Explore Asheville Earns DMAP Reaccreditation with Distinction from Destinations International
Explore Asheville earned its reaccreditation eight years after first receiving the Destination Marketing Accreditation Program (DMAP) seal from Destinations International. The DMAP seal is awarded in recognition of the organization’s commitment to industry excellence and meeting the industry standard for performance and accountability of destination organizations around the world.
Explore Asheville was awarded “Accreditation with Distinction”, the highest possible recognition for a destination organization. “With Distinction” indicates that the organization exceeded the minimum requirements for accreditation and that the independent DMAP Board found no opportunities for the organization to improve its responses to the required standards.
“We are pleased to have Explore Asheville join our distinguished group of professionals,” said Don Welsh, President and CEO of Destinations International. “The industry distinction defines quality and performance standards for destination organizations and I look forward to welcoming them to the DMAP community.”
“By achieving DMAP accreditation, Explore Asheville has demonstrated that they have developed strategies for the direction of their destination and the policies and procedures to safeguard the use of public dollars,” said Maura Allen Gast, FCDME, executive director at Visit Irving, and Immediate Past Chair of the DMAP Board.
The accreditation program requires a destination organization to successfully comply with a multitude of mandatory and voluntary standards that span a variety of performance areas to gain this momentous achievement. The standards cover nearly all aspects related to the management and marketing of destination organizations including governance, finance, human resources, sales, communications, destination development and research. Explore Asheville is among over 200 destination organizations who have obtained DMAP recognition, fewer than 10% of which earned “Accreditation with Distinction.”
Explore Asheville works on behalf of the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority (BCTDA) to support our community and tourism partners by promoting Asheville and Buncombe County through advertising, marketing, public relations, and sales programs that inspire visitation by more than 4 million overnight leisure and business travelers who spend $2.6 billion in the community.