GLOBAL DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE AWARD

INCON 2017 PRESS RELEASE:
Industry wide digital infrastructure award opens

Entries from leading meeting venues are expected for this year’s Digital Infrastructure Award, which opened at IMEX America today. The global award spearheaded by INCON and supported by: IACC, ICCA, the ICEBERG, Best Cities, IMEX and AMI magazine encourages the development of best in class Digital Infrastructure in meetings venues around the world. Daejeon Convention Centre from South Korea and Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre were joint winners of the 2017 Award. Previous winners included: Austria Center Vienna, MCEC and Darmstadtium.

At the launch, Carol McGury, INCON Co-Chair and Executive Vice President of Smith Bucklin remarked “INCON partners value the calibre of the submissions for this prestigious award. We look forward to seeing leading facilities submit their entries and showcasing the best in class meeting venues”.

Bob Heile award judge explains “the quality of the digital infrastructure that venues provide can make or break an event, not to mention just providing a positive experience for the delegates who just want to stay connected”. Bob is a founding and still active member of IEEE 802.11, the standard behind Wi-Fi. He has been involved in effectively writing the rule-book for wireless standards for the past 27 years. He organizes and participates in more than six different conferences on WIFI and digital communications annually where he tests at first hand the quality of digital communications in venues across the globe. Bob together with an international panel of judges will review the nominations and the winners will be announced at IMEX Frankfurt in May 2018.

INCON looks forward to receive entries for this year’s award. An application can be completed from the INCON website: www.incon-pco.com/award. There is no entry fee. All it takes for a venue to be considered is to fill in an application with full details about your venue and return it by 28th February 2018.

Press enquiries can be taken as follows:
Angela Guillemet, Executive Director, INCON
T: +353 86 311 40 67
E: angela@incon-pco.com
W: www.incon-pco.com

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#INCON #IACC #ICCA, #ICEBERG #BestCities #IMEX #AMImagazine #MICE #MICEnews

IACC and Meeting Professionals International Form Global Alliance

IACC and Meeting Professionals International Form Global Alliance

CHICAGO and DALLAS, April, 2017 – IACC, the only association to certify conference and meetings-focused venues on a global basis, and Meeting Professionals International (MPI), the leading global association for meeting professionals, have announced a five-year global partnership for the mutual benefit of their members. The two associations will share event and learning platforms, including education delivered at annual conferences, regional events, and online as well as research initiatives.

In the last year IACC has delivered education at European and US MPI events, including more recently at the Southern California Chapter Conference and MPI Philadelphia Area Chapter Education Institute, and the two associations are exploring opportunities for additional MPI chapter events. In addition, MPI presented two workshops at the IACC-Americas Connect conference this week in Los Angeles.

IACC’s CEO Mark Cooper commented, “The leadership teams at MPI and IACC have been collaborating on several successful initiatives over the last two years and now seems the perfect time to bring all this great work together under one strategy to allow us to seize more opportunities and provide more for our respective members. Just as MPI is passionate about designing great meeting experiences, IACC is passionate about venues delivering an exceptional meetings experience. It’s the perfect marriage”.

One new project slated to roll out in 2017 will entail MPI conferences streamed live to IACC venues, where MPI members can come together, learn and experience valuable networking. The venues will all be IACC certified and capable of delivering a quality event with live streaming of content, supported by IACC member staff. MPI’s 2017 World Education Congress (WEC), which takes place June 19-22 in Las Vegas, will be the first conference featured.

“One of our top priorities at MPI is to continuously enrich our portfolio of professional development offerings and this collaboration with IACC will certainly help us deliver more value to our membership community,” said Paul Van Deventer, president and CEO of MPI. “We are especially excited about the opportunity to live stream WEC to members that are unable to make it to the conference this year and in an environment, that encompasses peer-to-peer engagement and networking.”

MPI will also take part in the next phase of the IACC Meeting Room of the Future™ research project, which aims to transform the meeting experience through a global collaboration of leaders in conference and meeting space design, technology, hospitality, delegate collaboration, experience and conference management. The first phase surveyed meeting planners, including MPI planner members, and was published in 2016, and the second phase will focus on the venue buyer community and look to draw parallels with the initial research.

