One of the truly innovative voices in the Destination Marketing and Leadership Sector.
“...the conscience of the industry”
- Barry Biggar, CEO Visit Fairfax
ABOUT
For over 30 years, Bill Geist has been one of the truly innovative voices in the Destination Marketing and Leadership (DMO) sector.
After a decade leading DMOs (including a stint in Madison where he was part of the team responsible for realizing the dream of a Frank Lloyd Wright-designed lakeside Convention Center), Bill launched Zeitgeist (soon to be known as DMOproz), the first consulting firm dedicated to working exclusively with DMOs across the Americas. Focused on Governance and Leadership at the CEO and Board level, over 200 destinations have called on Bill to offer his unique perspective and recommendations over the years.
THE BOOK
Bill has authored two books, Destination Leadership and Destination Leadership for Boards and has been a popular speaker at tourism industry conferences. Released in 2017, Destination Leadership outlines the why, what and how of place marketing as a strategy for community development and the enhancement of quality of life. Packed with lots of case studies and examples to help demystify the art and science of Destination Leadership, this treatise is a must for anyone in or associated with Destination Marketing Organizations.
“I wish I’d known about this book before taking the reins at Visit Detroit”
- Claude Molinari, CEO Visit Detroit
THE PODCAST
Since 2002, Bill has interviewed the best and brightest in the Destination Marketing and Leadership space, first on a teleseminar series and now as a podcast.
Click on any of the buttons to listen on your favorite podcast platform.
THE VAULT
Over the past 30 years, Bill has been a prolific generator of content on the state of Destination Marketing, Consumer Trends, Branding and more.
In the Zeitgeist vault, you’ll find past writings, musings, position papers and videos.
THE SYMPOSIUM
Board Leadership for Destinations is an annual Symposium designed for current and future Destination Leaders. Bill Geist along with consortium partners John Lambeth of Civitas, Julie Hart of CFO by design, Mike Gamble of Searchwide Global and Chris Ihrig of FiredUp! Culture have created an immersive, MBA-style event that explores leading governance and leadership practices used by Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs) across North America.
Designed for a DMO’s CEO and two Board Members, attendees not only hear from our panel of experts but also enjoy dedicated time in Breakout sessions with their peers (CEOs with CEOs, Board Chairs with other Board Chairs, etc.) to explore challenges and opportunities with like-minded professionals.
The next event is scheduled for January 21-23, 2026 in Irving TX. Registration will open in September. For more details, click below.
