Nine destination marketing organizations (DMOs) have achieved accreditation from the Destination Marketing Accreditation Program (DMAP). Developed by Destination Marketing Association International (DMAI), this industry-wide accreditation program is designed to recognize DMOs that meet or exceed industry standards.
 
"It is a great honor to recognize these organizations for their achievement," remarked Diana Lawson, FCDME, board chair of DMAP and executive director of the Elkhart County (IN) CVB. "Each of these organizations has demonstrated exceptional leadership in destination marketing, and their accreditation underscores their dedication and commitment to providing outstanding destination marketing services in accordance with international standards and benchmarks in this field."
 
This week, nine DMOs achieved DMAP accreditation for the application cycle ending 31 March 2010. Those destinations, which attained accreditation status for 2010-2014, are:
- Chapel Hill/Orange County VB (North Carolina, USA)
- Greater Raleigh CVB (North Carolina, USA)
- Hamilton County CVB (Indiana, USA)
- Metropolitan Tucson CVB (Arizona, USA)
- Reno-Sparks CVA (Nevada, USA)
- Sarasota CVB (Florida, USA)
- Team San Jose (California, USA)
- Travel Portland (Oregon, USA)
- VISIT FLORIDA (Florida, USA)

"This application cycle is an important waypoint in the program's growing global visibility and relevancy. With 115 DMOs currently achieving accreditation, this latest group of approved applications also includes the accreditation of DMAP's first state tourism office," remarked Michael D. Gehrisch, president and CEO of DMAI. "This is a testament to the program's relevancy to all destination marketing bodies and reinforces that DMAP accreditation is the global seal of excellence for DMOs."
 
Accredited DMOs can now be found in more than 70% of the United States (35 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico) as well as in Canada and Europe.
 
To become accredited a DMO is required to provide evidence of compliance with 54 mandatory standards and 33 voluntary standards. The standards set by DMAP cover a wide variety of topics including governance, finance, management, human resources, technology, visitor services, group services, sales, communications, membership, brand management, destination development, research/market intelligence, innovation, and stakeholder relationships.