The results will be unveiled at MPI’s WEC 2017 this June, with IACC conducting a Research Showcase at the conference. A full copy of the initial report and infographic can be downloaded from the IACC website here.

Alex Cabañas, IACC president and CEO of BENCHMARK®, a global hospitality company, comments, “This is the perfect project to use as an example of the power of the alliance, as it combines venue innovation and entrepreneurialism with the expertise of meeting industry professionals”.

Education, Education and More Education
With IACC leading the field in representing the top one percent of small-to-mid-size meetings-focused venues in 25 countries over four continents and MPI representing the largest community of meeting professionals worldwide, this alliance is a natural one and comes following many years of working together.

This is an era where the industry sees a significant increase in the number of part-time meeting planners, who with busy jobs look at professional development a little differently. IACC certified venues, which host smaller conferences and meetings, has a large number of part-time planners booking space and one objective of this alliance is to provide relevant education to this important group.

Additionally, IACC venues consist of many individ

 

#IACC #MICENews #MediaChannel #MPI

IACC Meeting Room of The Future™ Publishes Second Research

IACC Meeting Room of The Future™ Publishes Second Research
Visionary Global Initiative Will Transform Meetings
 
Chicago, Illinois, – As part of a ongoing dynamic initiative from IACC, a second set of research has been conducted and reported following the survey of global venue operators, suppliers and industry experts. IACC Meeting Room of the Future™ aims to transform the meeting experience through a global collaboration of leaders in conference space design, audiovisual technology, hospitality, academia and conference management.  The first research, which surveyed meeting planners was published in April 2016, with this next research focusing on the views of venue operators and suppliers, which draws parallels with the first research. The results were unveiled at IMEX Americas in Las Vegas this week. The project combines innovation and entrepreneurialism with the expertise of meeting industry professionals and planners.

Over 65 venues plus suppliers across four continents were surveyed. Venues included a large number of IACC certified properties, where the majority or all of their business is derived from meetings and conferences.

Delivering a more Profound Meetings Experience
A key finding from this latest research was that venue operators and suppliers are aware of the changing expectations of meeting delegates and the majority of venue operators see it as their role to provide a great meetings experience, providing new options to the meeting planner. Power has shifted to the participants such that venues and hosts have to deliver impactful and engaging experiences. Gamification, Design Thinking and Matchmaking at conferences, are all good examples of experiences satisfying this important trend.

The report highlights the need for venues to provide more networking and social spaces outside of the meeting room and food and beverage service at lunchtime, needs to facilitate delegates being able to meet people, eat and check in with the office and home during this period.

Physical Meeting Spaces and Design
The report states that fundamentally there are elements of meeting venues that are critical for successful meetings and these have largely remained constant over the past several years and are projected to remain important in the years to come,including high quality broadband, strong acoustics and good lighting.

Conference and meeting venue operators are addressing their client’s needs by offering meeting rooms that are designed to foster creativity, ice-breakers and themed food and beverage. A significant percentage of operators are also offering outdoor meeting rooms or spaces as well as other physical spaces and activities that promote team building.

Meeting planners do cite a continued trend towards more unique and flexible meeting spaces. When asked how strongly they agree with the statement “Access to collaborative meeting space will become more important in the next two to five years” (on a scale of 1 -strongly disagree to 10 -strongly agree), meeting planners provided an average rating of “8” indicating the need for more creative, less traditional options.

Jessie States from MPI cited “Attendees can no longer bear being stuck in a room listening (or not) to talking heads and mindless speeches. And meeting professionals are being much more strategic about the where, why and how of bringing people together. Meetings are for ‘meeting’ not for ‘attending’. They are for ‘participating’ not for ‘observing’. Venues must provide spaces that encourage engagement, boost learning and enhance experiences that foster conversations and growth.”

Both operators and suppliers report cost of investment as the greatest barrier to investing in new furniture/equipment for more flexible, creative spaces.

Mark Cooper, IACC CEO comments, “Venue operators whose properties are focused on delivering meetings, are not surprised and are in agreement with meeting planners on the major changes and trends affecting meetings today and those which are likely to in the next two to five years. However, there are also differences between the two groups identified in this research, which raise important questions. For instance, are venues investing in new technologies but ignoring the need to invest in Internet infrastructure, including bandwidth?”

