Meeting News - November 10, 2008 - (Page 4)

Inside the Meetings Industry Edited by William Ng william.ng@nielsen.com For Many, AIBTM Is Having Big Ramifications Already Last month, in announcing the launch of the annual Americas Incentive, Business Travel & Meetings Exhibition (AIBTM), which begins its run in 2010, Reed Travel Exhibitions director Paul Kennedy said, “It was clear that there was a need and demand for an Americas event that delivered domestic and international exhibitors and buyers.” And, Reed chose Baltimore as the AIBTM site through at least 2014, Kennedy said, due to the company’s desire to tap into “the largest concentration of meeting planners in the world, in the northeastern U.S.” AIBTM will introduce a largescale international hosted-buyer program in the U.S., and it will conduct a substantial domestic hostedbuyer program as well. The only similarly sized show in North America is the Motivation Show (known to many as the Incentive Travel & Meetings Executive Show, or IT&ME, its former name), which takes place in Chicago each September and this year had a hostedbuyer program for the first time. “We selected 150 of 500 applicants for our hosted-buyer program,” said Donna Oldenburg, conference director of the Motivation Show.“But with the economy being what it is, 50 had to cancel at the last minute due to travel restrictions within their organizations. Nonetheless, we are going to have 500 hosted buyers for 2009.” Kennedy said AIBTM is the result of two years of research and planning. “We are basing the new show on our EIBTM model, which matches exhibitors with qualified hosted buyers,” he said. Modeled after the other meetings and incentive industry shows that Reed owns—namely the big-name EIBTM in Barcelona, the GIBTM in Abu Dhabi, the CIBTM in Beijing, and the Asia-Pacific Incentives & Meetings Expo (AIME) in Melbourne—AIBTM is set to debut June 29 to July 1, 2010. Tom Noonan, president and CEO of the Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Association, said that landing AIBTM “is a major coup for our city,” adding,“the impact will be felt for years to come in terms of future business with national and international customers and exposure for Baltimore.” The 2010 show is anticipated to generate $3 million in direct spending for the city. According to the BACVA, the AIBTM agreement came as a result of the city’s alliance with the Fort Worth and Sacramento convention bureaus. The Fort Worth Convention & Visitors Bureau, including president and CEO David DuBois, is credited as the matchmaker, connecting Reed—which was looking for an East Coast location—with the BACVA. Early in the year, Miami was rumored to be the site of Reed’s first American travel trade show. But Baltimore’s other advantages cited by Reed were the size of its convention center, its overall hotel inventory, and its access to three international airports, plus Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor line. —William Ng and Robert Carey Association for Healthcare Shows Makes a Stand on Unsanctioned Events To crack down on outboarding—the practice of piggybacking onto large industry shows without permission—the Healthcare Convention & Exhibitors Association has revised its guidelines for exhibitor-sponsored events and educational symposia. The association also presented possible remedies to minimize the number of violators. Difficult economic times often bring a rise in outboarding, as companies seek to save money by marketing themselves alongside industry shows that draw big concentrations of potential buyers. According to Steven Hacker, president of the International Association of Exhibitions and Events, outboard events damage the industry shows they tailgate, siphoning attendees from official sessions, receptions, and other functions. Even exhibiting firms that receive permission from show management to hold annex events must be guided properly so that the main show is not hurt. As a result, HCEA’s updated guidelines address the fees it could charge exhibitors hosting their own events, and also suggest stipulating the times and locations of such events. In addition, the guidelines touch on how to sanction or dissuade non-exhibiting companies from holding events alongside convention dates. For instance, there are recommendations such as organizers requiring exhibitors to provide continuing-education credits for satellite symposia. Doing this not only makes the show more attractive for attendees, it also makes nonexhibiting firms’ outboard events less beneficial—perhaps coercing rogue firms to become exhibitors or simply drop their presence. Further, the guidelines address ways organizers can promote their exhibitors’ events through official channels, putting unauthorized events at a distinct disadvantage. The revisions were developed by HCEA’s Association/Industry Partnering Committee and approved by HCEA’s board of directors. To view “Guidelines for U.S. Healthcare Conventions,” visit www.hcea.org. H —RC www.meetingnews.com MPI Cements Its Show Circuit for the Next Five Years Meeting Professionals International has announced the future sites for its World Education Congress, as well as the location for its 2010 MeetDifferent conference (formerly the Professional Education Conference). The following cities are confirmed for WEC: Orlando, July 23-26, 2011; St. Louis, July 28-31, 2012; and Las Vegas, July 20-23, 2013. For MeetDifferent, which traditionally has been held in the 4 MeetingNews November 10, 2008 U.S., MPI selected Cancun, Feb. 20-23, 2010. MeetDifferent 2009 will be held in Atlanta, Feb. 7-10. WEC 2009 will be held in Salt Lake City, July 11-14, and WEC 2010 will go on in Vancouver, July 24-27. WEC is the largest MPI event, attracting a global audience. MeetDifferent now focuses on innovative meeting design, alternative learning strategies, and emerging technologies. —RC http://www.hcea.org http://www.meetingnews.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Meeting News - November 10, 2008

Meeting News - November 10, 2008
MN Exclusive Research
Green & Social Responsibility: The Year that Was in Meetings
Incentive Special: Recovering from AIG
Perspectives
What's Up @ MeetingNews.com
Letters to the Editor
Inside the Meetings Industry
South Africa Supplement
Newsmaker Q&A
People Making News
Hotels & Resorts
Starwood Hopes E-Portal is Small Meeting Utopia
Intercontinental O'Hare Puts Art at Forefront
Convention Centers
Dallas and Philadelphia Move on Their Projects
CVBs
Jacksonville Markets to Medical, Cultural Groups
International
Jamaica's Rose Hall Area Blossoms with Resorts
EIBTM Puts Together an Ambitious Program
Transportation & Services
Meeting News South
Technology
Green Beat
Destination Insider
Fort Lauderdale
Cleveland
Incentive Report
Mexico
MN Webcast Report
Ad Index
Live from the Forum

Meeting News - November 10, 2008