St. Louis, MO…Visit Tuolumne County has received the official Destination Management Accreditation Program (DMAP) seal of recognition from Destinations International at their annual convention held last month in St. Louis, Missouri. At the same convention, Lisa Mayo, President & CEO of Visit Tuolumne County received her Certified Destination Management Executive (CDME) certificate. Destinations International is the world’s largest resource for destination marketing and management organizations. Their goal is to inspire, educate and build strong destination marketing organizations that drive economic impact, job creation, community sustainability and quality of life through travel.

To receive the DMAP seal of recognition a destination must meet industry standards for performance and accountability of destination marketing and management. The standards include governance, finance, human resources, sales, communications, destination development, brand management and research with a total of 93 standards that must be met. Visit Tuolumne County started working their way through the DMAP program in September of 2018. All 93 standards were submitted by December 2018 and the review process began. Visit Tuolumne County was notified in July 2019 that they had met all standards and are now DMAP certified. Lisa Mayo, President and CEO, comments, “Having this international recognition says that Visit Tuolumne County is committed to using best practices and maintaining the highest industry standards.” Visit Tuolumne County is now part of an esteemed group of DMAP organizations from around the globe. Recertification takes place every four years.

Visit Tuolumne County’s President and CEO, Lisa Mayo, also received her credential as a Certified Destination Management Executive (CDME), which is the tourism industry’s highest individual educational achievement. The CDME courses are designed to help destination management industry leaders advance and thrive in the tourism industry. The course focuses on teaching leaders how to blend theory with experience and application of knowledge with an emphasized focus on vision, leadership, productivity and implementing business strategies. The CDME program requirements include four core courses, two elective courses, essays, a final exam, and a thesis paper. Mayo who completed the program in June of 2019 comments, “Going through the CDME program really opened my eyes to the evolving role that destination marketing organizations have. We are no longer just about marketing, but we are also a catalyst for managing the destinations we love to live in and promote.”