Meetings Technology
57% of venue operators indicated that they did not currently offer collaborative technologies (products which allow greater participation between delegates and presenter, such as Microsoft’s SurfaceHub, or Barco’s ClickShare and other related technologies) in any of their meeting rooms. 32% indicated they did offer collaborative technologies but considered this offering a premium with an additional charge to the client. Venue suppliers also view collaborative technology as a premium product offering to clients. 63% indicated they provide the technology, but at a cost to the client.

These extra costs are creating barriers to greater collaborative technology use from clients. Meeting planners expect the access to interactive technology to become more important than the current top priority when considering venues, being the flexibility of meeting room spaces.

It was evident from this research, that venue operators are increasingly looking to hire staff with IT backgrounds on the basis that is it easier to teach an IT specialist needed AV skills than it is to teach an AV specialist required IT skills.

Communications & Connections
Currently 89% of venues surveyed provide meeting delegate internet access free of charge, but 55% of those require a log in. 11% of venues still require delegates to pay for Wi-Fi, which indicates the balance has finally tipped and Internet access is being considered vital core offering needed by all and not an add-on.

In the first research published earlier this year, on the topic of paid versus free Wi-Fi, one meeting planner commented, “Access to strong, fast, secure broadband should be a given at all meetings and should be provided free by the venue. It still boggles me that some venues charge a premium for using Wi-Fi. When this becomes the norm we’ll be able to use other technologies without barriers.”

The program’s ambitious long term goal is to predict and showcase a clear vision of what is new for today and what solutions need to be sought for tomorrow’s meeting rooms, to deliver what clients want and need for maximum productivity. Collaboration, productivity and inspiration will be at the heart of the 2016 concept, with the plan to build on this annually.

The initiative brings together the brightest minds and companies in the industry, to predict, create and shape the meeting spaces of the future.  “As the only global association representing the top 1% of smaller meeting and conference venues in 27 countries, IACC is ideally positioned to evaluate trends in meeting environments,” affirms IACC’s CEO Mark Cooper.

A full copy of the report and infographic can be downloaded from the IACC website here.

Current contributors and research partners include Meeting Professionals International (MPI), Microsoft, Development Councilors International, SICO, Corbin Ball Associates, Sli-do, Warwick Conferences, Summit Conference Centres, MGSM Executive Hotel & Conference Centre and PSAV.

IACC Names Chefs as “Copper Skillet European Champions”

IACC Names Chefs as “Copper Skillet European Champions”

(Netherlands) – 2016 — 9 chefs from IACC member properties in Denmark, Sweden, France, Netherlands, Germany & the UK gathered at Kapellerput on 24 September at the IACC-Europe Knowledge Festival to compete for the coveted European Copper Skillet where the winners go on to the Copper Skillet global final taking place in the Los Angeles in April 2017.

Regina Andersen from the Trinity Hotel & Conference Centre, Denmark took the Senior title for her winning dish in the cook-off of pork filet rolled around a farce of cod, with potatoes and fried onions.

Mary Palecek from the Sundial Venue – Woodside, UK was declared Junior category champion for her dish of pork fillet medallions, sweet potato, sautéed courgette and chorizo, with a tomato and chilli salsa

The chefs were presented with basic pantry items along with a “mystery basket” of proteins and other fresh, dairy and grocery items. They were given 30 minutes to prepare, create, and present their creations to local area judges.

The winners of the European cook-off (one senior chef and one junior chef) will go on to compete with other chefs from IACC chapters around the world at the International Copper Skillet Competition at the IACC-Americas Connect Annual Meeting on the 4–6 April 2017 where the 13th Global Copper Skillet Champion will be named.

The popular Copper Skillet competition was introduced in 2004 to highlight the artistry and skill of the best chefs from IACC-member conference venues around the world and to honour their contributions to the shared goal of providing an outstanding conference venue experience.

IACC Undergoes Re-branding and Launches New Logo

IACC Undergoes Re-branding and Launches New Logo

(London, UK April, 2016) — IACC announces the re-branding of the association.

