and align the strategic opportunities that will empower destination organisations to showcsse their value through their important advocacy work around community alignment , destination stewardship and value-based action .

For the past four years , we have built on our community shared value concept that has a global application . We continue to refine the way we talk about the multiple benefits that communities derive from a healthy tourism and business events economy . In successful business events destinations , there is a clear alignment between the ideology of those communities and the engagement of local stakeholders .

Organisational resilience , especially after all of our learnings from the pandemic , remains top of mind . The future-proofing of our industry through EDI , workforce development , climate change considerations and the provision of alternatives to boycotts and bans , will help our industry sustain business events and help destination organisations be good stewards of the valuable commodity they represent .

Tell us about some of the destination tools available from DI . With more than 300 destinations in 12 countries , the Event Impact Calculator ( EIC ) has been the global standard in the business events market , sports festivals and public shows . This tool helps destinations measure and validate their investment and strategies . The product was developed in partnership with Oxford Economics and is going to be critical as we continue with recovery from the pandemic .

There are also other tools such as The Compensation and Benefits Reporting Platform which is an online tool that allows destination organisations to input their current salary and benefits structure and compare their practices with peer destinations . I think this could be of interest to European destinations .

EDI is a big theme for DI , as everywhere else . How are you championing these issues ? Our EDI initiative launched during a board meeting that took place in Savannah , GA in 2017 , where in a room of approximately 65 CEOs and industry leaders , our current chair , Al Hutchinson , asked everyone to look around the room to determine what was wrong . Unfortunately , Al was the only person of colour around that table and on that day , earnest change began . We launched our CEO Pledge that I am pleased to report has over 400 signees . We set EDI as a strategic initiative of the organisation and began the hard work of implementing processes and important work . This year , we hired Sophia Hyder Hock to lead our EDI efforts . We launched our EDI Assessment Tool

Above : Don Welsh has launched a CEO Pledge diversity initiative at DI

at our 2022 Annual Convention in Toronto , Canada , which helps measure where destinations stand on their EDI journey . We have also been able to lead tailored EDI training , workshops and facilitated dialogues that focus on creating foundational EDI strategies that can have a positive impact upon all areas of an organisation . We will continue to listen and focus on creating thought leadership , educational opportunities , and creating resources and services that assist with how to get started on EDI initiatives and strategic implementation initiatives in a systematic way .

We are committed to continuing to be a catalyst for change in our industry around the world .

What are your plans for future DI events and summits ? We have a variety of events happening in 2023 . A full listing along with descriptions of the event can be found at destinationsinternational . org / upcoming-events . Some highlights include :

• Marketing and Communications Summit , 13-15 February , 2023 , Norfolk , VA , USA

• Showcase , 8 March , 2023 , National Harbor , MD , USA

• Convention Sales & Services Summit , 9 March , 2023 , National Harbor , MD , USA

• CEO Summit , 3-5 April , 2023 , Victoria , BC , Canada

• Annual Convention , 18-20 July , 2023 , Dallas , TX

• Business Operations Summit , 9-11 October , 2023 , Little Rock , AR , USA |

• EDI Summit , 10-11 October , 2023 , Little Rock , AR , USA

• Advocacy Summit , 10-12 October , 2023 , Little Rock , AR , USA

We welcome more global voices during our summits and our flagship event , the Annual Convention , and invite European destination leaders to join us in Dallas , Texas in July . n