From PCMA: Everyone I know who has designed and delivered a successful event truly deserves a gold medal — it’s hard work that often goes largely unseen. Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at the making of NPE2024: The Plastics Show, that casts a light on the efforts and initiatives that contributed to the event being the…
From Conference & Meetings World: Destinations International (DI), the premier association representing destination organisations and convention and visitors bureaus (CVBs), has recently unveiled several initiatives and recognised outstanding industry achievements at its 2024 Annual Convention in Tampa, Florida. These initiatives and recognitions underscore DI’s commitment to accessibility, advocacy, professional development and industry excellence within the…
From Destinations International, by Gretchen Hall: When we at Destinations International (DI) announced Tampa, FL as the location for our 2024 annual convention, it sparked a meaningful dialogue among our members. Given recent Florida legislation affecting key community groups, our choice raised important questions about our values and our strategies in the face of social…
The CDME program prepares senior executives, who want to advance their careers to blend theory with experience and application of knowledge to help industry leaders thrive in a constantly changing environment. The program focus is on vision, leadership, productivity and implementing business strategies. The Certified Destination Management Executive (CDME) program prepares senior executives to lead…
The Visitor Services Summit is a gathering of visitor experience and community engagement professionals. Join us as we focus on re-envisioning the purpose and value of the visitor center and how we engage with our communities, visitors, and residents. Learn from your peers as we share best practices, opportunities, and new innovations.
Annual Convention is the destination organization industry’s premier event to meet your peers and gain cutting-edge knowledge to tackle the challenges of tomorrow. The world of destination marketing and management is now completely different. Destination organization professionals of today must have a renewed focus on solutions to tackle the challenges of showcasing organizational strength and…
A slew of new bills signed into law by Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has draped the Sunshine State in controversy, spurring protests, lawsuits and travel advisories warning the state is ‘openly hostile’ toward people of color, immigrants, women and LGBTQ+ community members. From CNN…
Florida’s political climate and laws implemented by Gov. Ron DeSantis are negatively impacting meetings and conventions. Orlando, consistently ranked the top meeting destination in the U.S. by Cvent, is among the destinations impacted. The Association of periOperative Registered Nurses has moved its 2027 Global Surgical Conference & Expo from Orlando to Philadelphia. From Skift Meetings…
The NAACP Florida chapter voted unanimously last week in favor of asking the national organization to issue a travel advisory for the state of Florida. If approved, the advisory from NAACP would urge the Black community across the U.S. to avoid visiting or moving to the state of Florida. From Northstar Meetings Group…
TEAMS: TRAVEL, EVENTS AND MANAGEMENT IN SPORTS, is the world’s leading conference and expo for the sports-event industry. Launched in 1998, TEAMS attracts more than 1,000 attendees including CEOs, executive directors and event managers from sports organizations as well as representatives from sports commissions and convention bureaus, corporate sponsors, event suppliers and other hospitality industry…
Destination Southeast — Northstar’s destination-specific hosted-buyer event — brings together the most highly-qualified meeting and incentive buyers with top destinations, hotels/resorts, cruise lines, attractions, DMCs, DMOs and tourism offices from the Southeastern states including: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. Attendees participate in one-on-one pre-scheduled…
The “Invisible Industry” was a label put on the meetings and hospitality sectors back in 1996 by broadcaster Charles Osgood. Now this title has become an advocacy roadshow, thanks to a 49-foot trailer stocked with interactive media. It launched a year-long “Invisible Industry Tour” of US cities last June. From PCMA…
PCMA has held a roundtable discussion in Washington DC on how to navigate events in the wake of the Supreme Court’s overturning of the Roe v. Wade decision on US abortion rights. Ninety minutes of fascinating crosstalk on the rights and wrongs of events boycotting destinations because of their laws ensued. From PCMA…
No industry has escaped the talent crunch. For the events sector, hit so very hard by the pandemic crisis, the severe staffing shortage as business returns really stings. Here is a useful roundup of voices on the subject from an association, venues and staffing solution companies, with further reading links. From PCMA…
The US Supreme Court ruling that lifted constitutional protections for access to abortion services has now prompted calls for scientific events to boycott states that have banned or severely restricted services. At least one organisation has already moved a meeting out of Louisiana over the issue of abortion rights. Photo: Ted Eytan. From Nature…
The pandemic has given convention bureaux a fresh chance to partner with their economic development agencies to benefit the destination over the short and long term in new and often fruitful ways. In fact, this is one of three central trends identified in the DestinationNEXT 2021 Futures Study just released. From PCMA…
With ongoing cases of COVID-19, full federal approval of the Pfizer vaccine, and new federal vaccine mandates covering workers, more associations are considering adding a vaccine mandate to their in person events. Here’s what organisers need to know about legal considerations, about verifying vaccination, as well as about state mandate bans. From Associations Now…
When a US academic recently asked on Twitter whether our professional organisations should have vaccine and mask requirements at their on site meetings this autumn, the result was unexpectedly definitive. It also sets the stage for a challenging few months ahead, for the organisations, for destination local authorities, and also for attendees. From PCMA…
President Trump has cancelled the pre-election Republican National Convention in Jacksonville, as the pandemic continues to rage in Florida. The convention had been scheduled for August. The party will hold a scaled-back event in North Carolina instead, which is where the President’s formal nomination will take place. From Conference & Meetings World…
Certification from the Global BioRisk Advisory Council, part of worldwide cleaning industry association ISSA, could help to restart face-to-face events and assuage any attendee concerns. The USA’s two largest convention venues, the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando and McCormick Place Chicago, have signed up. From Northstar Meetings Group…
From feeding workers on the front line, to making sure that food from cancelled events goes to the hungry and not to landfill, here’s a roundup of how organisations from across the business events industry have offered help during the pandemic, like the Los Angeles Convention Center and Levy Restaurant (pictured). From PCMA…
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