Lake Placid/Essex County Visitors Bureau Achieves Int’l Accreditation

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. --- The Lake Placid/Essex County Visitors Bureau announced Monday, May 11, that it has joined only one other New York State and 84 other worldwide organizations to achieve accreditation by the Destination Marketing Association Program (DMAP). Developed by the Washington, DC based Destination Marketing Association International, the industry-wide accreditation program recognizes destination marketing organizations that meet or exceed industry standards.

“This accreditation addresses our standard of performance and measurement of success,” noted Bureau president/CEO James McKenna. “We become transparent in our reporting requirements and the end results are increased customer confidence, accountability to our funding sources and a more focused organization with defined standards. It allows our organization to be the best and most creditable for our clients, partners and staff.”

In earning the accreditation, destination marketing organizations communicate to their community, visitors and potential visitors that their organization has attained a significant measure of excellence.

“The accreditation goes a long way in recognizing the hard work of the Bureau and helps to streamline its internal process,” said Bureau board president Jenn Webb. “In going through the accreditation process, it helped to improve the efficiency inside the Bureau, which will only lead to better serving the area and its visitors.”

To become accredited, the Bureau successfully completed a rigorous application process, requiring evidence of compliance with 55 mandatory standards and 33 voluntary standards. The standards set by DMAP covered 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. Currently there are a total of 86 accredited organizations. The Lake Placid Bureau is the second accredited organization within New York State.

DMAP is an independent international accreditation body and leader in defining quality and performance issues in destination marketing. For more information on DMAP, visit their official web site, www.destinationmarketing.org.