Destinations International launches global Virtual Advocacy Day for the new role of tourism organizations

Destinations International launches global Virtual Advocacy Day for the new role of destination organizations

Destinations International has announced the launch of the first global event called Virtual Advocacy Day, which will be held on May 13, 2026, as a full-day online program intended for a wider range of stakeholders in tourism and destination management. The organization presented the initiative on April 28, 2026, in Potomac Falls in the U.S. state of Virginia, emphasizing that it is an attempt to move advocacy in the destination sector from the narrow field of relations with public authorities toward the systematic inclusion of boards, local communities, the private sector and public officials. The event is conceived as a global virtual gathering that will last from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern Time, with the option of later access to recordings for registered participants.

The announcement comes at a time when destination organizations are increasingly expected to do more than classic travel promotion and visitor attraction. According to Destinations International’s explanations, modern destination organizations are increasingly described as institutions that work simultaneously for visitors, local residents, entrepreneurs, the public sector and the wider community. Such a change also changes the way the value of tourism is discussed: economic effects remain important, but they are no longer the only argument in discussions about funding, development priorities, spatial planning, public trust and the long-term resilience of communities.

Advocacy is no longer just a conversation with authorities

Virtual Advocacy Day is conceived as an event that presents advocacy as a shared responsibility, not as an occasional activity reserved for public-sector relations experts. The program is expected to include the participation of leaders of destination organizations, board members, representatives of the public sector, private partners, the hospitality and tourism economy, and representatives of local communities. Destinations International particularly emphasizes that participants should not approach the program only individually, but as teams that can develop a more coordinated approach toward their communities and partners after the event.

Destinations International President and CEO Don Welsh emphasized in the announcement that modern advocacy must reflect the complexity of the role that destination organizations have in communities. In his view, the goal of the initiative is not only to help destinations better explain the economic value of their work, but also to show more convincingly how they contribute to community well-being, responsible destination stewardship and long-term development. This formulation reveals a broader shift in the sector: tourism is not presented exclusively as an industry of arrivals and overnight stays, but as a field that can influence quality of life, the local economy, the identity of a place and residents’ trust.

The event is supported by the Destinations International Foundation, and partners include Chase Travel, Civitas and Simpleview, a Granicus company. This combination of institutional, technological and commercial support shows that the discussion about advocacy is increasingly being connected with data, digital tools, impact measurement and the ability to explain to different groups why destination organizations seek public, political or financial support. In practice, this means that destination management can rely less and less only on promotional campaigns, and must increasingly include evidence, clear communication and the ability to connect tourism development with community needs.

The program covers leadership, funding, artificial intelligence and the role of the community

According to the published schedule, Virtual Advocacy Day will begin with a virtual lobby and introductory orientation, followed by a session on changing expectations of destination leadership. The continuation of the program includes discussions on what stakeholders need to understand about modern destination organizations, on impact measurement and the use of artificial intelligence in advocacy, on aligning the public and private sectors, and on developing an advocacy plan together with boards of directors. The program also includes case studies, brief perspectives from different stakeholders and a special discussion on funding.

The inclusion of artificial intelligence in the program is especially significant. In the context of destination organizations, AI does not appear only as a marketing tool, but also as possible support in data analysis, understanding residents’ attitudes, shaping messages and connecting economic indicators with social outcomes. Still, the available information does not suggest that Destinations International is offering one universal technological formula, but rather that it places AI within a broader framework of impact measurement and better communication. This puts the emphasis on the question of how destinations can prove the value of their work more convincingly, and not only on technological novelty as such.

An important part of the program also concerns funding, which is one of the most sensitive topics for destination organizations. In many environments, their work depends on public funds, tourism fees, membership dues, partnerships or special models of dedicated funding. When political priorities change, when the public demands greater transparency or when local communities question the effects of tourism, organizations must have a clearer answer to the question of what they concretely give back to the community. This is precisely why advocacy is increasingly connected with trust, managing expectations and the ability to present tourism development as part of broader public value.

From destination promotion toward managing relationships in the community

Destinations International has for some time been warning that destination organizations are being reshaped from traditional marketing bodies into organizations that also have a developmental, coordinating and social role. In the description of its Advocacy Summit for 2026, the organization states that destination organizations are becoming oriented toward both visitors and residents, with broader social goals standing alongside sales and marketing goals. Such a description points to an important change: a destination is no longer viewed only as a product that needs to be sold, but as a place where the interests of residents, entrepreneurs, visitors, institutions and investors must be aligned.

Within this framework, Virtual Advocacy Day can be read as preparation for the broader Advocacy & Action initiative, which Destinations International launched in November 2025. This initiative connects advocacy and social impact as two key forces of future destination leadership. The announcement of that strategy stated that the goal is to help destination leaders build stronger communities, influence public policies and show the measurable value of tourism for economic vitality and social well-being. According to this approach, tourism is not viewed only through visitor spending, but also through its connection with local development, trust and a sense of shared benefit.

