June, 2017

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Design your meeting BEFORE choosing the venue!

Conferences that Work

I love my meeting design clients, but there is one mistake I see them making over and over again. Clients invariably ask me to help design their meeting after they’ve chosen a venue! Here’s why they do it, and why it’s a mistake. Read the full article at Conferences That Work. Related posts: Help Wanted—Venues for my participation techniques workshops!

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Three Conference Games People Will Actually Like Playing

MeetingsNet

Stuck for ideas on how to liven up your closing reception? Not anymore! As a keynote speaker and a married guy, I’ve often compared conferences to weddings. In both cases there are hundreds of people to please. The location should be pretty yet affordable. The speeches/readings should be relevant, and you probably shouldn’t let your relatives sing. And of course, in both cases people will love you if you can swing an open bar.

MICE professionals

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Think Your Event Doesn’t Need a Mobile App? Think Again

MeetingPool

It’s been over 10 years since the original iPhone was announced. Since that time, smartphones have become a go-to tool for our business and personal lives. In fact, many people don’t leave a room without their phone in tow. Even though 77 percent of Americans own a smartphone, not everyone in the events industry welcomes […].

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An Operator’s Choice: Western versus Local Tour Guides

Path Destination Management

It wasn’t too long ago that pretty much every adventure travel trip had a ‘Western’ tour guide leading it or, at the very least, accompanying local tour guides. Then over the last 20 years, more and more tour operators started marketing that their trips were operated with local tour guides and therefore allowing you, the DMC, to tell your customers that they will learn more, experience more and have a more ‘real’ experience.

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COVID-19 Travel Consumer Sentiment Study

TravelBoom and sister agency, The Brandon Agency, release new consumer sentiment study on travel amidst the COVID-19 second wave

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Lonely Planet partners with CrowdRiff to bring visitor visuals into digital Tourism Solutions

Crowdriff

Tourism boards can amplify their online footprint through an innovative new partnership between Lonely Planet and CrowdRiff, pairing the experts in travel with the leading visual marketing platform for travel and tourism brands. Lonely Planet’s Digital Tourism Solutions program provides new and inventive ways for destinations to reach travelers on Lonelyplanet.com.

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Keep Your Guests Comfortable During Hot Summer Months

Memory Makers

Summer time and the living is easy, as the song goes. It is also hot, with average summer daytime temperatures in southern Idaho in the 90s. If you are planning an outdoor event and you don't plan for the heat, your guests will leave early or perhaps not attend at all. Fortunately, with a bit of planning, there are a number of ways to keep your guests from melting in the heat.

More Trending

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How an Effective Email Marketing Campaign Can Drive Registration

MeetingsNet

An EventBrite study explores ways event email marketers can grow their lists, time their messages, and sell more tickets. While using social media channels to get the word out about your meeting or event might be getting all the attention right now, don’t make the mistake of discounting a tried-and-true channel 91 percent of us check every day: email. .

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How to Get the Most Out of Your Live-Stream Footage

MeetingPool

Now that live video feeds are accessible through numerous social media platforms, and a variety of specialty services, gone are the days where live streaming was limited to video games, musical performances, and sports events. Having live streams during your events asserts you are on the forefront of technology, gives you an opportunity to share […].

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How AI Chatbots Can Improve Event Management and Guest Experience

BizBash

Case Study: Deploying Sciensio’s EventBot to improve and enhance a major industry trade show. In March of 2017, BizBash, a leading.

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New! Embed single photos and videos into your website and blog posts

Crowdriff

We love photo galleries, as do most destination marketers, but sometimes, you want to put the spotlight on a single photo, not a group. CrowdRiff now makes this easy with our single embed feature. With CrowdRiff you can select an individual photo or video from your CrowdRiff collection and embed it into any web page, in seconds. You can see this in action in our recent post on Travel Manitoba’s award-winning social media account. 3 things you’ll love about this new feature: Now, you can grab the

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Evolution of the DMC:Renewing Business Relationships with Deeper Trust, Transparency & Understanding

The evolution of the DMC industry requires that it embark upon a renewed relationship with clients that is built upon transparency, trust, and understanding.

