the cvb exec

Dale Lockett - An authentic destination
Summer 2007

DALE LOCKETT is president & CEO of the Albuquerque Convention & Visitors Bureau and serves as the foundation chair of the Destination Marketing Association International.

MPG:  What lead you into this business?
Dale: In 1976, I was the director of public relations for the city of El Paso. The mayor that hired me decided not to run for reelection and told me, in no uncertain terms, that I needed to find another job. I had been doing some PR work for the convention and visitor’s bureau and I went the executive director and convinced him to hire me. That led to doing both public relations and tourism and then to director of tourism and film.

My degree is in journalism. My work with the media and my basic communication skills made it a natural and exciting transition into the world of destination marketing.

What is one thing that many meeting planners may not know about Albuquerque?
There are really two answers. Albuquerque is a badly stereotyped destination. Until you actually experience our city you just can’t appreciate its richness and depth.

We are a vibrant metropolitan destination with over 700,000 people. We’re New Mexico’s largest city and the home to major corporations including cutting-edge technology companies like Eclipse Aviation and Advent Solar.

Our city has been fortunate to protect and preserve its ability to provide a unique visitor experience – an authentic experience that has been shaped by literally thousands of years of Native American, Spanish, Mexican and western influences. Last year, Albuquerque celebrated its Tricentennial, its 300th birthday.

Albuquerque’s authentic visitor experience has caused some dramatic destination rankings to occur. In 2006, Orbitz named the city as one of the Top 5 Outstanding Must See Locations in the World. Hotwire said we are the 6th Best Overall Value for Visitors. The entire list of rankings is included on our website www.itsatrip.org.

From a meeting planner’s prospective, if they take advantage of our services team, we can provide their attendees with an absolutely authentic and unique visitor experience. In addition to our outstanding climate, great hotels and a newly renovated convention center, it is the thousands of years of cultural delineation that really sets Albuquerque apart.

Albuquerque is well-known for its annual fall Balloon Fiesta. How can a major international event help you throughout the year?
The Balloon Fiesta is certainly Albuquerque’s signature event. What people may not know is that hot air ballooning is a year-round sport that we market to leisure visitors and convention attendees.

How can other destination marketing organizations get their community behind creating a new event?
I believe that a destination cannot simply fabricate an event. Every event needs an element of truth in terms of its relevance to the destination.

For example, look at what Galveston did with their Dickens on the Strand event. Anyone can do a tribute to Charles Dickens but if you don’t have the existing Victorian infrastructure, which they have, it doesn’t have any relevance.

Look to the assets and history of your community. What are the events that tie into your strengths? One of those types of events in Albuquerque is the Gathering of Nations which is a huge attraction for both Native Americans as well as non-Native American visitors. Since we have 16 Pueblos surrounding Albuquerque and have the finest Native American experience anywhere, the Gathering of Nations is a fabulous and relevant experience.

How has the buying/selling process changed most since you entered this industry?
Certainly things have changes, but what I find amazing is what has stayed the same despite the major impact of technology. It was as true 30 years ago as it is today - we are in a relationship-based industry. It is the trust of a CVB sales person and the relationship that they develop with the meeting planner that promotes success.

The International Association of CVBs has been renamed Destination Marketing Association International. Does the name change reflect a new focus for CVBs?
It is dramatically changing our role. Destinations like ours that have both convention and leisure products to sell, assign a disproportionate value to the role of filling convention centers. In Albuquerque, our value to the city, as specified by our contract, is about 95 percent for attracting meetings and events. For the rest of what we do, the destination marketing, we haven’t gained traction until recently about how we perform that part of our job well.

Here is the changing dynamic. We are asking the convention industry to be patient with us while we revalue destination marketing organizations within our communities and our government funding structures. If we allow ourselves as a destination marketing organization to only be defined by filling the convention center, we could very easily become distracted in raising the overall destination’s desirability. If we fail at that, then we are also going to fail at attracting conventions and meetings.

I’d like to ask meeting planners for their support in recognizing our role as destination marketing organizations, not taking away from being the official sales arm for meeting and conventions. In the end, if we focus on destination sales we are going to be successful at attracting more conventions and most importantly, we are also going to be successful at attracting a higher attendance to their meetings and conventions in Albuquerque.

Look into your crystal ball. What do you see for our industry?
I see both good news and challenging news. The challenging aspect for convention and meeting destinations is that, in my opinion, we are overdeveloped. It’s a buyer’s market.

The good news is that I agree with the experts who are forecasting that the cycle will continue to be positive. In 2007, we are going to have our fourth record breaking year of lodger’s tax collections. We’ve been on a good cycle for several years and I expect that to continue.

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