The Pathfinder General
PRESIDENT AND CEO OF DESTINATIONS INTERNATIONAL , DON WELSH , TELLS US ABOUT THE TRADE ASSOCIATION , FOUNDED IN 1914 AND HEADQUARTERED IN WASHINGTON DC ’ S EXPANSION PLANS IN EUROPE AND HOW IT COTINUES TO REPRESENT DESTINATION ORGANISATIONS AND CVBS WORLDWIDE
W e know you as president and CEO of Destinations International for nearly seven years and before that you held similar roles at Choose Chicago . How did you come into the meetings industry and , in particular , get involved in destination marketing ? I have a deep passion for aviation and started my career as a baggage loader for United Airlines in Baltimore , Maryland in the United States . That led to an opportunity in Seattle , Washington to be a part of a startup team at Horizon Air . That opportunity led to me being hired by Westin Hotels & Resorts , based in Seattle which led to other opportunities in the hotel and casino industry with the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company in Atlanta , Georgia and the Wyndham in Dallas , Texas and MGM Grand in Las Vegas . It was during my time with these various
Don Welsh hotel organisations that the importance of meetings and events came to light .
I then had the opportunity to join the convention and visitors bureau ( CVB ) world with Visit Seattle , Visit Indy and Choose Chicago , where I had the privilege of serving as president and CEO of all three organisations before joining Destinations International .
Now leading world ’ s largest resource for destination organisations , how are you and your team approaching the task of driving destination economic impact , job creation , community sustainability and quality of life through travel now that we are re-emerging as a sector post-Covid ? As fortunate as we were that leisure tourism supported pandemic recovery , we maintain a strong focus on getting the business events sector back to pre-pandemic levels globally by elevating and evolving our industry business practices .
Our team has grown this year and we have intentionally built upon our resources for advocacy , equity , diversity and inclusion ( EDI ), community development and sales and services .
Through the work of our volunteer committees and industry partnerships , we continue to develop training programmes , education , resources and tools that will support the onboarding , reskilling , and upskilling of the workforce , so our industry is empowered to create impactful opportunities within their communities .
Above : DI in full bloom
We are aligned with the business events industry associations and businesses around the world such as PCMA , MPI , ASAE , IMEX Group , PATA , CityDNA , ICCA and WTTC .
We have also had a deliberate emphasis on making sure that all of our resources are of global relevance and that we are empowering destinations across the globe to succeed . One of the new positions created this year is director of European engagement . Jane Cunningham joined us in this role and we have launched the Pathfinders Programme , which is helping us determine our future strategies and
18 / CONFERENCE & MEETINGS WORLD / ISSUE 122