Each year, Global DMC Partners, a global network of independently owned destination management companies and creative event experts, releases a Global Destination Index. The index ranks the top destinations around the world for meetings, conferences and incentives based on data collected from nearly 7,000 programs in more than 500 destinations. 

The focus on sustainability in the world of corporate events will only continue to increase, according to CWT Meetings & Events. In the new M&E Future Trends Report bonus feature, The Future of Sustainable Events, CWT provides insights into the state of the industry and offers tips on how organizations can embed responsible business practices into meetings and events.

Almost three out of four Americans are unprepared for the October 2020 deadline for full implementation of REAL ID, and millions could be prevented from boarding a plane due to lack of required identification, according to a U.S. Travel Association-commissioned study. 

A sunny late-autumn morning in St. Louis started with a convenient and delicious morning meal of grab-and-go breakfast sandwiches (complemented by Starbucks coffee and cans of Mountain Dew). The room was energetic and filled with conversation before the group of about 300 migrated into the main ballroom to kick off the 2019 Ungerboeck UNITE Conference, which ran Sept. 30-Oct. 3 at Marriott St. Louis Grand.

Freeman, a provider of live events and brand experiences, has acquired Convention Data Services (CDS), an event registration, business intelligence and lead management company. 

Freeman has significantly added to its global event registration and digital services offerings, having also acquired Info Salons in 2018. 

“Show organizers are asking for simple, unified and effective ways to create a better experience for their teams and attendees around the world,” said Bob Priest-Heck, CEO of Freeman.

Together with research partner Oxford Economics, three industry organizations — Society for Incentive Travel Excellence, Incentive Research Foundation, and Financial and Insurance Conference Professionals — released the second annual Incentive Travel Industry Index this month.

Last year, Cori Dossett, president of Conferences Designed based in Dallas, spent two weeks in New Zealand. It was meant to be a holiday, but despite being 7,500 miles from home, it didn’t feel like one. 

“I literally worked half the vacation — some days I did not leave my hotel room,” recalls Dossett. “It was unfortunate and sad in so many ways.”

If you were flying home from Las Vegas last week, there’s a good chance you were seated next to a fellow IMEX attendee. This year’s IMEX America, held at Sands Expo and Convention Center from Sept. 10-12, drew an estimated 14,000 attendees and generated an economic impact of more than $20 million, according to show officials.

As Hurricane Dorian moved over the cold waters of the Labrador Sea and became an extra-tropical storm on Sunday, many communities along the Atlantic are facing the devastation left in its wake.

By far the greatest destruction was in the northern Bahamas, where Dorian planted itself for 48 hours as a monster Category 5 hurricane, obliterating everything in its path and leaving an estimated 70,000 people homeless, according to news reports. So far, the death toll has risen to 45 and is expected to climb as thousands remain missing.

New York, San Francisco and Chicago top the list of the best North American cities for events in 2020, according to a new ranking released by CWT M&E, the global meetings and events division of CWT.

The list was created based on CWT’s volume of business and booking trends, including a combination of requested cities, awarded RFPs and business value.