IACC has experienced rapid growth in its membership and global reach. Being the only global association to represent small to mid-sized meetings focused venues and influenced by exciting innovations it is seeing from members, IACC has identified that the brand needs an update in order to represent all 378 members in 22 countries. The new brand addresses the needs of a dynamic, changing market place, while leveraging the brand equity IACC has built over 35 years.

In developing their new branding, IACC conducted extensive research with members and industry stakeholders across 4 continents. The association worked closely with members and industry ambassadors to talk about what the brand said about them now and what members wanted it to stand for in future. IACC took these findings and concentrated all ideas into a set of brand pillars which are aligned with the core values by which it wants to live and to foster a feeling of collaboration, connectedness and impactful outcomes.

Today IACC’s membership reflects more than just conference centres, each branded in individual ways, but all providing the same high quality standards and delivery of exceptional meetings that began in the 1980’s under IACC.  Member venues include conference centres, seminar houses, day meeting venues, corporate universities, and meetings-focused hotels and resorts. The association will no longer refer to itself as theInternational Association of Conference Centres, but will simply be referred to as IACC.

Alex Cabañas, IACC President comments “This is a monumental time in IACC’s 35-year history.  We are an exclusive association of the brightest minds and exceptional meeting venues in the world and we are excited to celebrate who we are today and who we want to become with this fresh new logo and identity.  This gives us a refreshing new look that reflects and projects a modern, forward thinking and innovative personality, which remains a unique characteristic of the IACC global community.”

The new logo has been designed to reflect a sense of symmetry, with each shape overlapping in unison to further illustrate the strength and alignment of universal connectivity. The four symbols represent the four brand pillars which are the signature qualities and attributes that exemplify the IACC experience.

IACC’s Brand Pillars
Exclusive meeting venues, by design
At the forefront of meetings innovation
Globally connected network of passionate members
Curators of exceptional meeting experiences

Mark Cooper, IACC CEO comments “As we continue to grow and expand the association globally to thrive in what is undoubtedly a fast changing meetings industry, the brand needed to evolve to acknowledge this.  I am excited to share with our members and partners, the brand pillars which speaks to the creative bridge to the incredible unity of our members globally.”

Following the launch, the new brand will be at the heart of new publications, communications and marketing and in a soon to be re-launched website. Logos and usage guidelines are available to download from IACC’s website here and see the unveiling of the logo on video on IACC’s YouTube Channel.

IACC wishes to thank all the members and their industry partners who contributed to the research and interview stages of the exercise, and the global volunteer group for their time, patience and expertise in developing the new logo.

IACC Meeting Room of The Future

IACC Meeting Room of The Future Visionary Global Initiative Will Transform Meetings A dynamic new initiative from the International Association of Conference Centres (IACC) is set to transform the meeting experience through a global collaboration of leaders in conference room design, audiovisual technology, hospitality, academia and conference management.  The project and initial global survey results are be unveiled at IACC-America’s Connect annual conference in New York City this April.  The IACC Meeting Room of the Future™ combines innovation and entrepreneurialism with the expertise of meeting industry professionals and planners. The program’s ambitious goal is to predict and showcase a clear vision of what is new for today and what solutions need to be sought for tomorrow’s meeting rooms, to deliver what clients want and need for maximum productivity. Collaboration, productivity and inspiration will be at the heart of the 2016 concept, with the plan to build on this annually. The initiative brings together the brightest minds and companies in the industry, to create both a physical and virtual meeting environment.  Contributors include leading universities in the US, Europe and Australia, several meetings and technology companies and leading designers of venue furnishings.  “As the only global organisation representing smaller meetings and venues, IACC is singularly-positioned to spearhead this initiative,” affirms IACC’s CEO Mark Cooper. Effective research is at the core of the initiative. IACC is surveying a broad spectrum of the industry to identify and understand needs, track current trends and innovations and determine the kinds of learning environments that foster collaboration, ideas exchange and relationship building. “These environments profoundly influence people, behaviours, companies, politics and ultimately economies.” Cooper notes. IACC will engage with planners, meeting hosts, delegates, operators and suppliers, and is partnering with Meeting Professionals International (MPI) on a survey involving 1000 of the association’s members. The project will address the most challenging issues facing the meetings  industry today while showcasing the most innovative and useful aspects of tomorrow’s meeting room.  Access to sufficient bandwidth is clearly a critical issue and one that demands thoughtful study and careful investment in equipment and training.  As the industry becomes even more global, conference venues must offer first-rate teleconference services. The rapidly expanding number of new mobile devices used by planners and attendees demands powerful, high-speed connectivity that can host any number of devices and any group or number of groups. “Connectivity affects every aspect of the meeting experience,” Mark Cooper asserts. “Super high-speed Wi-Fi is essential throughout the facility as part of security and privacy, critical communications within the meeting experience and with colleagues beyond, sustainability and guest services.” The results of the IACC Meeting Room of the Future™ survey will be published globally and at IACC-America’s Connect annual conference this April. Current contributors and research partners include Meeting Professionals International (MPI), Microsoft, Dianne Devitt.net, Corbin Ball Associates, Sli-do, Benchmark Hospitality International, MGSM Executive Hotel & Conference Centre and PSAV.

