1. Chapter 12: Meetings, Conventions, and Expositions

2. Chapter 12 Meetings, Conventions, and Expositions
Development of the Industry
Size and Scope
Key Players
Convention and Visitors Bureaus
Destination Management Companies
Meeting Planners and Service Contractors
Types of Meetings, Conventions, and Expositions
Types of Associations and Meetings
Venues
Trends

3. Development of the Industry
People have gathered to attend meetings, conventions, and expositions since the ancient times
Mainly for social, sporting, political, or religious purposes

4. Development of the Industry
Associations go back many centuries to the Middle Ages and before
The guilds in Europe were created during the Middle Ages to secure proper wages and maintain work standards
Associations began in the United States at the beginning of the eighteenth century, when Rhode Island candle makers organized themselves

5. Development of the Industry
Meetings, incentive travel, conventions, and exhibitions (MICE) represent a segment of the tourism industry that has grown in recent years
MICE tourists spend about twice the amount of money that other tourists spend

6. Size and Scope of the Industry
American Society of Association Executives (ASAE):
23,000 members
6,000 associations at national level

7. Size and Scope of the Industry
Associations are the main independent political force for industries such as hospitality, offering the following benefits:
Governmental/political voice
Marketing avenues
Education
Member services
Networking

8. Key Players
The major players in the convention industry are convention and visitors bureaus (CVBs), meeting planners and their clients, the convention centers, specialized services, and exhibitions

9. Convention and Visitors Bureaus
Enhance the image of tourism in the local/city area
Market the area and encourage people to visit and stay longer
Encourages associations and others to hold meetings, conventions, and trade shows in the area it represents
Assists associations and others with preparations and lends support
Encourages tourists to partake of the historic, cultural, and recreational opportunities the city or area has to offer

10. Convention and Visitors Bureaus
Not-for-profit umbrella organization that represents an urban area that tries to solicit business- or pleasure-seeking visitors
Primary outcome is to generate and increase revenues of a city

11. Figure 12-1 Convention Center Utilization

12. Destination Management Companies
Service organizations within the visitor industry that offers a host of programs and services to meet clients’ needs
Initially, a destination management sales manager concentrates on selling the destination to meeting planners and performance improvement companies (incentive houses)

13. Meeting Planners
May be independent contractors who contract out their services to both associations and corporations as the need arises or they may be full-time employees of corporations or associations
Plans the meeting down to the last minute

14. Service Contractors
The individual responsible for providing all of the services needed to run the facilities for a trade show
Hired by the exposition show manager or association meeting planner

15. Types of Meetings
Clinic: Workshop-type educational experience in which attendees learn by doing
Forum: An assembly for the discussion of common concerns
Seminar: A lecture and a dialogue that allow participants to share experiences in a particular field
Symposium: An event at which a particular subject is discussed by experts and opinions are gathered
Workshop: A small group led by a facilitator or trainer

16. Meeting Setups Theatre style: Large audience that does not need notes
Classroom setup:
Meeting setup is instructional
Workshop style
Boardroom setup:
Small numbers of people
Meeting takes place around one block rectangular table

17. Association Meetings
Things at the top of the list of places for an association meeting planner to choose from include the destination’s availability of hotel and facilities, ease of transportation, distance from attendees, transportation costs, and food and beverage
Members attend association meetings voluntarily, so the hotel should work with meeting planners to make the destination appealing

18. Conventions and Expositions
Conventions are larger meetings with some form of exposition or trade show included
The majority are held in large hotels over a 3-5 day period
Expositions are events that bring together sellers of products and services at a location where they can show their products and services to a group of attendees at a convention or trade show

19. Types of Associations Trade association Professional association
Medical and scientific association
Religious organizations
Government organizations

20. Types of Meetings Annual meetings
Board, committee, seminars and workshops, professional and technical meetings
Corporate meetings, conventions, and expositions
Social, military, educational, religious, and fraternal groups (SMERF)
Incentive meetings

21. Meeting Planning Needs analysis Budget Request for proposal
Site inspection
Selection
Negotiation
Contracts
Pre-meeting activities
Plan agenda
Set budget
Negotiate contracts
On-site activities
Post meetings

22. Contracts
The contract is a legal document that binds two or more parties
Essential elements:
Offer
Consideration
Acceptance

23. Venues for Meetings, Conventions, and Expos
City Centers
Convention Centers
Conference Centers
Hotels and Resorts
Cruise Ships
Colleges and Universities

24. Trends More people are going abroad to attend meetings
Some international shows do not travel very well (i.e., agricultural machinery); thus, organizations such as Bleinheim & Reed Exposition Group airlift components and create shows in other countries
Competitiveness has increased among all destinations
Convention centers will expand and new centers will come online
The industry needs to be more sophisticated—the need for fiber optics is present everywhere
Shows are growing at a rate of 5-10 percent per year
Compared to a few years ago, large conventions are not as well attended and regional conventions have more attendees

25. The End