The first IMEX America, held Oct. 11 to 13 at the Sands Expo in Las Vegas, has been deemed a success, with more than 2,000 hosted buyers, 1,700 non-hosted attendees and 2,000 exhibitors from 140 destinations attending the trade show for the global meetings, events and incentive travel industry.

What’s more, the popularity of the event and leads generated during the show demonstrated that the meetings and incentive travel industry is continuing its comeback after the dismal years following the 2008 financial crisis and recession. According to IMEX, 53 percent of hosted buyers attending had budgets in excess of $1 million, and more than 30,000 total appointments were made before and during the show.

“We have successfully delivered a new, collaborative business model,” said Ray Bloom, IMEX Group chairman. “IMEX America has succeeded in producing lasting achievements in three main areas this week: volume and quality of business, professional education, and networking and new global and U.S. business contacts.”

Michelle Saran, executive director of the Canadian Tourism Commission, said, “We’ve had many one-on-one appointments—I haven’t seen a booth this busy in North America for years. Our team pre-planned appointments, but we also had a lot of people walking in to the stand for ad-hoc meetings.”

Another recipient of that strong “walk-up” business was the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC), whose team received a booking for a 12,000 delegate event from a buyer who arrived without an appointment but was looking to place the event outside of the United States for the first time.

“I don’t think I’m overstating it in saying IMEX is now the preeminent group travel trade show in North America,” said Patrick T. Smith, senior director of group sales, North America, for Leading Hotels of the World (LHW), which just created its group sales division one year ago. “I thought the show was excellent, but as it was the first year, we learned a lot and will be improving the experience for both our clients and our hoteliers. The appointment-driven format and the high quality of the clients in attendance, along with the excellent networking opportunities, dovetailed well with the business goals of our portfolio of hotels. In general, I can attest to the fact that group travel and incentives business at LHW, especially overseas, is definitely continuing to improve.”

The education sessions at the show were filled to capacity as well. “Having packed-out sessions at our own education conference is one thing. Having packed-out sessions at a trade show is unheard of,” said Bruce MacMillan, CEO and president of Meeting Professionals International (MPI), an IMEX America partner. “That’s the big difference. MPI and IMEX America have changed the value proposition.”

In terms of buzz during the event, BizBash Media, which covers the events side of the industry, noted that the top five topics being discussed at the show were:

1. Hybrid and virtual meetings
2. Sustainability in meetings and events
3. Budgets and how to do more with less
4. ROI and justifying meetings’ value
5. The future of meetings

According to research released by Pricewaterhouse Coopers and commissioned by the Convention Industry Council, the U.S. meetings industry directly supports 1.7 million jobs, generates $106 billion in GDP, $60 billion in labor, $25.6 billion in state and federal taxes, and $263 billion in direct spend.

The original IMEX continues to be held annually in Frankfurt, Germany. The next IMEX America is scheduled for Oct. 9 to 11, 2012, and IMEX Group plans to keep the show at the Sands Expo through 2014. IMEX also has an exclusive partnership with the U.S. Travel Association, the national, non-profit organization representing all components of the $704 billion U.S. travel industry.

Photo: IMEX America

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PhoCusWright, one of the leading travel industry research companies, conducted an online event last week sharing its experts’ top 10 travel trends insights into what 2011 holds for the performance of the travel industry.

Truth, Myth, and Pith: PhoCusWright’s 2011 Travel Industry Trends presentation, moderated by Lorraine Sileo, vice president of research, made clear that the biggest news for the industry is that vacations are finally making a comeback. People are tired of having to cut back or postpone their travels due to economic factors the past few years, they’re getting on the road again, and they’re willing to spend more and spend directly with suppliers as opposed to online travel agencies.

Other key trend topics included air distribution, with a battle lining up for online retail storefront and, ultimately, consumers that will eventually end with all parties coming to an agreement on how to live together; shift in search whether or not Google completes its acquisition of ITA; China, India and Brazil continue to lead the way in emerging markets, followed by Singapore, Mexico, Hong Kong, Argentina, Indonesia and Chile; and more advances in how mobile devices and tablets will improve customer service and enrich the travel experience.

Here is the complete list of 10 travel trends for 2011, along with which trends participants deemed the most important (each listener could choose up to three):

1. Vacations (Finally) Make a Comeback – 31 percent
2. Emerging Markets: No Internet, No Problem – 21 percent
3. Air Distribution: As Clear as Mud – 31 percent
4. Google-ITA: If Not Plan A, Then on to Plan B – 34 percent
5. “Mobile” is Not a Trend – 47 percent
6. Suppliers Get Smart About Smart Technologies – 30 percent
7. Suppliers Claw Their Way Back – 21 percent
8. Emerging Markets: Which Ones are Real? – 17 percent
9. Private Sale: Flash of Brillance or Flash in the Pan? – 15 percent
10. Tablet Wars Spark a Travel Revolution – 28 percent

PhoCusWright presenters included Carroll Rheem, director of research; Cathy Schetzina, director of communications and senior research analyst; Douglaa Quinby, senior director of research; and Ram Badrinathan, market analyst the Asia Pacific region.

Participants compared how 2010’s predicted travel trends played out, with 78 percent saying PhoCusWright was either spot on or mostly on target. Last year’s trends:

1. A Restrained Recovery
2. Online Travel Agencies Maintain Momentum
3. Airline Optional Services – Ancillary No More
4. Mobile Travel Bookings Become Reality
5. Social Media Tops Agendas
6. Getting Local: Mobile, Social and Search Converge
7. Growing Pains Prompt Meta-morphosis
8. Trip Planning Gets Personal
9. Emerging Markets on the Radar
10. Mapping Makes its Mark

How do you think PhoCusWright experts did in predicting 2010 trends, and what are your thoughts on their picks for 2011?

