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Alliance Head Says His Group is a Destination Marketing OrganizationBy Desiree Parker Saturday, January 07, 2012 A few local tourism groups are starting to look at whether the area has a real destination marketing organization. The head of the Greater Williamsburg Chamber and Tourism Alliance says it does. Two groups of tourism heavy-hitters and government officials in the region have started to discuss whether the Triangle has a true destination marketing association (referred to as a DMO), or whether it needs one. Read a previous story on this topic here.A DMO is considered the same thing as a convention and visitor bureau, or CVB. The Alliance is a consolidated organization that merged the local chamber of commerce and CVB in 2005. Dick Schreiber, president of the Alliance, agrees that a CVB is a DMO, and says “officially, we are the DMO for the area.” He says though his organization merged two entities under one umbrella, the Alliance has not stopped any of its CVB functions. The Virginia Tourism Corporation “considers us the DMO,” Schreiber notes. On the VTC website, a search for the term “DMO” brings up a list of state CVBs, including the Alliance. The Williamsburg Tourist Information Center, created by the Williamsburg Hotel Motel Association, needed the approval of an area DMO such as the Alliance, Schreiber noted, before it gained recognition by the VTC. Behind the acronyms
WADMC has a representative from the WHMA, officials from each local government, Colonial Williamsburg, Busch Gardens, the Jamestown Yorktown Foundation and the Alliance. Its meetings are public. The HTC, which sprung from collaboration during the Jamestown 2007 celebration, includes officials from each local government, chief administrative officers from each locality, and representatives from Colonial Williamsburg, the Jamestown Yorktown Foundation, the College of William and Mary, the Alliance and Busch Gardens. Its meetings are not public. When asked if he was surprised to hear that such a discussion is starting, Schreiber said, “I’m not quite sure what it’s about yet, but during this time when portions of the economy – or the entire economy – are suffering, people are always seeking answers to help improve the conditions.” He agreed with some other leaders in the community that the Williamsburg Area Destination Marketing Committee (WADMC) isn’t a DMO. WADMC, created by state legislation, uses an extra $2 per room, per night tax to market the destination to overnight visitors. Because legislation created the group and sets its structure and function, the group has “a narrow purpose” that restricts it from the freedom a DMO would have. “How WADMC does its work is not defined,” Schreiber noted when asked if WADMC could fund a new DMO. “They could do [their function] some other way.” Schreiber said the Alliance agreed to pull together information on how other destinations market themselves and report the information back to the Historic Triangle Collaborative, a regional group made up of many of the same members as those on WADMC, excluding the Williamsburg Hotel Motel Association and including the College of William and Mary (see breakout). This is information the Alliance has generally already been keeping track of, he said.
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Comments
It is advisable to make substantially deep cuts to the Alliance, repurpose it with a clearer goal, and hold its staff more accountable for its effectiveness.
To much of the local business community, the organization still struggles with the appearance that it exists mostly so that a few local cronies can funnel hefty salaries to themselves without having to produce business results on par with their compensation.