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Singapore’s Royal Plaza on Scotts adds event space

Travel Daily Media

The post Singapore’s Royal Plaza on Scotts adds event space appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Travel Daily. Royal Plaza on Scotts, the luxury hotel in Singapore, has launched a new event space. The new Scotts Suite sits on the second floor of the hotel and is described as a “versatile oasis” that can host a variety of different event types.

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The interpersonal dynamics of silent retreats

Conferences that Work

Can meetings where no one says a word exhibit significantly different interpersonal dynamics? After completing my third Vipassana silent meditation retreat (this one at the headquarters of the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts), I’m gonna say: yes they can! Read the full article at Conferences That Work. Related posts: Participation techniques you can use in conference sessions Here’s the summary handout for my workshop on participation techniques you can use in conf

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5 Ways to Make Your Meeting More Customer-Focused

MeetingsNet

Today’s attendees demand to be treated as valued individuals. Here’s how you can show them some love. Did you know that men hate to iron so much that they rather throw out a wrinkled shirt and buy a new one than pull out the ironing board in their hotel closet? That could just be a fun fact, but in the hands of speaker, author, and marketing and advertising specialist Kelly McDonald , founder of McDonald Marketing and a top expert in consumer trends, generational differences, and leveraging the

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Get the Most from Your Everyday Productivity Tools with These Tips

MeetingPool

When you work in the events industry, you need your productivity tools to keep up with the speed of business. Many of these popular solutions have secrets that can help you get work done in no time, if you know how to use them. To help you make the most of your productivity tools, here […].

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17 Dos and Don'ts for Using Social Media at Weddings

BizBash

These days, most weddings aren't complete without an original Instagram hashtag or a customized geofilter on Snapchat—both of which encourage.

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Sheep View: How The Faroe Islands Created a Tourism Sensation On A Shoestring Budget

Crowdriff

It all began with the goal of getting the Faroe Islands on the map — literally. The little known island nation, made up of 18 small volcanic landmasses halfway between Iceland, Norway and Scotland, totals less than 1,400 square kilometers, and is too small to be included on most world maps. In 2012 the country’s tourism board set aside a budget equal to less than $340,000 USD for its small team of six, with the lofty goal of doubling its tourism industry by 2020 and securing its place on o

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Dubai now among top 10 destinations for international meetings

Travel Daily Media

The post Dubai now among top 10 destinations for international meetings appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Travel Daily. Dubai has emerged as one of the top 10 destinations for international meetings, according to the latest edition of the International Meetings Statistics Report published last week by Union of International Associations (UIA).

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Happy to Seize the Throne from King Content

Conferences that Work

Honored to be included on MeetingsNet’s annual Changemaker list, which “recognizes 20 outstanding meetings professionals for their efforts to move their organizations and the industry forward in unique and positive ways” Here’s the description of my “quest to topple outdated models, including the one based on the idea that ‘content is king’ ” Making Change.

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Planning to Rent a Bounce House? Beware!

Memory Makers

This is summer party season, a time when bounce houses and other inflatables are in demand for birthday parties, wedding receptions, company picnics and other events. Kids love them, but are they really safe? You may be aware of the plethora of germs found in fast food restaurant play areas. They are also found in bounce houses. If the rental center does not disinfect the bounce house after each use, it can be a breeding ground for staph, chicken pox, measles, athletes foot and other diseases, i

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4 Science-based Ways to Boost Productivity in Staff Meetings

MeetingsNet

With some attention to these basics, you can transform workplace meetings from boring to better. This guest post is courtesy of Phil White with Novell Coffee. For more good reading on basic necessities for meetings that all too often can be overlooked, check out Six Ways to Keep Attendees Comfortable and Improve Your Event on the Conferences that Work blog.

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9 Tips for Using a Chatbot at Your Event

BizBash

Chatbots are one of the hottest tech tools for marketing right now. Brands such as Patron, British Airways, American Express.

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How 5 Cities Promote Their Destinations to Sports Fans

Crowdriff

Whether it’s baseball, hockey, soccer, or football, DMOs with an active sports scene know that local teams can inspire a cult-like following. Both diehard fanatics and casual fans get hyped when their favorite team is doing well. Sports have a special ability to really draw people into the experience – and it’s not just the locals who come out to the games.

