DMO’s, CVB’s and DMC’s…. What’s the difference?

A convention and visitor bureau (CVB) is a local tourism marketing organization that specializes in developing convention, meeting and group business as well as leisure travel to a city, county or region.  A destination marketing organization (DMO) often is the local CVB, but not every DMO is a CVB. Why the difference? Some destinations don’t have extensive meeting and event facilities or it isn’t a big focus for the local tourism office, even if a decent amount of space is available. In several smaller mountain towns, much of the function space is mainly at the ski resort, so that entity handles most of the convention and conference sales.  Check out our Destinations main page here, and click on your favorite destination to find their local CVB/DMO.

DMO Umbrella

What is a DMC? A destination marketing company (DMC) is totally different than a CVB or DMO. DMCs are businesses that specialize in meetings and events, work in particular destinations and charge for services. The Association of Destination Management Executives International defines a DMC as “a professional services company possessing extensive local knowledge, expertise and resources and specializing in the design and implementation of events, activities, tours, transportation and program logistics.” We also like ADMEI’s description of DMCs as “architects and general contractors for meeting professionals.”  Our DMC members can be found here.

Looking for more information about DMO’s, CVB’s and DMC’s?  Click here.