Part of that broader strategy will also be the event Advocacy & Action: The Destination Impact Event, announced for the period from October 20 to 22, 2026, in Ottawa. It will bring together the existing Advocacy Summit and Thrive: The Community Vitality Summit, through which Destinations International further connects discussions on public influence, social impact and the professional development of destination organizations. Virtual Advocacy Day, scheduled several months earlier, functions as a more globally accessible format that can include a larger number of participants without the costs of travel and accommodation.

Why the topic matters for the wider tourism sector

The discussion about advocacy by destination organizations is important because tourism in many communities is increasingly at the center of political, economic and social debates. Issues such as pressure on infrastructure, housing availability, seasonality, the workforce, relations with local residents and resilience to crises can no longer be separated from destination management. Destination organizations therefore have to prove that their work does not end with the publication of a campaign or an appearance at a trade fair, but includes connecting the sector, collecting data, aligning stakeholders and creating conditions for more sustainable development.

In its advocacy materials, Destinations International emphasizes that in a period of reduced public support and a heightened need for transparency, it is increasingly important to explain the value of destination organizations through benefits for residents. The organization speaks of the need to supplement the message about return on investment with arguments about jobs, economic development, public services and the general well-being of the community. This does not mean abandoning economic indicators, but connecting them with issues that are understandable and relevant outside the narrow tourism sector.

Such an approach is especially important at a time when the success of a destination is no longer measured only by the number of arrivals. Indicators such as public trust, residents’ attitudes toward tourism, a sense of belonging, the balance between visitor traffic and quality of life, and a destination’s ability to adapt to crises are playing an increasingly important role. Within the Advocacy & Action initiative, Destinations International states that public trust and resident sentiment have become important indicators of success, which confirms that the traditional language of tourism marketing is gradually expanding toward the language of public value and social impact.

Destinations International is building a shared language for the sector

One of the goals of Virtual Advocacy Day is to give participants practical tools, a shared vocabulary and clearer steps for action in their own environments. This is an important element because destination organizations often operate in very different political, financial and social circumstances. Some have strong institutional support and stable funding, while others must continuously prove themselves before local authorities, the business community or the public. A shared framework can help them shape their arguments more clearly, but also avoid isolation in solving similar challenges.

According to the data that Destinations International provides about itself, it is an association that brings together more than 10,000 members and partners from more than 750 destinations. The organization presents itself as the largest and most trusted resource for destination organizations, convention and visitors bureaus, and tourism boards. Such reach gives additional weight to the initiative because the messages shaped within DI can spread to a large number of professionals and institutions participating in the planning, promotion and management of destinations.

In its content priorities for the 2026-2027 period, Destinations International highlights advocacy and impact, resilience and readiness, place shaping and community alignment, innovation and storytelling, and organizational excellence. Virtual Advocacy Day fits into almost all of these themes, but most directly into the first: the question of how destination organizations can gain and retain legitimacy in an environment in which greater responsibility is demanded of them. If advocacy becomes a constant practice, and not an occasional reaction to political or financial pressure, destinations could more easily connect their marketing goals with the long-term interests of the community.

Free registration and the possibility of later viewing

Registration for Virtual Advocacy Day is free for all participants, and Destinations International states that registered users will be able to access recordings of all sessions if they cannot participate live on May 13. This gives the event broader global potential, especially for destination professionals and partners who, because of time zones, budgets or operational obligations, cannot participate in classic conference formats. The virtual approach also corresponds to the very theme of the event: expanding advocacy beyond closed professional circles toward a wider circle of people who participate in shaping destination development.

The announced structure shows that Destinations International is not trying to organize just another webinar, but a program that guides participants from understanding changes in the sector toward the practical shaping of messages, plans and partnerships. In that sense, Virtual Advocacy Day functions as a response to the increasingly complex environment in which destination organizations must prove their value simultaneously to public institutions, the private sector, residents and their own governance structures. Whether this approach will translate into a more lasting change in practice will depend on whether participants after the event truly manage to turn the learned tools into continuous communication, measurable results and stronger trust in their own communities.

Sources:
- Destinations International – announcement on the launch of the first global Virtual Advocacy Day (link)
- Destinations International – official page of the 2026 Virtual Advocacy Day event, schedule and registration information (link)
- Destinations International – announcement on the Advocacy & Action initiative and the event in Ottawa in 2026 (link)
- Destinations International – content themes for destination organizations in the 2026-2027 period (link)
- Destinations International – information on the Advocacy Summit and the changing role of destination organizations (link)
- Destinations International – resources on advocacy and the value of destination organizations for communities (link)