Since the 1980s, Miami has experienced a magical transformation from cultural wasteland to global destination for contemporary art. Greater Fort Lauderdale also enchants with the arts and entertainment, investing more than $200 million in new metro-area cultural facilities since the 1990s. With both destinations also investing in convention center expansions and headquarter hotels, this cultural vibrancy further enhances group appeal.

Now America’s 15th largest metropolis, the “City of Cowboys and Culture” keeps expanding. And arts are a central part of Fort Worth's boom.

Meetings Today Senior Contributor Jeff Heilman highlights five Dallas-Fort Worth cultural off-site event venues that include NorthPark Center, Nasher Sculpture Center, Billy Bob's Texas, The Ranch at Las Colinas, DFW Heli-Tours and Southfork Ranch.

In September 2018, Hurricane Florence deluged parts of the Carolinas. Hardest hit was North Carolina, with an estimated $17 billion in crop, infrastructure and other losses. Florence went easier on South Carolina, which reportedly saw some $607 million in damages. Experiencing varying impacts, from minimal to destructive, the region’s coastal destinations have made significant recovery efforts.

Issued every five years, the latest “Arts & Economic Prosperity” study from leading advocacy group Americans for the Arts found that between 2010 and 2015, economic impact from the arts in North Texas tripled from $500 million to almost $1.5 billion. With Dallas, Fort Worth and Irving among the study’s principal participants, contributing factors included expanded public programming; multiple new or renovated cultural venues; and increased spending on hotels, restaurants, parking and more by event attendees.

Combining an intentional service-driven, client-first approach with major infrastructure redevelopment, Rochester, N.Y., continues to establish a ROC-solid position in the Northeast and broader group market. Visit Rochester President & CEO Don Jeffries discussed how the positive momentum from 2018 is carrying New York’s third-largest city forward in 2019.

Ocean State meetings mean business. In fiscal 2018, meetings, conventions and sporting events booked by the Providence Warwick CVB generated $73.65 million in direct spending for Rhode Island.

How did America’s resurgent coastal playground perform in 2018? Kevin Ortzman, president of the Casino Association of New Jersey and regional president for Caesars Entertainment, deemed the summer season in particular “the best in recent years" for Atlantic City.

Launched in March 2016, the Pennsylvania Tourism Office’s “Pursue Your Happiness” marketing initiative echoes the call to “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” that began with the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia in 1776. The campaign included updating nearly 40 interstate and highway welcome signs with the slogan. The goal was to create “a positive first impression for those entering Pennsylvania from neighboring states.” In Western Pennsylvania and Pittsburgh, people-powered happiness begins with the beloved personality who was everybody’s neighbor.

Steps from botanical Boston Public Garden and historic Boston Common, the Boston Park Plaza occupies a distinctive place in U.S. hotel history. Originally the Statler Hotel, this 1927 Back Bay heirloom set a new standard for the “modern business hotel” as part of E.M. Statler’s pioneering American hotel chain, which introduced concepts including the en suite bathroom and “Do Not Disturb” sign.