovery Plan that has blown through all expectations. And for her Bonus Round question we explore her fascination with a creature that terrorizes most. Join us for this fascinating conversation.

The 2025 edition of the World’s Best Cities is being released today at World Travel Mart in London…and DMOU scored an exclusive sneak peak into the results and a look at the constantly evolving methodology. Resonance Founder and CEO Chris Fair returns to DMOU to share some of the findings of both this study as well as this past summer’s America’s Best Cities rankings. And, he takes his Bonus Round question in completely different direction as we discuss how he believes Climate Change will impact future rankings...along with the lovability of our cities going forward. Join us.

Kelly Miller is a 35-year veteran in the Destination Leadership space. From Juneau to Atlanta to Asheville to Tampa to Surf City USA, he has left an indelible mark on our sector with innovative thinking and strategies that are so far beyond the box that there isn’t a box. In this episode, Kelly shares his journey, his stories…and, in his amazing Bonus Round, the tale behind his completion of the 21 stages of the Tour de France. Join us.

This weekend marks the 50th Anniversary of Cadillac MI High School welcoming the then-fledgling band known as Kiss to play at their Homecoming Dance. Cadillac’s Kathy Morin joins DMOU to tell the back story and how her community has prepared for this weekend’s festivities. But, Kiss is just a small part of the Cadillac story…and we go deeper into her work with developing sustainable trail policies that go beyond seasonality and developing a decidedly non-silo approach to community development. Join us.

Pure Michigan is one of (if not) the most iconic tourism marketing brands in history, completely transcending logo or tagline. Kelly Wolgamott joins us for a fascinating conversation covering the origins of the campaign, its future vision…and its entrance into the fragrance space to allow destination fans and the curious to experience the scents of Pure Michigan. And, insights into how the voice of the brand is being expanded for future generations. Join us.

What started out as an invitation to Discovery Albany CEO Jill Delaney to discuss her recent CDME paper evolved into a wide ranging discussion that included how she and her organization have had a meaningful impact on hospitality workforce development in her community. How she has, over the past 7 years, reframed the organization’s importance in the eyes of local investors. And yes…the research she did regarding the long standing debate between DMO Membership vs. Partnership (spoiler alert: there is no one-size-fits-all answer). Join us for this fascinating conversation.

Over the past 40 years, Sports Tourism has grown into a juggernaut for many destinations across North America. Most of the economic impact statistics have focused on participatory Sports Tournament events. But there is another facet of Sports Tourism that has previously gone undocumented… and that is Spectator Sports events. On this edition of DMOU, we welcome John David, the CEO of Sports ETA to share findings of this landmark study as well as his take on how virtually every community can benefit from the Sports Tourism economy. Join us.

Every few years, Destinations International commissions a study to help Destination Leadership understand, interpret and marshal the future. Called the Futures Study and conducted by MMGY NextFactor, this year’s edition stakes out new ground and strongly suggests tactics for future success. On this episode of DMOU, we welcome Cassandra McAuley to discuss the methodology, findings and recommendations of this breakthrough edition of the Futures Study. Join us…and secure your copy, pronto.

On this edition of DMOU, we welcome Destination Door County CEO Julie Gilbert to discuss how under-managed tourism had begun to challenge the summer retreat of my youth. A half a century ago, Door County was a quaint, easy to maneuver vacation destination for those of us who had discovered these unique villages. As she arrived in 2021, it was clear that action was needed to preserve paradise. In this episode, we’ll discuss Sustainability, Community Relations and developing a substantial Grant Program that endears the DMO to its residents. Join us.

As is our custom on DMOU, we annually feature the incoming Chair of Destinations International to outline their agenda for the coming year. And Leslie Bruce does just that in this episode…but we go much deeper to explore her work in working with her community through Radical Collaboration on an initiative called Lead Tourism for Good. And, we discuss her work with the 7 indigenous nations in Banff and Lake Louise to empower indigenous entrepreneurs to launch new businesses in the community. Join us.

Sacramento is a city that had traditionally looked to meetings and conventions as its target market; after all, it is the State Capital. But Visit Sacramento CEO Mike Testa saw that as a one-trick pony approach. In this conversation on DMOU, you’ll hear Mike’s take on building a leisure brand based on culinary excellence and major magnet events that have transformed Sacramento’s image as a government town. It’s a very cool conversation. Join us.

Stuart Butler likes to stir the pot as host of the Destination Discourse podcast. And, since joining Visit Myrtle Beach as Chief Marketing Officer four years ago, he’s been shaking up the way that destination’s marketing lives and breaths to considerable success. Join us for a lively conversation spanning the future of search, consumer choice and destination websites, travel accessibility, launching a TV show on Peacock, publishing a children’s book and developing a line of merchandise to extend the Myrtle Beach lifestyle brand even further.

Oklahoma City has been one of the most exciting success stories in American urban redevelopment for over 30 years. And, on this episode of DMOU, we welcome Visit OKC’s Zac Craig to share how residents have repeatedly voted to tax themselves to enhance quality of life, how those same residents recently voted to substantially increase the Room Tax (for all the right reasons)…and how OKC landed two competitions in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games, 1300 miles away. It’s an inspiring conversation. Join Us.

On this edition of DMOU, we welcome the inimitable Brad Dean back to the microphone to talk about how a CFO morphed into one of the most highly regarded Destination Leaders in the Americas. We discuss his time in Myrtle Beach and then heading up the insanely successful start-up of Discover Puerto Rico. And, we delve into his recent decision to transition to lead Explore St. Louis, where we have no doubt he’ll work his magic for a third time. Oh yeah, and a Bonus round in which he shares his experiences with Drake, Dale and Uma. Join us.

We’ve shared the DMOU mic with some pretty big DMOs (Boston, Detroit, New York City, Puerto Rico, etc.). But sometimes, it’s the smallest DMOs that share truths from which we can all learn. Jim Zaleski has worked in major markets and with major brands in his career…and today, he heads the DMO in Labette County KS, based in a town of 10,000 people. And, yet…in this fascinating episode, Jim shares how he runs his small town DMO like a million dollar operation. Cool concepts for big and small destinations…and everyone in between. Join us.

One of the biggest challenges facing the Destination Marketing sector over the past 25 years has been how to explain what we do and why to an often skeptic public. We've often used language and metrics that don’t resonate outside our industry as proof of our value when we’re the only ones that speak that language. That is about to change however, as Destination Canada has recently unveiled its Wealth & Wellbeing Index. On this break-through episode of DMOU, you’ll hear from Director of Strategic Planning Lisa Barrett about how the Index goes well beyond wealth generation to focus on six interconnected outcomes (the 6 Es)…and their hope that the Index goes global. Join us.

Telling the DMO story has never been more important than it is right now…and Visit the Palm Beaches’ Senior Director of Community Engagement and Advocacy Sergio Piedra joins us on this episode of DMOU to lay out their blueprint for community engagement. It’s a 3-step plan that combines intentional storytelling, community engagement and destination visioning…and it is a model for DMOs everywhere. Plus, in the Bonus Round, you’ll get not just one ghost story…but two. Join us.

On this episode of DMOU we are joined by Visit Lake Charles President & CEO Kyle Edmiston who counts the organizational culture be has nurtured within his DMO as one of his proudest accomplishments in a career in which he’s won about as many awards as one can. Kyle shares how tools like remote work and flex time have resulted in a rock solid team that stuck together through COVID and hurricanes…and how he measures progress in building that culture. Join us.