(There was a technical glitch with the recording of the webinar, but the company is working on rerecording the information, and a download of the transcript will be made available soon.)

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(Photo credit: PhoCusWright)

Online booking agencies that have battled with major airlines recently now have a new and unexpected champion in their corner: the Open Allies for Airfare Transparency.

The Open Allies for Airfare Transparency is a coalition of more than 115 of the largest travel companies and organizations in America that are hoping to convince airlines to avoid “direct connect” booking systems that mask fees and prevent price comparison. The group includes corporate travel departments for companies like Oracle, News Corp, Logitech, Sapient, Sodexo and Textron; trade associations in the travel industry; and travel agencies of all sizes.

According to Open Allies, when companies like American Airlines and Southwest keep all of their bookings in house, the consumer loses.

“Hidden fees and closed airline systems are forcing millions of consumers to ‘fly blind’ when making their travel arrangements,” said Andrew Weinstein, director of the Open Allies coalition. “When you can’t see the full price of tickets or compare them among airlines, you lose the greatest benefit of our modern travel system and the benefits of price competition among the airlines. Some airlines want to turn back the clock to the days of proprietary reservation systems, silos of closed data and one-off displays without price comparisons. Consumers deserve the ability to compare prices across airlines, and Open Allies will work to ensure they continue to have it.”

At first glance, it may seem odd to see travel agents encouraging individual airlines to supply all of their fare information to Global Distribution Systems used by online booking agencies. After all, online travel agencies have proven to be stiff competition for traditional agents and changed the way many agents are paid, especially by the airlines.

Most travel agents, however, rely on the same information from GDS sites like Priceline and Expedia to do their research for clients. More airlines using a “direct connect” approach makes booking more difficult for travel professionals and resourceful consumers who book on their own.

Photo by Britt Reints

HSMAI Adrian Platinum Award Winners

The Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI) presented awards to the winners of its 54th annual Adrian Awards at the New York Marriott Marquis on Jan. 31, 2011.

The awards honor companies and individuals in the hospitality, travel and tourism industries for excellence in the fields of advertising, public relations and digital marketing.

This annual roundup of award winners spotlights the top campaigns run by various companies and organizations, and is perhaps the best and only place to compare the industry’s disparate campaigns and advertising agencies.

Out of nearly 1,200 entries from around the world, the ones that met the entry criteria were listed by HSMAI as gold award winners for the award’s three categories.

Platinum award winners were chosen from the gold list for creativity and exceptional results. One “Best of Show” was chosen in each category from the Platinum list.

HSMAI Adrian Award 2010 Best of Show winners:

Advertising — The “Long Live Life” campaign by Barbados Tourism Authority (Agency – MMG Worldwide) celebrates the gift Barbadians (or Bajans) have for living. The BTA has grown its visitation by more than 15 percent since the campaign launched and has plans to expand the program worldwide in 2011.

Print and online executions depict travelers caught in the moment of having fun and tell the story of how they are transformed once they’ve been to Barbados. Visitors to the website are taught “Life Lessons” by Bajan teachers through video shorts on subjects such as Wukking Up and The Perfect Rum Punch.

“Winning these awards is a testament to the quality of the work but also the quality of our tourism product,” said BTA president and CEO David M. Rice. “When you come to Barbados, you can experience the best that life has to offer in a country that embraces tourism as its heritage and gift to the world.”

Hilton Up in the Air

Public Relations — Hilton Hotels & Resorts’ deal with Paramount Pictures for prominent placement in the Oscar-nominated George Clooney starrer Up in the Air was a big public relations hit in 2009-10.

The film’s lead character Ryan Bingham is a Hilton HHonors Diamond VIP member who spends more time in Hilton guest rooms than in his own apartment.

Hilton didn’t pay Paramount anything and simply provided free lodging for the unit wherever required along with more than 100 props to ensure an accurate depiction of the Hilton guest experience.

The company also ginned up a lot of publicity for the movie and for the hotel’s role in it by pushing it on in-room television and hold messages, not to mention printing it on more than one million key cards.

Huw Griffith, M&C Saatchi

Digital Marketing — M&C Saatchi Los Angeles put together the New Mexico Tourism Department’s “Day of Enchantment” campaign, a user-generated site that garnered 15,000 images from across New Mexico.

It is part of the $2.7 million “Be Enchanted” advertising and marketing campaign contract that M&C Saatchi landed from the New Mexico Tourism Department.

M&C Saatchi was also responsible for the state’s previous and controversial “Best Place in the Universe” campaign featuring aliens that earned an Adrian Platinum Award in 2007.

Other notable entries from the Gold and Platinum award winners list include:
1. DDB’s “Your Florida Side” campaign for Visit Florida
2. Ypartnership’s VisitMobile Napa Valley for the The Napa Valley Destination Council
3. Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corp.’s “With Love, Philadelphia XOXO”
4. Weber Shandwick’s launch of Royal Caribbean International’s Oasis of the Seas
5. MMG Mardiks’ launch of “World’s Unluckiest Traveler” for Travel Guard

Photo credits: Platinum Awards winners list—HSMAI eConnect; Up in the Air photo by Dale Robinette (courtesy Hilton Hotels & Resorts); Huw Griffith photo courtesy M&C Saatchi/Little Bird Communications