Developing a new DMO marketing evaluation framework: The case of visit wales

Destination Management Organisations (DMOs) are under increasing pressure to demonstrate cost-effectiveness and evidence the additional value which accrues from their marketing interventions. This article reviews traditional destination marketing key performance indicators (KPIs) and suggests they largely evaluate what can be measured not what should be measured. It is argued that these KPIs are particularly unsuited for assessing the impact of DMO digital platforms and provide little strategic direction for brand development in today's disintermediated marketing environment. The article analyses the process by which one DMO (Visit Wales) responded by developing new KPIs within a marketing evaluation framework and discusses the pilot year of their operation. The outcome of collaboration between tourism's academic and industry knowledge communities, the article thus transforms organisationally held knowledge into publicly available explicit knowledge, which has the potential to inform sectoral innovation and increase competitiveness. © SAGE Publications 2011