September/October 2009
|
 |
Meetings and Business Travel
Edmonton Tourism supported Travel Alberta at Association Week in Chicago this year (June 22 – 25). The week began with the Association Forum’s annual golf tournament. Association Forum is the main association organization in the greater Chicago area. This was followed up with their Annual General Meeting and ended with the DMAI (Destination Marketing Association International) trade show. This was an exceptional event. We were represented in a Travel Alberta booth by Brent Beatty, Sr. Manager, Business Travel, Edmonton Tourism, Pamela Darragh, Tourism Calgary, Jodi Burke of the Banff Centre and Jan Tolle MacDonald from Travel Alberta. We were by far the busiest booth at the show with over 72 people in the first hour with specific interest in Edmonton and the Alberta Region. In all our team networked with almost 600 key meeting planners in the Chicago area. Brent Beatty participated in the Council of Engineering and Scientific Society Executives from July 21 - 24 this year in Orlando Florida. Over 500 engineering executives were in attendance. This conference is meeting based only and it provided an exceptional opportunity to meet with some of the United states top engineering based associations (IEEE as an example). Attendance was down this year due to the economy so many planners from these organizations were not in attendance. This actually proved to be more beneficial as we got to speak directly with the top people in each association and tell them about our great city. Summer was once again a busy hosting time for the Business Travel team. Both the annual Super Summer Fam and the Indy Fam took place in June and July, respectively The Super Summer Fam, taking place from June 17-20, welcomed seven qualified clients from Eastern Canada. The guests were treated to three full days of Edmonton hospitality. From venues, to attractions to dining, the guests were given a great impression of the city. Spectacular entertainment was also provided with the help of Edmonton Festival City and the opportunity to see Coldplay live in concert. “Thank you for your warm hospitality last week. You have a beautiful city and you put together a very productive and fun Fam trip. I look forward to seeing you again soon...” -Francine St-Martin, Canadian College of Health Service Executives
As one summer familiarization trip winded down, we geared up for the next. For the Indy Fam, July 24-27, the Business Travel team hosted five clients; Four were visiting from various locations in the US and one from Ottawa. Highlights from this trip included stops at both the Shaw Conference Centre and Northlands and a partner reception at Fort Edmonton Park, where guests were educated of the three DMF clusters. Guests were entertained by various Festival City performers, as well as an evening at the Lion King. The fam culminated with an incredible day at the Rexall Edmonton Indy. “I wanted to say THANKS to the amazing Edmonton team! Your hospitality and professionalism was much appreciated. I will download everything with my team….and be in touch regarding my travel/business plans in Canada.” -Lilly Rocha, IC & E - International Conventions & Exhibitions
A note from the Business Travel team ~ An immense thank you to all of the partners that participated in these familiarization trips. Without your efforts and dedication to the clients, these amazing trips would not be possible. Crystal DeCosta attended the Meeting Professionals International World Education Congress (MPI WEC) in Salt Lake City, from July 11-14. This event is the largest of the MPI conferences and welcomes delegates from around the world. Edmonton Tourism, along with the Sutton Place Hotel and Banff Lake Louise Tourism partnered with Travel Alberta to participate in the Canada exhibition space. The Canadian Tourism Commission held the centre space with other Canadian destinations surrounding. Approximately 60 qualified meeting planners stopped by the Alberta booth.
If you would like more information on any of these initiatives, please contact Glenn Duncan at gduncan@edmonton.com or (780) 917-7622.
|
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
