Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/22095
Publisher’s Message 2010. No doubt this has been a challenging 12 months to say the least, as the recession took its toll on the travel, meetings and hospitality industry. Many of our travel agent friends and colleagues have been forced out of business over the last few years, and a significant number those that weathered the current financial crunch are clinging on for dear life. With few excep- tions, suppliers across the board have also been adversely impacted by the downturn in travel and meetings. At some level and in some way, everyone in this business has taken a hit. The methods we all choose to respond to the effects It’s of this recession will in no small way determine how long and severe the negative impact on our businesses this crisis will have, and how soon we can anticipate coming out healthy on the other side. To our dismay, many in this industry have pulled back, hunkered down, and have decided the best strategy is to wait out the recession and hope for the best. They’ve cut back drastically on marketing and promoting their destina- tion or service, under what I believe is the misconcep- tion that former and potential new clients will come rushing back into the fold once the financial crisis has passed. That might be true, if everyone followed this same strategy. But many others have instead taken a much more proactive and aggressive approach, believ- ing, as the old bromide goes, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going!” So rather than sit back and hope that things will improve, they’ve maintained their marketing efforts at or near pre-recession levels, and in some cases have even stepped up their promo- tional campaigns to meet the challenge. The end result, in my opinion, is that when the financial crisis is over, the business will surely come back. But not to those who sat by idly hoping for things to improve, but to those who took the initiative, and kept their mes- hard to believe anoth- er whole year has flown by as we approach the end of sage and brand in front of those whose business they wanted to capture or recap- ture. So while this has been a challenging year for BM&T, it has also been a very eventful time for us. We chose to move into larger and more suitable office space in July at a time when some thought we should stay put and delay relocating. We chose to launch our much praised elec- tronic newsletter in March because we knew we had an obligation to our clients and readers to provide them with current news that could not withstand the 2-3 month lead time required for stories that appear in our print magazine. We also chose to provide a digital version of Black Meetings & Tourism to cater to the needs of those “green” readers who are passionate about protecting the environment, as well as for the international seg- ment of our audience who were unable to receive BM&T because of logistical challenges. And finally, we also chose to redesign our website (www.black- meetingsandtourism.com) to be more user-friendly and interactive, which included the addition of nearly two dozen new “web exclusive” departments that appear only on line, and not in the magazine. At BM&T we are looking forward to 2011 with much excitement and anticipation. We have several new services that we’ll be offering and projects in the works that you’ll hear more about at a later date. In addition, we will also continue with our Apex Awards program, and perhaps sponsor a second awards pro- gram as well. We have done our homework so I am confident our business will grow and thrive in the coming year, and wish to thank all of our advertising partners, our dedicated staff, and most of all my love- ly wife and partner Gloria, for hanging in there with us and seeing BM&T through another year. Solomon J. Herbert Publisher/Editor-In-Chief E-Mail: BMandTMag@aol.com Black Meetings & Tourism is published bi-monthly by SunGlo Enterprises, 20840 Chase St., Winnetka, CA 91306-1207 •Telephone: (818)709-0646/Fax: (818) 709-4753 Copyright 2010 by SunGlo Enterprises. All rights reserved. Single Copies, $6.00 Subscriptions $45.00. Postage Paid at Pasadena, CA. •Postmaster send address changes to Black Meetings & Tourism, 20840 Chase St., Winnetka, CA 91306-1207. 4 Black Meetings & Tourism November/December 2010: www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com