Why is destination marketing so hard right now?

Amongst the many predictions for 2026, one worth paying close attention to is a quiet moment of inflection coming from the destination community.

Across the industry, a growing number of forums and conversations are beginning to question not just how destination management organisations (DMOs) market themselves, but how they work, how they support event planners, and how they operate within an increasingly complex and unpredictable business events environment.

AMI attended one such discussion, convened in partnership with IMEX and Meet In Wales. Its purpose was not to launch a new model or present solutions, but to begin a different kind of conversation, one in which destinations could openly discuss the changing environments they are working within, and why the familiar approaches of the past may no longer be fit for purpose for the future.

The discussion brought together senior voices from leading destinations and industry bodies. Despite the diversity of perspectives, a shared commonality emerged: a sense that destination marketing and servicing has become increasingly uniform at precisely the moment when the realities behind it are becoming anything but.

The reality is that for an industry built on optimism, destination marketing has become an increasingly complex place to operate. From the outside, the story still looks familiar: smiling delegates, iconic backdrops, flawless weather and the promise of unforgettable experiences. Yet behind the scenes, many DMOs are grappling with pressures that sit far beyond the traditional remit of promotion.

Creating space for a different kind of conversation

This session was deliberately framed as a starting point, one that Meet In Wales intends to revisit, alongside like-minded thinkers across destinations, venues and the planners they serve. Small in scale but ambitious in intent, the discussion recognised that addressing today’s challenges requires a different type of dialogue.

Heledd Williams, head of Business Events at Meet In Wales, spoke to a growing disconnect between the polished external narrative of destinations and the lived reality of those working within them.

“We spend a lot of time talking about what destinations should be doing,” she reflected, “but far less time talking openly about what it’s actually like to operate one today.”

In an industry dominated by markets, metrics and momentum, destinations rarely get the opportunity to talk amongst themselves, rather than just to event planners. What became clear early on was that many of the challenges described felt isolating until they were shared.

There was a collective recognition that the role of a destination has evolved faster than the structures, funding models and expectations designed to support it. DMOs are increasingly expected to act as reputation managers, educators, internal advocates and crisis navigators, often simultaneously. And yet, they continue to be judged publicly on factors they cannot fully control.

Living with the uncontrollables

Among the most pressing themes to surface was the growing impact of what one participant described as “the uncontrollables”: weather events, geopolitical tension, media narratives, border policies and shifting public perception.

Melissa Riley, from Washington, DC, spoke candidly about the impact of immigration concerns on international business. “One of the issues we face is fear,” she said. “Not necessarily facts, fear driven by headlines.”

In response, her organisation has found itself working with immigration lawyers to create practical guidance for planners and delegates. “That certainly wasn’t in the job description,” she noted, “but our customers are lost, and they’re looking to us for help.”

This underlines a series of uncontrollable factors that destinations are both not responsible for but are affected by. Everything from visa requirements, tax and tariff rates to national perception, be it political, environmental, geographical or cultural. 

What this highlights is a widening gap between expectation and responsibility, one that destinations are increasingly left to manage on behalf of their clients.

 

More stakeholders, more noise

One of the key stakeholders in destination marketing is the venues, services, and, often connected, destinations that make up the wider product. The reality is that promising consistency across a multi-functional business ecosystem is unrealistic. However, so often the destination presents a ‘united front’ while in the meantime scrambling to ensure this consistency is delivered pre, during and after the event arrives.

This sits at the heart of the management of destinations. They are, by their very nature, the sum of the parts of every business event-based service, some highly experienced, others brand new to the industry. It’s a marketing and messaging quandary to show that level of transparency; however, when it comes to organising the event itself, everyone is aware of the inequities and is highly sympathetic to it. Perhaps a rethink is needed.

Compounding this challenge is the fragmentation of decision-making. Emily Scheiderer, from Destinations International, highlighted how destination choice is no longer driven by planners alone.

“Planners now have to sell a destination internally, to boards, CEOs, members, sponsors and attendees,” she said. “Each of those stakeholders comes with their own concerns, influences and media consumption.”

