2018 was a banner year for the Meetings Mean Business Coalition (MMBC) — an industry-wide coalition focused on showing the value of face-to-face meetings — and this week, at the PCMA Convening Leaders conference, representatives shared plans for building on that success in 2019 and beyond.

Julie Coker Graham, MMBC co-chair and president and CEO of the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau, stated that in 2018, the coalition created deeper, more sustained engagements among industry economic influencers.  

“To do this, we introduced a new advocacy strategy and tailored our communications to the motivations of our target audiences – including decision makers outside of our industry in business and government,” Coker Graham explained.

Engagements include record attendance at Global Meetings Industry Day (GMID). Meeting professionals across the world participate in the international day of advocacy, with more than 200 events held across 6 continents in 2018. This year’s GMID will take place Apr. 4, 2019.

“GMID helps raise awareness of the industry’s value all over the world,” said Trina Camacho-London, MMBC co-chair and vice president of global group sales at Hyatt Hotels Corporation. “It also helps promote involvement in MMBC from our global partners.” 

In 2019, MMBC will continue to reinforce the business value of meetings with new and existing content and programs. These include the formation of an advisory council to advocate meetings within the healthcare, financial services and technology sectors and resources to help planners navigate travel bans and boycotts. A new explainer video targeted towards government decision-makers was debuted at the PCMA event.

“MMBC remains an insurance policy for the meetings industry,” said Roger Dow, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association, MMBC’s founding member.

He added, “The coalition’s work safeguards against potential threats, which we know could include anything from an economic slowdown to a security issue to the weaponization of meetings through a travel ban or boycott. I’m thrilled with the plans to expand our program of work this year.” 

To get involved with MMBC’s work, go here.