5 reasons why DMOs should pivot to prioritizing events alongside leisure travel

Destination marketing organizations (DMOs) are traditionally associated with promoting leisure travel — drawing vacationers with stunning visuals, appealing itineraries, and curated experiences. While leisure remains crucial, focusing exclusively on this market may leave a destination’s full potential untapped.

Meetings and events like business conferences, sports tournaments, and festivals, offer significant opportunities for destination growth. Here are five reasons why DMOs should allocate resources toward events instead of solely focusing on leisure travel.
 

1. Events Drive Year-Round Demand

Leisure travel often follows seasonal trends, with peaks during holidays or specific times that appeal to the region. Events can fill gaps in a destination’s calendar, creating consistent year-round visitation. A well-planned event strategy can transform slower periods into bustling economic booms, ensuring the DMO’s local businesses and partners benefit from a steady stream of customers. For example, hosting a conference during the off-season not only fills hotels but also drives revenue to restaurants, shops, and transportation services.
 

2. Higher Spending Per Visitor

Event attendees typically spend more than leisure travelers. Whether attending a conference, game, or live music performance — these visitors are often pre-committed to accommodations, dining, and other local activities as part of their experience. Furthermore, many events attract corporate groups with higher budgets, ensuring that spending extends beyond individual travelers. DMOs investing in events can capture this higher economic impact, boosting return on investment (ROI) for their marketing efforts.
 

3. Long-Term Economic Benefits

Events often have a ripple effect, benefiting the destination long after they’ve concluded. Business conferences and conventions, for example, position a city as a hub for innovation or networking in specific industries — potentially attracting future investment and visits. Investing in events creates sustainable benefits that leisure campaigns alone cannot achieve.

• Sporting events leave a legacy of community engagement
• Concerts provide social media content for future marketing campaigns
• Conferences and trade shows attract a wide variety of demographics to experience the hidden gems in your destination, putting your partners in the spotlight
• Festivals foster cultural pride and encourage diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)
   

4. Diverse Audience Engagement

Leisure campaigns usually target specific demographics — such as families, couples, or solo travelers — while events draw diverse audiences based on shared interests, not just vacation preferences. A music festival might attract young professionals, while a marathon appeals to health and wellness enthusiasts. By marketing to event-goers, DMOs can introduce their destination to entirely new audience segments, many of whom may return for leisure trips later. Events also offer opportunities to build relationships with organizers and establish the destination as a premier host.
 

5. Amplified Destination Awareness

Events generate buzz. Attendees often share their experiences through social media, extending the reach of the DMO’s marketing efforts. Large-scale events like sports championships or industry expos frequently bring national or international media coverage, spotlighting the destination on a global stage.
 

The Balancing Act

While leisure tourism remains a cornerstone of DMO strategies, events provide a unique avenue for destinations to diversify their efforts and maximize their economic impact. By focusing on year-round demand, higher spending, long-term benefits, diverse audiences, and amplified awareness, DMOs can position themselves as dynamic engines of growth.

Investing in events isn’t just a strategic choice — it’s a way to future-proof your destination and create opportunities that leisure campaigns alone cannot deliver.

Are you ready to dive into meetings and events? We’re here to help you identify your city’s competitive edge in the market. Read this blog and watch this webinar video to understand the factors that attract or repel conventions and attendees to your destination along with an estimation of your DMO’s “fair share” of convention room nights.