Perception, she noted, increasingly outweighs reality. A destination’s reputation is shaped not just by facts, but by social media, mainstream news, word of mouth and personal values, all of which can shift quickly and unpredictably. For DMOs, this means communicating across multiple audiences simultaneously, often with competing priorities and expectations.

When values meet reality

The conversation also touched on sustainability, which underlines the disconnect between the conversations being had by destinations, commentators and often in the media, and the event planners themselves.

Patrick Delany, from SoolNua, challenged the assumption that sustainability is always a decisive factor in destination choice. Drawing on recent conversations with association clients, he noted that while sustainability is frequently cited as important, far fewer organisations are willing or able to absorb additional cost.

This prompted a candid exchange about the position DMOs often find themselves in: responding to government priorities, industry narratives and customer expectations that do not always align.

There isn’t a destination that won’t speak openly about their commitments and activities around sustainability, and much time and energy has been spent across the industry, but is this time well spent, given the ‘coalface’ realities?

When positivity becomes pressure

One of the most striking reflections of the discussion centred on industry culture itself.

“We don’t know how to say no,” Delaney suggested. “We’re trained to be positive, accommodating, enthusiastic, but that can become a weakness.”

Several participants recognised this instinct: the pressure to be all things to all people, to chase volume, to avoid difficult conversations with stakeholders. Yet there was a growing sense that relentless optimism can obscure clarity, and prevent destinations from making more confident, focused choices about who they are for.

Difference, not dominance

Alongside this, the discussion turned to positioning. There was a shared acknowledgement that destinations can feel compelled to “win everything”, rather than having the confidence to be clear about their product, their strengths, and the type of business that will genuinely benefit from, and add value to, their destination.

Wales was referenced as an example of this challenge. Operating on a different plane to global hubs such as London, Dubai or New York, it was encouraged to lean into confidence rather than comparison.

Heri Kashema, from M&I Forums, underlined this point when addressing the juxtapositions of different destination options; one planner’s ‘retreat’ destination is another’s ‘hard to reach’, “It’s how a destination wants to position itself, being really clear about its product. Its USP’s and its weaknesses. Event planners get it, they’re not opposed to embracing a sense of adventure and cultural difference, if it means a longer, less accessible journey.”

The idea of Wales being positioned as “exotic” captured this thinking, not in the conventional sense of tropical beaches or dramatic wildlife, but through a reframing of what exotic means to different markets: rolling green landscapes, castles, waterfalls and cultural depth that feel distinctive precisely because they are different.

The wider point was about destination confidence, the ability to be unapologetically imperfect for some buyers, while being exactly right for others.

A moment to regroup, not resolve

Taken together, the themes that surfaced were not new. But they felt sharper, more interconnected and more pressing than before.

Destinations are operating under increased scrutiny, with more stakeholders involved, fewer certainties and rising expectations. The traditional tools of destination marketing, promotion, sales missions and familiar narratives no longer feel sufficient on their own.

The phrase ‘sea of sameness’ was used a number of times in the discussion. Reflecting that, perhaps, destination marketing has fallen into a collective rhythm that makes every campaign, every promise, feel the same, regardless of the difference in the product it is selling. With every destination trying to attract the same business, with the same message, it’s almost impossible to present the full diversity of the sector. The meeting sought to not only recognise this lack of evolution or, in some cases, creativity, but look for new models that inject new life, ideas and innovation into how destinations present themselves.

What emerged from the room was not a solution, but a shared appetite to pause, reflect and rethink. To compare notes with peers. To build empathy across different political, cultural and funding contexts. And to accept that new models will only emerge through continued conversation, not instant answers.

An open-ended beginning

Crucially, this was not positioned as a one-off. Meet In Wales has been clear that this was the start of a longer journey, a commitment to creating space for more honest, personal and empathetic discussions between destinations.

As Williams put it, the aim is not to pretend that destinations can control everything that affects them, but to better understand the reality they are operating within, and to support one another as that reality continues to shift.

Perhaps the hardest part of being a destination today is not selling the place at all. It is carrying the weight of everything that sits behind it, often unseen, often unspoken.

If this conversation proved anything, it is that destinations are ready to talk about that reality. And that may be the most important first step of all.