The public profile of LGBT+ people in the meetings industry has grown by leaps and bounds in just the past decade and a half, advancing from what some early adopters describe as the “secret handshake” days to a consolidation into the LGBT Meeting Professionals Association (LGBT MPA).

Indianapolis’ Capital Improvement Board of Managers (CIB) unanimously approved moving forward with negotiations in developing a 300,000-square-foot expansion to the Indiana Convention Center and two Hilton-branded convention hotels—600 rooms and 800 rooms—on the site of Pan Am Plaza.

Call it a tale of two countries. In Canada, U.S.-based meeting planners and organizations can tap a variety of Canadian government programs and select companies to help them expedite the cross-border customs process for shipping materials to their north of the border events. In Mexico, though, the process is more convoluted, so tapping into the experience of planners who have been there and done that is advice well taken.

Shrinking budgets and long hours lead the list of event planning challenges/worries, according to a new survey conducted by Event Manager Blog Editor Julius Solaris and released during his "Event Trends for 2019” educational session at IMEX America in Las Vegas. During the presentation Solaris also highlighted a number of event planning trends to watch for in the year ahead and some practical advice for meeting planners.

Three major meetings industry associations—MPI, IAEE and SITE—have banded together as the Global MICE Collaborative to provide resources for emerging destinations that want to tap into the MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) market.

The 7,700 UNITE HERE Marriott workers that have been striking in eight destinations across the country are planning their largest turnout actions with a day of mass demonstrations on Saturday, October 20.

Disney Meetings & Events used the occasion of IMEX America 2018, the largest gathering of meeting professionals in the Western Hemisphere, to unveil a new branding image for the division.

IMEX America 2018 is nearing the finish line, and in addition to the earlier announcement that it had broken previous records for exhibitors, at 3,500, the industry-leading event and exhibit shattered the buyer attendance record as well.

IMEX America attendees had the chance to participate in a CSR event at what some dubbed the best-smelling booth at IMEX. Hilton Worldwide and the company Repeat Roses teamed up to offer a flower arranging opportunity as part of Hilton’s initiative “Meet with Purpose.”

The global meetings and conventions industry is a $1.03 trillion business annually, according to the preliminary results of a survey conducted by Oxford Economics for the Events Industry Council (EIC).