The impressive entrance to the iBE show
Who would have thought PEI could be so funky?
Attendees getting VIP treatment courtesy Tourism Toronto
White Oaks' eye-catching booth
Why business at Casino Windsor may be up next year
It’s not too often I think of us in the travel industry as being artists. But if being innovative and imaginative qualifies us, I enjoyed an amazing show of artistry at this year’s iBE (Ignite Business Event).
Staged at the massive Direct Energy building at the CNE grounds along the lakefront in Toronto, the 2 day event brings together a raft of suppliers with hundreds of meeting planners, group specialists and business travel planners. The 258 exhibitors ranged from tourist boards to hotel chains, wineries to training corporations. And 1 very attractive semi-nude guy from Windsor. (But more about him later).
Certainly the booths ranked above the usual draped-table-and-pop-up-signage we’re used to seeing at travel trade shows. Beautifully decorated and cleverly lit, some looked nice enough to live in. “We really encourage our exhibitors to go above and beyond just handing out brochures,” Sandra Eagle, one of the show’s organizers and editor of the online edition of meetings and incentive travel trade publication Ignite, told me.
How about those folks in PEI? No references to cutesy-folksy Anne of Green Gables in their booth. Instead they were handing out sparklers packaged to look like fireworks to promote their incentive whereby any group booking just 40 room nights next year could win a personalized fireworks display.
Or Tourism Toronto? Rather than handing out key rings with the CN Tower on them, they hired professional make-up artists and a photographer to provide show attendees with free fresh headshots to use on social media.
Meeting and incentive trends and news? According to Elaine Carnegie of Canlink, buyouts of some of the smaller resorts she reps such as Jade Mountain in St. Lucia (just 29 rooms) make for a perfect high end incentive. “When you ‘own’ the hotel we can customise all sorts of events and food and beverage.”
Closer to home, legendary White Oaks near Niagara on the Lake is opening a 12,000 sq. ft. trade show space in October. And the largest outdoor outlet mall in the world is opening across the street from them in May next year. (Sounds like the easiest spousal program in the world to me.) In another trend, I must say I saw a lot (a lot) of mini-cupcakes.
And the guy from Windsor? Good-natured Casino Windsor employee Milan Pavel, doing a great job to attract folks to his booth. And, may I say, succeeding quite nicely.