 

Sharing Ideas That Matter – IACC Americas Reinvents Its Annual Meeting

Sharing Ideas That Matter – IACC Americas Reinvents Its Annual Meeting

IACC-Americas Connect is First of Innovative Multi-Venue Conferences That Are Shorter, More Affordable and Designed to Drive Meaningful Change

New York, November 2015 – In its 35th year, the International Association of Conference Centres (IACC) is reinventing its annual meeting with an array of new learning formats and a theme of “Sharing Ideas That Matter.” Renamed IACC-Americas Connect, the former IACC Americas Annual Meeting will be held in New York City from April 19-20, 2016. The event will feature multiple venues, top speakers, a shorter timeframe and a wide choice of lodging accommodations in the city. Networking events and highly focused workshops have been designed to attract new attendees, share global meetings experiences and address issues facing the industry. The event will be held at different New York City locations, including Convene Midtown East, Pier 60 and locations around Chelsea Market.

IACC-Americas Connect is the first of a new breed of IACC conferences purpose-designed to drive real and meaningful change in the meetings industry, according to IACC CEO Mark Cooper. “IACC’s mission is to connect people, sharing meaningful ideas and enabling positive change,” Cooper says. “We have created an event that is educational, affordable and focused on the most innovative and effective trends in the industry.” IACC tested this model with great success at its European-members event in Milan, Italy, this past October.

“New York is the perfect place to launch this revolutionary project,” Cooper asserts. A goal of the event is to offer different venue experiences, as these are one of the most important take-aways for our members who attend. We are delighted to include Convene Midtown East in our venue line up.”

IACC Members have indicated a preference for shorter, more impactful conferences with good accessibility, affordable registration and dynamic collaborative learning opportunities. To make the conference effective and affordable, the time has been shortened to two days and IACC members can attend for one day or for the entire event.

In another break from tradition, members can stay at the accommodation of their choice. “There is no obligation to stay at recommended hotels.” TJ Fimmano, IACC-Americas president says. “New York offers a wide choice of accommodations and price points.” Pre-conference tours and culinary experiences in the Big Apple will also be part of the line-up.

IACC expects many delegates to combine IACC-Americas Connect with business meetings and client contacts, adding further value to their conference investment. “We want our members to make the most from their attendance next year, including coming together and exploring ways to shape the industry and deliver innovative meetings experiences,” says Jason MacEachen, chair of the planning committee, noting that IACC created this new paradigm to encourage junior managers to attend.

The introduction of new exciting meeting environments and embracing the changing way people want to meet is one of the main themes, which April’s event will carry. “Our members come together to address challenges and create opportunities in a very open way. The mantra, ‘Together we are Stronger’ describes IACC’s members perfectly!” Cooper points out. “Today’s conferences should not only deliver education but also encourage exchanges that produce real workable solutions.”

IACC will also continue its successful partnership with host-city universities. Working with NYU School of Professional Studies, Tisch Center for Hospitality and Tourism, IACC will give scholarships that enable students to attend as well as contribute to the Conference Planning Committee.

“If you are passionate about meetings and want to be surrounded by the best in the meetings business, don’t miss this event!” says Alex Cabañas, recently-elected president of IACC and the CEO of Benchmark Hospitality International. “IACC-Americas Connect will break the mold this year introducing new concepts and innovations while remaining true to the benefits of networking and education which have been a part of IACC since inception. The industry is changing at a rapid pace – you must ask yourself, are you changing fast enough to stay relevant? At IACC, we are, so come join us!”

