The Meet Minneapolis executive leadership team recently held a retreat at the Guthrie Theater. We were treated to a personalized behind-the-scenes tour that gave us access to where sets are constructed from carefully designed plans, costumes are crafted to fit the era of the production, and the creative space where props are curated.

We thank the Guthrie’s Director of Education and Professional Training, Maija Garcia, for taking us behind the curtain. What we saw was that the Guthrie team of theater professionals invests many more hours in the creative process before a patron ever sees the actual plays and musicals.

Similarly, before our Meet Minneapolis team launches a seasonal advertising program, opens the doors of our visitor center, hosts prospective customers for an in-person site inspection of the city, or any other public-facing initiative, dozens if not hundreds of staff hours have gone into bringing them to life.

The same behind-the-scenes efforts come into play in our overall operations, which include engaging and activating our board of directors.

Recently, Meet Minneapolis board chair Tabitha Montgomery and vice chair Michael Clark had a chance to connect with their counterparts to do formal and informal benchmarking at the Board Leadership Symposium conducted by Destinations International and the Destination Leadership Consortium.

They bring together five leading consultancies in the Destination Marketing Organization (DMO) space that provide professional development and consulting services to Convention and Visitors Bureaus (CVBs), DMOs and other community development agencies for CEOs and their Boards of Directors.

The Board Leadership for Destinations: A Symposium on Best Practices is “an MBA-style immersion event” focused on best practices in innovative DMO governance and leadership across North America.

Some of the areas of discovery and discussion were:

• Board management and governance
• Alternative finding sources, including implementation and optimization of a tourism improvement district
• Advocacy and awareness activities regarding the value of hospitality and tourism in our local communities

One of the unique aspects of the destination marketing profession is its camaraderie and willingness to share actionable ideas. What resonated with me from our conversations were:

• The consistent problem of elevating the tourism value message locally.
• Constant pressure to justify investment in tourism even in tourism dependent cities.
• Considerable discussion about creating more consistency in advocacy.

Yes, we are fierce competitors in our efforts to attract events and individuals to visitors to our respective communities. But destination marketing professionals have a higher calling to promote the business of travel as a necessity of life itself. The ability to attend such an event, where there is such an openness to share, helps us gain knowledge and perspectives that help us to serve our local constituents better.