Meeting Spotlight spoke with Kari Lynn Larsen, president and CEO of Dragonfly Meetings, a full-service conference and meeting and event management agency. We covered how COVID-19 has affected the industry, how the company has pivoted and what to expect going forward. 

How has your segment of the industry changed since March? 

Visit Florida has opened registration for Florida Huddle, the official travel trade show for the state of Florida, which will take place virtually February 8 – 12, 2021. 

The week-long virtual event will include a mix of virtual networking opportunities, educational sessions and interactive experiences. In addition, one-on-one appointments will be scheduled per market on one day of the event. American buyers will have the opportunity to take up to 14 one-on-one appointments on Thursday, February 11. Qualified buyers can attend for free.

Ambassadors of the Meetings Mean Business Coalition (MMBC) have issued a statement on the state of the meetings and events industry, as well as the Global Meetings Industry Day (GMID), which is still set to take place next on April 8, 2021. Overall, MMBC says that the industry rose to the occasion “time and time again,” calling 2020 “one of the most challenging [landscapes] in our history.”

Cvent, a meetings, events and hospitality technology provider, and BWH Hotel Group have  announced a 10-year agreement for Cvent Transient solutions. Under the agreement, BWH Hotel Group will use Cvent’s transient sourcing platform to set and promote corporate hotel rates and manage RFPs from the world’s largest corporations for more than 4,700 properties worldwide.  

With the recent success of its latest Limitless Digital Conference, Travel Edge says it continues its ambition of "reimagining" the travel conference in a way that highlights the advisor experience and product relevance.

IFEMA is working on a "very special edition" of the International Tourism Fair, FITUR 2021, with the challenge to set a turning point and contribute to the recovery of the tourism industry. In the upcoming fair, FITUR aims to adapt to the current context and to the needs of companies, countries and destinations that will lead to the revival of the tourism industry.  

VisitBritain has announced that its flagship annual travel trade event ExploreGB will run as a virtual event in 2021. ExploreGB Virtual, taking place from March 1-5, 2021, will invite international buyers to connect online with travel trade suppliers from across the UK to do business and boost bookings.

Attendance is free with registrations set to open from mid-December.

Global DMC Partners, a network of independently owned destin

Centrepiece at Melbourne Park, located in the heart of Melbourne city and the surrounding premier events precinct, has announced the new venue will be showcased in a series of upcoming virtual and hybrid events, including the PCOA 2020 Annual Conference (December 7), Associations Forum National Conference (December 14–16) and AIME 2021 (March 15–26. 2021).   

IFEMA has been named the Best Convention Center in the World at the first ever World MICE Awards, a global initiative to recognize excellence in the travel, tourism and hospitality sectors.