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Aqaba builds towards a MICE future

Travel Daily Media

The post Aqaba builds towards a MICE future appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Travel Daily. Sitting in the office of Capt. Mahmoud Abu Sheikha, GM of the Royal Yacht Club of Jordan, a photograph of Aqaba taken in the 1980’s grabbed my attention. The Kempinski Aqaba. It showed a sun-kissed shoreline with almost no development. This was in stark contrast to the view I witnessed on returning from a fishing excursion; major hotel brands, such as the Kempinski , stretched around the coastline

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How Travel Manitoba Curated an Award-Winning Social Media Presence

Crowdriff

If social media activity could serve as a measure for civic pride, then you’d be hard pressed to find a Canadian province whose residents are more proud than Manitobans. . Ranked 6 th by population amongst the country’s 13 provinces and territories, and boasting little more than 3.5% of the country’s overall headcount, according to the 2016 census, its citizenry have produced some of the most spectacular images and social media content of Canadian life one can find on the internet.

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How to Make Your Visitor’s Guide Come to Life with User-Generated Content [Video]

Crowdriff

Want to take your visitor’s guide to the next level? Photos from your locals and visitors can transform any of your print materials into authentic and well-trusted traveler resources. We’ve seen some DMOs starting to sprinkle in pages of user-generated in their guides. But have you thought of making user-generated content the heart of your visitor’s guide?

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What DMOs with Smaller Budgets Can Learn From Yakima Valley Tourism

Crowdriff

We recently hosted a live Q&A with Jared Yoakum of Yakima Valley Tourism , a small but mighty northwest DMO in a region with a rich agritourism industry. Jared has been a customer of CrowdRiff for a couple of years now and was happy to share his advice for smaller destinations that are marketing on a budget or with limited resources. What can smaller DMOs and tourism brands learn from Yakima Valley Tourism?

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Drumroll please…the 2017 VIZZI Award Winners!

Crowdriff

Earlier this year we announced a new award for the travel and tourism industry — the VIZZI Awards for Visual Influence. We wanted to recognize the work of destination marketers who were models of great visual storytelling. Entries came in from around the world, giving our judges the difficult job of choosing the winners. So, without further ado, we are thrilled to announce the winners of the 2017 VIZZI Awards.

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How Marriott Turned a Restaurant Into Three Different Hotels

BizBash

Following the 2016 merger between Marriott International and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Marriott decided to reintroduce the press to.

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Event Innovators 2017: Cathi Culbertson

BizBash

Cathi Culbertson credits her mother—and luck—with her entry into what has now been a 26-year career managing events and conferences.

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Aqaba builds towards a MICE future

Travel Daily Media

The post Aqaba builds towards a MICE future appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Travel Daily. Sitting in the office of Capt. Mahmoud Abu Sheikha, GM of the Royal Yacht Club of Jordan, a photograph of Aqaba taken in the 1980’s grabbed my attention. The Kempinski Aqaba. It showed a sun-kissed shoreline with almost no development. This was in stark contrast to the view I witnessed on returning from a fishing excursion; major hotel brands, such as the Kempinski , stretched around the coastline

Tourism 40
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See Justin Trudeau's Holographic Guest Appearance at a Hospital Benefit

BizBash

Guests attending a recent Toronto General & Western Hospital Foundation fund-raising benefit honoring Canadian cardiologist Dr. Heather Ross experienced an.

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How TBS Built an Entire Island to Promote a TV Show

BizBash

TBS’s comedy series Wrecked has a familiar premise: a group of plane-crash survivors navigating a deserted island in the Pacific.

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How to Use Technology and Content to Build Experiences That Matter

BizBash

Consumers are used to technology being woven seamlessly into their everyday lives, and it’s time for event designers to adopt.

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Top 10 Innovative Brands 2017: #10 Refinery29

BizBash

Launched in 2004, Refinery29 has grown from a fashion-focused website to a lifestyle brand that speaks to a key demographic—millennial.

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8 of the Coolest Tech Tools for Weddings

BizBash

Weddings are one of our culture’s oldest traditions, but that doesn’t mean they can’t benefit from modern technology. Think of.