Launching Our First Industry Vertical Newsletter: Skift Meetings Innovation Report

Skift Meetings Innovation Report is our brand-new newsletter that deciphers and defines the future of meetings, conventions and events by covering disruptive strategies that improve networking and knowledge sharing.

The newsletter will arrive in in-boxes every Wednesday morning, as well as appear on Skift.com.

Subscribe to receive weekly updates about the future of business events!

What You Need to Know

Second-tier cities with good air access are evolving into “new world cities,” and the convention industry is playing a growing role in their development. That’s according to professor Greg Clark, chairman of the Business of Cities think tank in London, in his presentation at AIPC this year: “The Role of Convention Centers as Instruments of City Development & Transition.”

Read: The Convention Industry Is Turning Second-Tier Cities Into Top-Tier Destinations

Social Quote of the Day

“Digital and Social continue to impress” at IMEX America 2015

— Tahira Endean, CMP on Twitter

Trending Now

Meeting Planners Want Face-To-Face Engagement With Convention Bureaus: Convention bureaus need to prioritize more face-to-face engagement with meeting planners, because that’s how they feel they get the most valuable information to inform their destination sourcing decisions. That’s a key takeaway from a new report published by Development Counsellors International—”A View From Meeting Planners: Winning Strategies in Destination Marketing.” Read more at Skift

Cvent Announces Top 25 Meeting Destinations in Europe: Competition between cities to attract meetings and events is incredibly fierce in Europe. Cvent’s analysis of sourcing activity identified significant competition between European countries, and increasingly within countries where smaller markets are investing to lure events away from major cities. Read more at Skift

It’s Frightening that Some Meeting Planners Still Haven’t Gone Digital [Sponsored]: Cvent says meeting professionals are becoming increasingly pressured to keep in mind all of the happenings and expenses of events. However, there is still an overwhelming amount of planners who have yet to implement a mobile app to keep track of events in a simple, productive way. Read more at Skift

What the Meeting Industry Is Talking About Right Now: 4 Themes From IMEX America: In Las Vegas, meeting pros buzzed about the future of the industry, generational value shifts, and attendee well-being amid an atmosphere of increasing business optimism. Read more at BizBash

Destinations

Singapore, Dubai, Brussels and Washington, D.C. Launch Convention Cities Network: Announced at IMEX America, the new Global Association Hubs Partnership is a collection of economic development and destination marketing organizations, working together to better engage association meeting planners and drive large association business to each other. Read more at Skift

Repositioning Amsterdam as ‘Holland City’ to Attract More Conventions: This is the first time a convention bureau has launched an official website promoting a destination’s intellectual software ahead of its infrastructure hardware. The new Conventions.Holland.com portal is organized around nine industry sectors that the country specializes in for conventions. Read more at Skift

The Davos of Main Street: For the Oakland-based BALLE organization, Localism is about building communities that are more healthy and sustainable, backed by local economies that are stronger and more resilient. Here’s how their event pros make that come to life. Read more at Convene

Events & Venues

The Conference That’s Trying to Reinvent How We Network: According to Nadia Lakhdari, VP of content and creation for C2 Montreal, this is the future of conference networking. She says, “We want to move people beyond sharing business cards at the coffee break, or, worse, just standing around staring at their phones.” Read more at Harvard Business Review

Las Vegas Promotes Its Convention Center With Raw Videos of Fringe Groups: The new documentary-style videos of unusual groups having fun in Las Vegas Convention Center are designed to target association attendees, versus meeting planners who organize association events. Read more at Skift

Hospitality

5 Test Cases for Airbnb During Meetings and Conventions: While there are many issues prohibiting meeting attendees from booking sharing accommodations, they help people attend educational association events who otherwise might not be able to afford to participate. Read more at Skift

Starwood Is Helping Create Macau’s Emerging Meetings Market: Macau is an example of an emerging meetings destination that will see U.S. market growth on the backs of its U.S. hotel partners like Sheraton and St. Regis, but the challenges are significant due to the region’s reputation as the “Las Vegas of the East.” Read more at Skift

Tips & Comments

Skift Meetings Innovation Report is curated by meetings industry veteran Greg Oates. Send story ideas and feedback to [email protected] or @gregoates.

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