Association Focus & Evening offer superb education

Association Focus & Evening offer superb education and networking opportunities at IMEX America 2015

Increasing revenues, designing better meetings and using mobile technologies in meetings are among the engaging subjects to be explored at Association Focus, a key part of IMEX America’s Smart Monday education program on 12 October 2015 in Las Vegas.

This special educational event, designed by IMEX together with ASAE and ICCA, is packed with fascinating discussions and insightful presentations led by an inspiring group of engaging speakers including industry professionals and independent specialists.

Taking place at the Venetian®| The Palazzo® Congress Center, the free event is exclusively for association executives. More than 180 association professionals from over 15 countries are expected to attend.

The day will be packed with motivating sessions where delegates can boost their knowledge and gather valuable insights and advice from peers and experts that will be helpful both in running associations as well as their events. The event also offers superb opportunities for association executives to network with peers and experts from across the globe.

After a networking lunch, delegates will first have a choice of three tracks. The ICCA session is ‘What’s Your Story?’ Led by Betsy Bair of Penton Media, Lisa Astorga, CMP of the International Society of Thrombosis and Haemostasis and Martin Sirk, CEO of ICCA, it starts from the premise that every association meeting is a chance to tell a great story – so how can associations make the most of these stories and opportunities?

At the same time, Willis Turner, CEO of Sales & Marketing Executives International Inc and Shelly Alcorn, Principal of Alcorn Associates will explore the potential role and opportunities to use gaming to increase loyalty and engagement.

Dedicated Executive Track
The dedicated ASAE Executive Track will open with ‘The Journey to Great Governance’, presented by Susan Robertson, CAE, Executive Vice President, ASAE, highlighting best practice in how non-profit boards of directors can fulfil their roles in living up to public and stakeholder expectations. This will be followed by Amy Hissrich, VP Web Strategies & Communications at ASAE explaining how mobile technologies can be used to maximise results from meetings.

Meanwhile delegates can also choose to learn about increasing non-due revenues in international markets from Faris Abouhamad of the International Advertising Association and Steen Jakobsen of Dubai Business Events. Alternatively, they can hear from John Folks and Katie Callahan-Giobbi of Mindingyourbusiness on measuring the attendee experience – and how different approaches can help to design a better meeting.

A packed day of education will be followed by a superb social event – Association Evening – which will feature Cocktails and Canapés at the stunning ‘indoor-outdoor’ Foxtail Nightclub, SLS Las Vegas; a fantastic opportunity to network with peers and invited exhibitors in a relaxed environment.

Carina Bauer, CEO of the IMEX Group says: “Association Focus is a unique event in North America – bringing together association executives from around the US and the world to network and learn with each other in a private environment. We work hard with the market to ensure that the education sessions are highly relevant and delivered by first class educators. The Association Evening is a great culmination to the day and we are excited this year to be at a beautiful new poolside venue – it promises to be spectacular.”

For more details about IMEX America’s Association Focus and Evening and to register http://www.imexamerica.com/events/education/association-focus/

Please click here to download the Association Focus & Evening Brochure and to apply.

To attend Association Focus, delegates must first be registered as either a Hosted Buyer or a Visitor for the IMEX America trade show taking place on 13 – 15th October at Sands Expo® and The Venetian®| The Palazzo® Las Vegas. The Association Evening is also open to exhibitors who are members of one of the supporting industry associations – ICCA, ASAE, AIPC, IAEE, IACC, DMAI, PCMA, IAPCO. More information on the evening can be found at: http://www.imexamerica.com/events/networking-events/association-evening/

The education providers for Association Focus are ASAE and ICCA. SLS Las Vegas is the evening host sponsor.

IMEX America | Protection, promotion or policy-making?

Protection, promotion or policy-making?
U.S. Travel Association’s Roger Dow, Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman, and Rossi Ralenkotter of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority to Speak at First Ever IMEX America Political Advocacy Forum

Continuing its efforts to raise the political bar of the meetings industry and build broader awareness of its strong role in creating jobs and economic growth, the U.S. Travel Association will host a session at IMEX America 2012 October 9th, from 4:00 – 5:30 pm at the Sands Expo in Las Vegas.

