SYSTEM OF MEASURES FOR EXCELLENCE IN DESTINATIONS (SMED) Tourism destinations should sustain or enhance the geographical character of a place its environment, culture, aesthetics, heritage and the well-being of its residents. To help bring destinations worldwide towards excellence, the World Centre of Excellence for Destinations (CED) has developed a System of Measures for Excellence in Destinations, or SMED, a unique system that focuses on short-term and long-term goals of sustainable tourism. In implementing a SMED, destinations benefit by receiving concrete and feasible recommendations for strategic interventions and continuous improvement.

1. SYSTEM OF MEASURES
FOR EXCELLENCE IN DESTINATIONS
"Contributing to bring destinations
worldwide towards excellence"
www.ced.travel

2. The System of Measures for Excellence in Destinations
(SMED)
Tourism destinations should sustain or enhance the geographical character of a
place – its environment, culture, aesthetics, heritage and the well-being of its
residents.
To help bring destinations worldwide towards excellence, the World Centre of
Excellence for Destinations (CED) has developed a System of Measures for Excellence
in Destinations, or SMED. This unique system focuses on short-term and long-term
goals of sustainable tourism. Destinations evaluated using the SMED benefit by
receiving concrete and feasible recommendations for strategic interventions and
continuous improvement.


3. The SMED: Working in partnership with destinations
Depending upon the tourism structure in a given country, partners within a destination
may be public or public-private sector bodies responsible for tourism development,
promotion or management at the local, regional, provincial or national level, as well as
stakeholders active in caring for the destination as a whole.
Benefits of the SMED and how it can be used
The SMED allows partner destinations to build upon their strengths and identify key
issues to be addressed. In today’s fiercely competitive global tourism market, the
information provided by the SMED can give destinations an important competitive edge.
In addition, the SMED brings added value to partner destinations that key stakeholders
may use as a:
 Diagnostic tool:  Progress tool:  Management tool:
The SMED provides the The SMED highlights the The SMED recommends
most complete and destination’s strengths monitoring and follow-up
accurate portrait possible and weaknesses, thus actions for improvement
of a tourist destination at allowing destination to be undertaken in light
a given point in time. stakeholders to take of evaluation results.
concrete steps to
maintain and improve
performance.


4.  Collaboration tool:  Market positioning tool:
The SMED can be used to unite The SMED brings a destination’s unique
destination stakeholders by mobilizing characteristics and attributes to the
them around strategic goals and joint fore, allowing the destination to refine
actions aimed at developing the and improve its market positioning and
sustainable performance of the brand definition.
destination.
 Comparative analysis tool:  Communication tool:
The SMED can be used to compare one The SMED evaluation recognizes
destination with others, or to world strengths the destination can use in
destination benchmarks, making communications addressed to its target
collective experience and best practices clienteles and the media.
available to all partners of this global-
scale project.
How the SMED works: step-by-step
SMED evaluations are typically conducted by SMED experts in a series of steps over an average
period of five months. These experts are academics holding doctoral degrees or tourism
professionals with recognized expertise, possessing a minimum of ten years of industry
experience and established international reputation.
SMED experts are selected by the CED management, carefully matching the experts’ profile
and background to the destination’s unique characteristics.


5. 01
STEP 1: DESTINATION PROFILE QUESTIONNAIRE (DPQ)
The Destination Profile Questionnaire, or DPQ, gathers general information
and documentation on the destination participating in a SMED evaluation. The
information collected provides SMED experts with preliminary knowledge of
the destination for the preparation of relevant and carefully targeted
questions in the steps that follow.
02
STEP 2: CUSTOMIZED SMED QUESTIONNAIRE (C-SMEDQ)
The SMED is composed of 4 fields and 11 categories that serve as indicators
for measuring excellence within a destination. SMED experts carefully select
the most appropriate indicators for the destination profile, and then use the
initial DPQ to develop a web-based Customized SMED Questionnaire, or C-
SMEDQ, for the destination. They will meet with as many stakeholders and
local experts as needed to assist in completing the C-SMEDQ. The analysis of
the data collected enables the SMED experts to better prepare their on-site
visit.
03
STEP 3: THE ON-SITE VISIT
The on-site visit is performed to validate the information collected in the DPQ
and the indicators from the C-SMEDQ and to gather any missing data through
consultation workshops and interviews with local experts. The visit is also used
to target the main areas for improvement within the destination, in close
collaboration with all participating stakeholders.
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6. 04
STEP 4: THE REPORT
The confidential report includes the destination’s current opportunities and
challenges, a qualitative analysis per field and category, comparative studies
of other similar destinations as well as general recommendations proposed by
the SMED experts who performed the on-site visit. Recommendations address
both short-term goals (one to two years) as well as long-term goals (three to
five years). For quality control, each SMED report is submitted for peer review
before being remitted to the destination authority.
05
STEP 5: FOLLOW-UP FOR CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT
Each destination evaluated by the SMED becomes part of a worldwide
destination database which protects the confidentiality of each destination’s
responses. These destinations and their stakeholders will benefit from
ongoing follow-up and receive additional information obtained by the CED
over time. After three to four years of a SMED evaluation, it is expected that a
destination will invite SMED experts to return to track how recommendations
were implemented, explore new solutions and provide new information
pertinent to the destination’s continuous improvement.
The SMED Code of Ethics and Rules of Conduct
The SMED visits and the experts who conduct them are governed by a rigorous
Code of Ethics and Rules of Conduct that are strictly respected during SMED
evaluations and proceedings.
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THE CED’S MISSION IS TO GUIDE
DESTINATIONS WORLDWIDE TOWARDS
EXCELLENCE BY SUPPORTING THEM IN
THEIR EFFORTS TO FOSTER SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT AND INCREASE THEIR
ABILITIES TO GENERATE ECONOMIC, SOCIAL
AND CULTURAL BENEFITS. THE CED IS A
NON-PROFIT ORGANISATION RECOGNIZED
BY THE UNITED
NATIONS WORLD
TOURISM ORGANIZATION (UNWTO).
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