Destinations International
Solutions for today
IAIN STIRLING SEE FIRST-HAND WHAT PORTLAND TAUGHT 2,000 DESTINATION LEADERS
N early 2,000 destination
professionals from 27 countries and territories gathered recently at the Oregon Convention Center for Destinations International’ s 2026 Annual Convention, hosted in partnership with Travel Portland.
A city that makes its case quietly Travel Portland ran a pre-convention press trip, based at the Hilton Portland Downtown. A tour at The Ritz-Carlton, Portland set the tone: 251 rooms across 35 floors, the brand’ s first property in the Pacific Northwest, open since late 2023 and pitched squarely at the highend incentive and board-level market.
From there, onto the Portland Art Museum, which reopened in November 2025 after a $ 111m expansion. The Mark Rothko Pavilion – a glass structure named for the artist who spent his childhood in the city – links two historic buildings previously separated by a courtyard, adding close to 100,000 sq. ft. of space. It is a serious off-site venue proposition, not just a cultural stop.
The LEED Platinum Oregon Convention Center offers 255,000 sq. ft. of contiguous exhibit space, 52 meeting rooms and two ballrooms. The 600-room Hyatt Regency Portland sits next door.
There are more than 10,000 hotel rooms in the central city and a MAX light rail connects the airport to the convention centre.
Corporate cluster on the doorstep Just west of the city is Nike’ s global headquarters, with Columbia Sportswear’ s HQ a few miles away and Adidas America runs its US operation out of north Portland. Quite a capital of athletic apparel, part of a local sponsor and supplier pool.
Solutions for today. Strategies for tomorrow. The DI convention programming ran across artificial intelligence, innovation, destination stewardship, and community engagement.
Keynote speaker Jeremy Gutsche, founder of TrendHunter. com, argued that disruption and AI should be treated
Left: Oregon Convention Center and Hyatt Regency. Credit: Oregon Convention Center as catalysts for innovation rather than threats to be managed. Kathy Varol, former head of global purpose at adidas, connected organisational purpose to brand strategy and leadership.
DI launched a series of DestinationNEXT Futures Study Action Briefs alongside new workforce research.
One session brought together tourism leaders from five 2026 FIFA World Cup host cities: New York, Boston, Toronto, Kansas City and Seattle.
Andrew Weir, president and CEO of Destination Toronto, said that with 16 host cities organising largely independently and no connector at the top, meant cities were force to talk to each other rather than compete.
Natalie Koepff, COO and general counsel of New York Meetings + Conventions, described a dispersal problem with matches played at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. Their objective was pushing fans into all five boroughs which had received grants for watch parties and festivals.
Tammy Canavan, president and CEO of Visit Seattle, said the tournament had accelerated community investment: new light rail routes, improved pedestrian and cycle links, and a $ 400m airport modernisation.
The lesson? Define success beyond a single headline number, invest in the narrative early rather than assuming someone else carries it, and understand who captures the value you paid to create.
The same applies to the wider DI convention. Bureaux rarely compete for the same congress on the same day, but they compete against identical structural problems – budget pressure, workforce retention, resident sentiment and stakeholder accountability. This is where those problems get compared honestly, which is why the networking is not a soft add-on to the programme. It is the programme.
DI’ s Global Leaders Forum takes place in Geneva 22-24 September. The 2027 Annual Convention moves to Kansas City 12-14 July. n
10 / CONFERENCE & MEETINGS WORLD / ISSUE 144