Ed Fernandez & Lynnette Bain promoting Windsor & Caesar's Windsor
The impressive Barbados booth
Melia's Michael Kohlmaier & Ron Warner
Melanie Coates (centre) promoting Newfoundland's dramatic Fogo Island Inn
It’s no secret that the meetings, conventions and incentive industry is big business – so no surprise that the 3rd annual Business Event Expo at the sprawling Direct Energy Centre in Toronto attracted a big crowd.
Some 700 registrants convened to meet with over 170 exhibitors, from the Accra Beach Hotel to the Yukon, many featuring some of the most elaborate and elegant trade show booths in the business. There was an impressive contingent from right across Canada, as well as the U.S. and offshore destinations from the Caribbean to the exotic including Prague, Kenya and Iceland.
What’s hot in the meeting biz these days? Michael Kohlmaier of Melia reported lots of interest in their European properties, especially their high end boutique hotels including their new Vienna property and their London hotel located right on the Strand. “There’s definitely a move into the luxury market,” he told me.
Vegas of course keeps re-inventing itself, and there’s always something new including, this June, the addition of non-stop Westjet flights from Fort McMurray (can you say “well-paid oil workers”?), the opening of the Linq open-air pedestrian zone right on the strip and the SLS high end boutique property slated to open in the old Sahara hotel. According to Paul Larcher of the Vegas CVB, the city now boasts some 147,000 hotel rooms and can accommodate meetings of up to (wait for it) 50,000 attendees.
The U.S. Virgin Islands is a great destination for your groups looking for luxury brand names, Brent Carnegie of CanLink says, thanks to the presence of both Ritz Carlton and Westin. Groups to the destination average 30 – 40 pax and include lots of wedding groups who love the 3 islands’ distinctive vibes.
And what’s a trade show without the latest trinkets and giveaways? For those customers who already have enough branded thermal mugs, post-it notes, pens and key rings, Eric Jolly of Coyote Promotions says that the hot new item is a cell phone power booster. A great travel tie-in for the corporate or leisure client!
