Destinations International awards accreditations and raises $300,000 to support HBCU Scholarships

Destinations International, the world’s largest membership entity and resource for official destination organisations and convention and visitors bureaus (CVBs), announced that six destination organisations received a Destination Marketing Accreditation Program (DMAP) accreditation in recognition of their organisation’s commitment to industry excellence and meeting the industry standard for performance and accountability of destination marketing organisations around the world. The announcement was made at Destinations International’s Annual Convention in Dallas, Texas, USA. The accreditation programme requires a destination organisation to successfully comply with a multitude of mandatory and voluntary standards that cover nearly all aspects related to the management and marketing of destination organisations including governance, finance, human resources, sales, communications, destination development and research. “We are pleased to have these organisations join our distinguished group of DMAP destination organisations,” said Don Welsh, president and CEO of Destinations International.” “Never before has destination organisation relevance been so critical to the economy of the destinations that Destinations International members represent,” said Karen Fisher, MBA, CDME, chief financial officer of VisitPITTSBURGH and chair of the DMAP Board of Directors. The following accreditations and re-accreditations were announced at Destinations International’s Annual Convention: New Accreditations: •    Visit Fort Wayne* •    Experience Scottsdale* •    Visit Rapid City •    Destin – Fort Walton Beach Florida Tourism* •    Visit Salt Lake •    Port Aransas Tourism Bureau & Chamber of Commerce •    Visit Gainesville, Alachua County* 4-Year Renewals: •    Rockford Area Convention & Visitors Bureau •    Visit Sarasota County •    Visit Baton Rouge •    Visit Milwaukee •    Dutchess Tourism, Inc. •    Visit The Northshore •    Experience Olympia & Beyond •    Visit York County •    Richmond Convention & Visitors Bureau 8-Year Reaccreditations: •    Visit Greater Palm Springs •    Visit Dallas •    Visit Galveston •    Bermuda Tourism Authority* •    Explore Asheville* •    Visit Macon* •    Visit Rochester* •    Visit Estes Park •    Louisiana Office of Tourism *Designates DMAP With Distinction For more information about DMAP, visit www.destinationsinternational.org. Destinations International also announced, at its Annual Convention in Dallas, five recipients to receive the Historically Black Colleges and University (HBCU) scholarships. Each student will receive $8,000 for their 2023-2024 semester.. The goal of the scholarship is to help underrepresented students overcome their academic barriers. Don Welsh, stated, “We recognise that underrepresented students have barriers such as enrolling, attending and graduating from college – and there is also the obstacle of student loans.” The HBCU Scholarship is the brainchild of DI’s 2022/2023 association chair and president and CEO of Visit Baltimore, Al Hutchinson. “It is critical that our industry focuses on EDI and workforce development,” said Hutchinson. “At last year’s Annual Convention, we announced the HBCU Scholarship to provide opportunities for hospitality students attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities. I am thrilled that we reached beyond our goal.” The 2023 HBCU Scholarship recipients include: •    Adenicka Blake, North Carolina Central University •    Damian Grooms, Livingstone College •    Mehki Ryan, Alabama A&M university •    Shanicka Taylor, Virginia State University •    Jamesha Williams, Virginia State University For more information, visit www.destinationsinternational.org.