Tech Summit & Vendor Showcase
Creative and energizing, the Tech Summit & Vendor Showcase includes dozens of technology strategies and solutions to benefit your staff and your organization. Meet with vendor representatives at the Vendor Showcase and preview the newest tools, products and services available. The Tech Summit is typically scheduled for March or April.

Leadership Summit
The Leadership Summit provides CEOs with strategies for thriving at the top—and includes discussions about solving management issues, working with volunteer and elected leaders, marketing strategies and understanding issues in the meetings and travel industries. The Leadership Summit is typically scheduled for July or August.

Education Summit & Vendor Showcase and Best Idea Program
The Education Summit sessions focus on creative and resourceful marketing and sales strategies, innovative technologies and tips for adapting to industry trends and organizational demands. The Vendor Showcase features trade publications, technology, marketing and research firms. The Best Idea Program highlights members’ innovative techniques or imaginative approaches to promoting their destinations and managing their organizations. The Education Summit is typically scheduled for September or October.

Exchange (online)
DMA West’s member service—EXCHANGE—is an online community for western destination marketers. Employees who work for DMA West-member DMOs are encouraged to participate in EXCHANGE. Ask or answer a question. Share strategies and best practices with your DMO industry peers. Active participants create a thriving online community.

Membership Directory (online)
DMA West’s online membership directory includes an organization profile format, which lists key senior staff and includes DMO information such as budget range, number of full-time staff, room/lodging tax rate and more.

Newsletter (online)
Newsnotes highlights DMA West activities and features industry and member news. The publication includes several ongoing columns such as “DMO News,” “People on the Move” and “Awards/Kudos.”

Western Destinations Guide (print)
On an annual basis, DMA West partners with Convene, the award-winning journal of the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA), to produce a special Western Destinations section (March/April distribution). This valuable marketing opportunity is available exclusively to DMA West members to showcase western destinations.

Resource Library (online)
Members looking for sample materials—such as bylaws, job descriptions, annual reports and marketing plans—are invited to download online library materials. The items are contributed by members and are available to assist in managing operations and planning marketing strategies.

Jobs and Careers (online)
The Job Board is available, at a minimal cost, to both member and nonmember DMOs seeking to fill CEO and staff vacancies.

DMO Budget Survey (online)
DMA West annually sponsors a DMO Budget Survey with results available to participating member DMOs. The survey is designed to determine member budget classifications and provide a focus on those items affecting a DMO’s budget.

CEO and Staff Salary and Benefits Survey (online)
The purpose of this survey is to determine the salary and benefit schedules of CEOs and staff members, as well as to collect data on such items as employment contracts and benefits. The survey provides valuable data for member DMOs to use in allocating resources and benefits. Participating CEOs can prepare reports based on selected criteria such as DMO budget, type of DMO, number of full-time employees, etc.

ResearchDuring 2020 and into mid-2021, the DMA West Education & Research Foundation has retained Destination Analysts, Inc., to conduct a new DMO Visitor Guide Readership and Conversion Study, to assist DMOs in developing a profile of travelers who use DMO-published official Visitor Guides and estimate the Return on Investment these official Visitor Guides bring to their respective communities. The executive summary of the study will be available in late summer 2021.
During 2018, the DMA West Education & Research Foundation partnered with Destination Analysts, Inc., and ADARA to conduct a yearlong study—Measuring Visitor Conversion from DMO Social Media Investment + Traveler Profiles of DMO Social Media Audiences. With 19 participating DMO partners, this cooperative research study measured visitor conversion and estimated the economic impact of DMOs’ marketing to their audiences on major social media channels. The combined (blind) findings from all participating DMOs produced industry averages on DMO social media marketing impact and performance. This research also gathered important insights into DMO social media audiences, which deepen the industry’s understanding of these traveler profiles and their content desires. The executive summary of the study was released April 2019 as an industry report free of charge. The report is available at dmawest.org.

During 2016, the DMA West Foundation partnered with Destination Analysts, Inc., to conduct a yearlong DMO Website User and Conversion Study. This research used a dual online survey methodology to develop a profile of travelers who use DMO-managed official destination websites and estimate the Return on Investment these websites bring to their respective communities. The summary report is available at dmawest.org.

In 2013, the Education & Research Foundation Board of Trustees commissioned a DMO Visitor Guide User and Conversion Study, designed to assist DMOs in developing a profile of travelers who use DMO-published official Visitor Guides and estimate the ROI these guides bring to their communities. Eleven western DMOs participated in the yearlong study. The summary report is posted at dmawest.org – click on Foundation.

Tech Summit Scholarship
This program offers DMO personnel the opportunity to attend DMA West’s spring Tech Summit. Each scholarship includes registration and lodging.

CEO & Executive-level Staff Training
(Rosalind Williams Memorial Scholarship)
This Foundation program offers scholarships to DMO CEOs and senior-level executives to attend training programs (e.g., workshops and industry conferences, university classes, etc.). The executive training programs must be presented by professional organizations or accredited institutions.

Destination Marketing Summit Scholarship
This program offers CEOs and staff personnel the opportunity to attend DMA West’s fall Destination Marketing Summit. Each scholarship includes registration and lodging.

Brad Burlingame Honorary Scholarship
In recognition of Brad Burlingame’s commitment to the destination marketing industry, the DMA West Foundation established a legacy scholarship in his name in 2016. The Brad Burlingame Honorary Scholarship is awarded annually to a sophomore or junior studying at Cal Poly Pomona in California. Burlingame served as President & CEO of what now is the West Hollywood Travel + Tourism Board for 18 years. He passed away in December 2015. Burlingame served six years on the WACVB (now DMA West) Board of Directors, including service as its Board President. He also served as President of the Board of Trustees of the WACVB (now DMA West) Education & Research Foundation. The scholarship program celebrates Burlingame’s contributions to the destination marketing industry and his commitment to encouraging young people to explore career paths in the industry.