The present articles covers basically two issues. The first one concerns the understanding of the DMO and a discussion (based on scholarly literature) as to whether in the case of this organization, the word “M” stands for “marketing” or “management”. The views of various scholars concerning the definition of DMOs and the nomenclature are presented. The further part of the study constitutes an attempt to provide an answer to the question as to what the significance is of promotional activities (based on an analysis of the DMOs’ expenses). This was done based on the results of research carried out in relation to a sample of 168 European DMOs from 23 countries. It was found that promotional operations still constitute an essential (and frequently leading) sphere in the functioning of these organizations.