MPI Delivers Value
Lisa Plummer -- Tradeshow Week, 8/15/2008 10:26:00 AM
Despite a challenging economy, the Meeting Professionals Intl.’s World Education Congress remains a priority for the event planning industry, according to many attendees at the event held Aug. 9-12 at Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino. Apparently, even the high cost of travel couldn’t stop a record number of industry professionals from attending.
As with similar conferences that bring an entire industry together in one destination for networking, education and socializing, the challenging financial climate appears to have had the opposite effect on participation. This year, the WEC attracted 4,467 attendees, an increase of more than 800 compared with last year’s conference in Montreal.
According to MPI COO Bren Clevenger-Ori, this surge of participation was due to several factors. “(Las Vegas) is a very attractive destination,” Clevenger-Ori said. “We did a good job of co-creating and collaborating with our community to deliver the content they were looking for (that) would justify their attendance. Our marketing team created a campaign that got people’s attention.”
Although part of the educational content addressed the economic downturn, many attendees observed that the delivery wasn’t heavy-handed.
Canadian attendee Stewart Hall, president of Rock the Stars, said the economy was on everyone’s minds, but it wasn’t a main focus for him at this event.
“People in the events industry are very realistic about what’s going on,” Hall said. “We’re not hiding from it, but you don’t let it slow you down, either.”
That sentiment was echoed by Dina Velasquez, meetings and events manager at Navistar. She said that, even though rising fuel costs and airline issues were important to address, she still considered meetings an essential aspect of doing business.
“Rising fuel costs affect our business …, but it hasn’t affected us in the amount of meetings we’re doing,” Velasquez added.
Across the meetings landscape of Las Vegas, however, venues are keeping a watchful eye on their meetings customers. Events are cutting back on expenditures – food and beverage, for instance – and attendees are shortening the length of their stays, according to Chris Meyer, vice president of convention sales at the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority.
He added that, though he has seen a scaling back in event spending, attendance remains reassuringly strong. Until the economy improves, however, staying proactive as a destination is essential to maintain that visitation, Meyer said.
“We need to keep promoting the value of face-to-face marketing and the importance of meetings, especially during a sluggish economy,” he added.
At MPI’s host facility, Mandalay Bay, Vice President of Sales and Marketing Richard Harper said he was keeping a close eye on the industry, maintaining a realistic but positive outlook.
“We have seen some scaling back in several sectors, as well as some increases in numbers with several meetings,” Harper said. “(We) understand the position some of our customers are in right now. By treating them right in the bad times, we believe they’ll come back to us and spend more when the economic environment improves.”
Neither Meyer nor Harper needs to worry about luring MPI back to Las Vegas though. According to Clevenger-Ori, Sin City is a destination that understands the importance of the meetings business and knows how to treat its customers, especially in a downturn.
“This community has demonstrated that they understand the value of the convention business,” she said.
Next year’s WEC will take place July 11-14 in Salt Lake City.
