Checking In - Spotlight on Charlotte

October 23, 2012

Tyler Davidson

Every four years two major American destinations find themselves starring on the big stage as host cities for the Democratic and Republican national conventions.

This year Charlotte, N.C., welcomed the Democrats, sharing the spotlight with GOP host Tampa, Fla., and while at press time the ultimate decision of which party came out on top Nov. 6 was not known, the general consensus was that Charlotte did a top-notch job.

This month we got the enviable opportunity to cover how the city handled the huge crush of delegates, staff and media, along with all of the security and traffic issues that accompany any event of this magnitude—not to mention one that stars the president of the United States.

About the author

Tyler Davidson is the vice president and chief content director for Meetings Today, which publishes the meetings industry trade magazine Meetings Today as well as MeetingsToday.com, various newsletters, webinars, the in-person Meetings Today LIVE! Hosted-buyer events and other meetings and events industry B2B channels.

Tyler has covered the travel trade for nearly 35 years. In his role with Meetings Today, which recently won the prestigious FOLIO: Eddies Award for best magazine issue, Tyler leads the editorial team on its mission to provide the most in-depth meetings content in the industry. Previously, he worked as the Asia, Canada, Pacific Northwest and Western U.S. editor at Travel Weekly magazine and TravelAge West. Before joining the dual editorial staff producing destination sections for Travel Weekly and TravelAge West, Tyler was the Africa, Israel, Middle East, Switzerland and Pacific Northwest editor at TravelAge West. He also undertook general news and feature assignments while working at the magazines.

Besides reporting on the travel trade, Tyler has covered the real estate industry, held various editorial positions at the San Francisco-based national satire magazine The Nose, wrote freelance technology industry pieces and covered the San Francisco 49ers and Oakland Raiders for a bilingual newspaper in San Francisco. He has a B.A. in Journalism from San Francisco State University, where he worked in various editorial capacities on its award-winning student magazine, Prism.

Contact: tyler.davidson@meetingstoday.com