Greg Oates

The meetings industry is beginning to evaluate the long-term impact of conferences on a host destination's economic growth, and the business outcome for both local and visiting participants, with much more intention than in the past. It's going to get bumpy, but it's time for the industry to start taking itself seriously.

The Joint Meetings Industry Council's "Iceberg" project is ambitious in terms of defining the value of the meetings industry more holistically, but there are a lot of challenges to provide the indepth case studies required to quantify that successfully.

The travel industry needs to embrace the geopolitical realities of the world. More than anywhere else, Europe is at the center of a wholesale reimagining of the role that tourism and hospitality play in uniting global governments, cultures, and companies.

The national conversation around the need for more diversity and inclusivity in the technology and advanced industry sectors is moving to the forefront in the meetings industry, as more organizations realize the value of inclusivity to drive success on a global stage.

Washington, D.C. is promoting its high degree of inclusivity and diversity in the region's tech sector, compared to the national average, as a competitive advantage to attract more technology conventions and drive long-term economic growth for a broader cross-section of local communities.

Conferences and events like Skift Forum Europe in April and SXSW in Austin this month distill the converging trends in society, politics, and high-growth industries.

Trump's travel ban is hurting America's image internationally and its innovation economy domestically, but the global meetings industry and many U.S. cities are rallying in an attempt to minimize the pain.

Today's best innovation and technology conferences focus on the commercialization of ideas, and they're having a big impact on the long-term economic development of their host cities.

Right now, the meetings and events industry is divided between focusing on the value of innovation and the cost of ignorance, and industry leaders have a lot to say about both.

Early on, Design Hotels narrowed in on the concept that innovative design was the foundation for any good brand experience. The company built on that by promoting the member hotel owners as expert curators of their local neighborhoods.