Destinations International, in partnership with other meeting industry associations including Meeting Professionals International, launched a new recovery campaign Wednesday that will target business event strategists to drive awareness of convention and visitor bureaus' ability to help planners navigate the ever-changing meeting, event and travel landscape.

The campaign, “We’re Here to Help,” aims to unify the meetings, events and travel industry by demonstrating that when the unexpected happens, it is not “business as usual,” and that CVBs play a critical role and valuable resource for recovery.

“There is no substitute for people working together to overcome dramatic and difficult challenges,” said Don Welsh, president and CEO of Destinations International, the world’s largest resource for official destination organizations CVBs and tourism boards. “This campaign shows the resilience of our industry and how when we come together, great things are possible. While meetings may not go back to how we remember them, CVBs will continue to be an essential extension of an event strategist’s team and help navigate what events will look like in the future.”

A website will link to more than 100 destination sites with CVB staff contacts to help solve the needs of planners and attendees by servicing meetings with insider knowledge and established connections within the community, providing solutions as issues arise for a consistently positive experience.

Even though meetings, events and travel have paused, the ability to help business event strategists has not changed, DI said in its announcement. While meetings may never go back to the way they were, CVBs provide a level of actionable, real-time, boots-on-the-ground intelligence that is essential in reimagining what a successful meeting looks like as we move forward in uncertain times, the organization said.

Campaign partners include MPI, the Events Industry Council (EIC), Experiential Designers + Producers Association (EDPA), International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE), International Association of Venue Managers (IAVM), Meetings Mean Business, Northstar Meetings Group and Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA).

Cvent will launch a new feature in late June on the Cvent Supplier Network, the world’s largest venue sourcing platform, that will give CVBs the ability to build relationships with planners by helping them source venues for their events. The feature will also be accessible from the “We’re Here to Help” campaign site.

To learn more, check out  DI's "We're Here to Help" page.