RETURNING AS 2020 GLOBAL ALL STARS
In 2019, Signe Jungersted of Group NAO first presented as Global All Stars speaker at Destinations International Annual Convention in St Louis. In 2020, she was invited back to join the All Stars session by Miles Partnership in the virtual version of DIs annual convention. This year, Signe was sharing the stage with DMO leaders Rita McClenny of Virginia Tourism Corporation and Todd Davidson of Travel Oregon.
In her keynote, Signe calls for DMOs to start preparing for a hybrid crisis, defining a hybrid crisis as a combination of 2 or more crises that can reinforce each other. In facing the coming hybrid crisis, combining the pandemic with climate emergency, economic recession, social imbalance, political division (and more), we need to reflect on how tourism recovery can also contribute to alleviating this even larger and severe hybrid crisis and build back better – actively and purposefully.
Signe urged DMOs to shift their gear to hybrid mode – it’s not about whether the M of DMOs stands for Marketing or Management, or if it needs a new letter entirely. There is no single road to recovery and the DMOs must prove and diversify their value and relevance across multiple priorities and responsibilities, taking a value stand and contributing to creating thriving local communities and global resilience.
