All posts by David Swanson

A new $1 billion airport, a face-lift for a long-established convention center, and a fleet of new hotels offering an array of meeting spaces — the coming year promises to be transformative for one of America’s favorite destinations — New Orleans.

Proving that overseas meeting and incentive events are no mere exotic sideshow, a new report by Allied Market Research projects that the global Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE) industry is growing at a rate of 7.5 percent annually.

All of this is conducted against a backdrop of 24/7 entertainment, gaming and endless nightlife — the “lost weekend” cliché for which this Sin City is also known. Needless to say, association meetings and conferences are a big business in Las Vegas.

From the mountains to the prairies, and from tiny ski resorts to laid-back dude ranches, when it comes to hosting meetings against a variety of memorable backdrops, Colorado just about has it all.

Enticing weather, tropical surroundings and a variety of cultural influences lure meeting planners to the Caribbean for memorable events of all sizes.

An enviable blend of desert and mountain settings, Mexican and Native American cultures, and iconic sights ranging from the Grand Canyon to Monument Valley, Arizona offers a surprisingly exotic backdrop for memorable meetings.

With 950 flights arriving daily at McCarren International Airport, and more than 150,000 hotel rooms on offer — most of them dedicated to the meetings and conventions market — it’s not hard to understand the appeal of Las Vegas as one of the world’s top conference and incentive destinations.

Rapid growth with new convention hotels and authentic experiences win over planners and attendees.

Meeting planners who’ve handled the logistics for a meeting or incentive program know how challenging it can be.

Few destinations can equal Las Vegas as a known quantity. The city caters to almost 22,000 meetings annually.