Lead speakers will feature Roger Dow, CEO of U.S. Travel, Rossi Ralenkotter President and CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) and Chair of U.S. Travel, together with Las Vegas Mayor, Carolyn Goodman.

Heading the panel discussion, Geoff Freeman of U.S. Travel will speak about the meetings and business travel industry as a critical asset to the nation and provide an update on the success of recent political advocacy efforts. He comes to this issue as a well-versed member of the Washington DC community having been a key driver behind the “U.S. Travel Meetings Mean Business” campaign and the Travel Promotion Act. He was also recently made a member of the Passenger Advocacy subcommittee of the Aviation Security Advisory Committee (ASAC) of the Department of Homeland Security.

Ralenkotter, as both Chair of U.S. Travel and President of the LVCVA, will provide an inside look into how Las Vegas excels at hosting more than 19,000 meetings annually – an industry that makes a $6.3 billion impact on the local economy and supports 58,000 jobs.

Adding even more leadership power to the session, Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman – a champion for tourism as the “lifeblood” of the Southern Nevada economy – will also address attendees. Her remarks will focus on efforts to keep Las Vegas on the cutting edge of the travel and tourism industry, and the evolution of Las Vegas as a destination already offering 150,000 hotel rooms and 10.6 million square feet of meeting space.

“IMEX’s recent “Power of 10” global study showed that one of the most pressing challenges for our industry in the next decade is to measure and effectively communicate the strategic and economic value of events and meetings to local, national and global economies,” said Ray Bloom Chairman of the IMEX Group.

He continued: “This new political advocacy session will provide an update on how far the industry has come in making sure that this true value is fully understood, especially in the US. It builds on the efforts we have made over the past 10 years with the Politicians Forum in Frankfurt, but will also offer a distinctly North American perspective. Everyone involved understands that we must keep acting, keep talking, and keep working in unison to achieve meaningful and positive change by policy-makers. IMEX America is proud to play its part in helping to drive this effort and in providing a global platform for the continuing debate.”

“Building a Stronger Meetings Industry – in Washington and your Community” will take place from
4pm – 5.30pm on Tuesday Oct. 09 at IMEX America. It will be open to all IMEX America attendees and exhibitors and will include several US destination CEOs who will also contribute their views and experience.

About IMEX America
IMEX America is America’s worldwide exhibition for incentive travel, meetings and events and is already the largest trade show for the industry in the USA. The second edition will take place at the Sands Expo, Las Vegas, (which is connected to the show’s Headquarters Hotel, The Venetian®|The Palazzo®), Oct 9 – 11, 2012.

The show’s strategic partner and premier educational provider is MPI, who power “Smart Monday” – Oct. 08 – a full day of education on the day prior to the tradeshow. Smart Monday also includes a range of high level education delivered by other partners and associations; including Association Focus – a conference within a conference for association meeting planners – delivered by ASAE, ICCA and PCMA.

IMEX also has an exclusive partnership with the US Travel Association and is endorsed by DMAI and Site, has an Industry Partnership with PCMA and is an ICCA Business Partner. Other supporting associations include: ACTE Global, ADME, AIPC, AMCI, ASAE: The Center for Association Leadership, Association Forum of Chicagoland, CIC, CSAE, ECM, FICP, GMIC, IACC, IAEE, IAPCO, ISES, JMIC, PATA, SKAL, Spin. A list of industry and media partners can be found here.

Follow us on Twitter Facebook LinkedIn and (German) XING Use #imex12 to follow both shows. http://www.imexamerica.com/social.html

Final program announced for IMEX America’s 2012 Association Focus

Final program announced for IMEX America’s 2012 Association Focus

Conference within a conference’ promises to put association planners ahead of the rest with new market-leading professional development education.
With a full day of professional development lined-up plus business leadership expert and author, Mark Sanborn, confirmed as keynote speaker, IMEX America’s Association Focus event will make a high-powered start to the award-winning Las Vegas trade show this October.

