In March 2018, Visit Mississippi Gulf Coast had the honor of hosting the Travel South USA Domestic Showcase. Travel South is America’s oldest and largest regional travel promotion organization, formed in 1965. The long-standing regional collaboration of the state tourism offices of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia provides a foundation to positively position tourism as a vital and dynamic element in the region’s economic development.

For its convention, Vision ’17, fashion company LuLaRoe tapped Anaheim to inspire and delight the imagination of its more than 20,000 attendees. LuLaRoe, which is particularly popular with GenX and Millennial moms, is sold via authorized consultants in members-only Facebook groups. Its annual meeting provides a unique opportunity for attendees to interact and network offline.

The iconic allure of Whistler, British Columbia, during the winter is obvious as guests take the breathtakingly beautiful drive along the Sea to Sky highway from Vancouver International Airport. Though comfortable enough to fall asleep, luxury transportation vehicles allow guests to absorb the site of year-round ocean views that fade effortlessly into snow capped mountains surrounding a Winter Wonderland.

IMPACT Sustainability Travel & Tourism was Canada’s inaugural conference on innovation and sustainability in tourism. The goal of the conference is to annually convene the Canadian tourism industry and its stakeholders, focusing on economic, environmental, social and cultural sustainability, and ultimately working towards creating a positive legacy for tourism in Canada. Presented in partnership with Synergy Enterprises, Beattie Tartan Integrated Communications, Starrboard Enterprises and Tourism Victoria, Victoria welcomed 170 attendees from 10 provinces and territories.

The Shreveport-Bossier Convention and Tourist Bureau assisted the Miss Universe Organization with planning the 2018 MISS USA and 2018 MISS TEEN USA pageants. This year’s pageant marked the 20th anniversary of the competition’s first appearance in the sister cities of Shreveport-Bossier.

Jonathan Wolf is managing director with the American Film Market in Los Angeles.

From November 1-8, 2017, Santa Monica welcomed more than 7,500 global film leaders at the 27th annual American Film Market (AFM), the world’s largest motion picture business event. During the eight-day conference, producers, distributors, sales agents, directors and key members of the worldwide motion picture and television industry from 80 countries convened for screenings, deal-making, panels, networking and parties. More than 90 percent of the world’s films are financed, produced and/or distributed by AFM participants.

Local DMC Camelback Adventures had the pleasure of working with Robyn Abbey, owner of Chriselle Management Inc., planning and executing a program at the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona, for her client’s Top Performers Club meeting.

Omni Hotels & Resorts launched a new meeting planner loyalty program modeled after its Omni Select Guest program, which awards amenities and tier levels for free stays for planner activity. The program was announced August 20, 2018 at ASAE’s Annual Meeting & Exposition in Chicago.

799 killed and 1,418 wounded in 250 incidents. These are the sobering statistics for multiple casualty events in the U.S. between 2000 and 2017, occurring at schools, workplaces, medical institutions, houses of worship and most certainly events, among other locations, according to data presented during the “A First Responders Guide to Handling Active Shooter and Terrorism Threats” educational session at ASAE’s Annual Meeting & Exposition.