This Destinations International report provides a comprehensive global outlook on the evolving role of destination organizations amid rapid economic, social, and technological change. Developed in partnership with MMGY NextFactor, it identifies eight forces reshaping the industry, from securing investment and navigating geopolitical uncertainty to leveraging AI and advancing sustainability. Drawing from a global survey and expert panels, the study offers frameworks and actionable strategies for building organizational capacity, community alignment, and long-term resilience. It also redefines what success looks like for destinations, emphasizing social impact, resident well-being, and shared prosperity alongside economic outcomes. The report serves as both a roadmap and a call to action for destination leaders to evolve from marketers into multidimensional community leaders.

This policy brief challenges the tourism industry to move beyond ROI-based arguments and adopt values-based language that better connects with policymakers and the public. Drawing on political framing theory, it emphasizes how emotional and value-laden narratives resonate more than data alone. The piece offers specific guidance on word choice, such as promoting the use of ‘promotion’ over ‘marketing’ and illustrates how terminology shapes perception with real-world political examples.

This comprehensive econometric report analyzes the return on investment for Brand USA’s marketing efforts in fiscal year 2024. The analysis combines survey data, market performance metrics, and mobile device tracking to quantify how Brand USA influenced international travel to the U.S. It reveals that Brand USA’s efforts generated 1.6 million incremental visits and $5.9 billion in visitor spending, with a $23.37 ROI per dollar invested. It also contextualizes U.S. market performance globally, citing shifts in market share, especially from Asia and Latin America.

This report details the economic consequences of the United States’ failure to maintain global market share in international travel between 2000 and 2009. It quantifies the fallout: 68 million lost visitors, $509 billion in lost spending, and over 400,000 lost jobs. It argues that international travel should be treated as a vital export and economic growth driver and calls for greater federal coordination in global tourism promotion.