The ‘conference within a conference’, sponsored by host venue The Venetian®|The Palazzo® and Sands Meetings, will take place as part of IMEX America’s ‘Smart Monday – Powered by MPI’ – on Monday Oct. O8 – the day before the three-day trade show gets underway. This event is unique in being exclusive to association planners only. Keynote speaker, Mark Sanborn, is a member of the prestigious Speakers Roundtable, a society comprising 20 of the top speakers in the world today. Aside from the quality of the free Association Focus event, Sanborn’s presence is already proving a strong attraction.

This year organizers, the IMEX Group, have worked with ASAE: The Center for Association Leadership, ICCA and PCMA to provide an extensive learning program for association executives keen to improve their professional skills and knowledge. The new education program is provided free of charge and has been designed with tracks tailored to suit different levels of seniority and career development including a choice of ‘executive’, ‘global’ and ‘meetings’ track sessions throughout the day, each with content devised and delivered by one of the three partner associations.

Senior panels
For meeting planners looking to place association business internationally, the global track will offer ICCA-led sessions on “Entering new markets” and “Planning Global Meetings with a Focus on Asia.” At the executive-level, ASAE will run a three-hour deep-dive on “Managing Through Change”. The senior panel will comprise Robin Lokerman, CEO-Institutional Division, MCI Group; Peter O’Neil, CAE, Executive Director, American Industrial Hygiene Association; Patrizia Semprebene Buongiorno, Vice President, AIM Group International and Robert Waller, CAE, President, Association Headquarters, Inc and will be moderated by Brian Riggs, Vice President, Association Headquarters Inc.

Within the meetings track, PCMA have devised two 1.5 hour afternoon sessions – “The science and fun of creating effective learning”, which will be led by Kathleen Edwards, CAE and President of The Learning Evangelist and “Meetings Go Mobile” with Bob Vaez of EventMobi. ASAE’s afternoon sessions include a “Sustainability Safari” with a detailed, behind-the-scenes look at how the Venetian® manages its sustainability program to support green meetings and events. There will also be a session by Tammy Blosil, Vice President, Online Learning for ASAE: The Center for Association Leadership on “The Strategic Impact of Digital Events on Meetings.”

Expert-led round tables
Later in the afternoon Association Focus will offer delegates a choice of over 20 different round-table discussions across all three tracks.

Come 7pm all Association Focus buyers have the chance to attend the Association Evening reception sponsored by Sands Meetings to meet and network with exhibitors and association partners.

As Carina Bauer, CEO of the IMEX Group explains: “Following our debut event we took on board a lot of feedback from the US market – Association Focus is just one of the building blocks of IMEX America that has been redeveloped since last year to improve and enhance the show. We are really excited to be welcoming around 200 association executives to Las Vegas for this event come October 08 and are especially grateful to our sponsors – The Venetian®| The Palazzo® and Sands Meetings for making this possible.”

Registration for the IMEX America Association Focus on Smart Monday Oct.08 is now open. Participants are invited to attend either as part of the show’s hosted buyer program (subject to qualifying criteria) or as a buyer attendee.
http://www.imexamerica.com/associationfocus.html#HowToAttend

About IMEX America
IMEX America is America’s worldwide exhibition for incentive travel, meetings and events and is already the largest trade show for the industry in the USA. The second edition will take place at the Sands Expo, Las Vegas, (which is connected to the show’s Headquarters Hotel, The Venetian®|The Palazzo®), Oct 9 – 11, 2012.

The show’s strategic partner and premier educational provider is MPI, who power “Smart Monday” – Oct. 08 – a full day of education on the day prior to the tradeshow. Smart Monday also includes a range of high level education delivered by other partners and associations; including Association Focus – a conference within a conference for association meeting planners – delivered by ASAE, ICCA and PCMA.

IMEX also has an exclusive partnership with the US Travel Association and is endorsed by DMAI and Site, has an Industry Partnership with PCMA and is an ICCA Business Partner. Other supporting associations include: ACTE Global, ADME, AIPC, AMCI, ASAE: The Center for Association Leadership, Association Forum of Chicagoland, CIC, CSAE, ECM, FICP, GMIC, IACC, IAEE, IAPCO, ISES, JMIC, PATA, SKAL, Spin. A list of industry and media partners can be found here.

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