Mr. Michel Couturier, President of Marketing Challenges International, Inc. (MCIntl), has achieved the professional accreditation of Certified Destination Management Executive (CDME) from the Destination Marketing Association International (DMAI), the world's largest association of destination marketing organizations (DMOs).
Most notably, Michel is the first of DMAI's Allied Member to have been conferred this credential.
Recognized by the destination marketing industry as its highest education achievement, this prestigious designation of CDME is awarded upon completion of rigorous coursework. CDME is an advanced educational program for executives.
The focus of the program is on vision, leadership, productivity and the implementation of business strategies. Moreover, the program prepares executives to build strong ties with community stakeholders, to increase professionalism of their senior management and to recognize trends that ensure the future of their destinations.
The Destination Marketing Association International, in conjunction with Purdue University, offers this program to members and non-members.
The program was traditionally for convention and visitors bureau (CVB) executives as DMAI had only permitted CVB professionals to be members.
In 2006, DMAI opened up membership to industry vendors, welcoming them to join as Allied Members.
Seizing the opportunity to enhance the travel and tourism strategy dialogue, Michel joined as an Allied Member and enrolled in the CDME program. He viewed the program essential to his leadership role as President of MCIntl, a Global Destination Marketing Firm based in New York City.
Michel is delighted to be the first Allied Member to achieve the CDME accreditation. He notes, "This honor shows that there are no limits to professional development and education. My coursework and program peers have truly added to my knowledge base. Moreover, this knowledge is critical to developing market strategies for our international clients and for providing consulting services to emerging destinations that are looking to grow their tourism business."
Always at the forefront of industry discourse, Michel wrote a paper on emerging destinations for his CDME capstone paper. In the paper, Michel elucidated maneuvers that ensure the emerging destination's competitiveness in the global market place.
Furthermore, he highlighted the business potential of the North American market for emerging destinations and outlined strategies for emerging destinations to increase their market share of the North American Meeting and Convention Market.
Michel welcomes any questions about the CDME program, the North American Meetings market or the Meetings industry. He may be contacted at mcouturier@mcintl.com or +1-212-529-8484.
For more information, visit Marketing Challenges International
Related Article:
