Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/4253
By now we've all heard some pundit or self-pro- claimed expert discuss the slow painful death of the meeting, convention and incentive trav- el business. They think our industry has gone the way of an old eight-track player or the black and white television set. The naysayer is quick to support this claim by repeating the same message of doom emanating from the newscast on my new flat screen television about the state of the economy. Unemployment is up, revenues are down, consumer spending has decreased for the third month in a row — the drone of neg- ativity is endless. The colliding forces of a tough economy and emerging vir- tual meeting technology have certainly taken its toll, but we are a long way from death's door. It's simply a time to innovate. Virtual meetings and other offsite technology driven events are part of the future, but it's certainly not a replacement for tradeshows, conferences and conventions. They act more as an enhancement to these gatherings. Many attendees are contin- uing their meeting discussions online in a variety of formats from social media such as LinkedIn and Facebook to video conferencing and other forms of Internet communications. Gary Sain, president of the Orlando Convention and Visitors bureau readily admits that internal corporate meetings will probably resort to advanced technology applications such as video conferencing to accom- plish some of their goals, but relationship building through face-to-face contact is still the backbone of any solid profes- sional or social interaction. Sain believes annual conferences and conventions will prosper and continue to grow because of technology not in spite of it. There are some things virtual meetings are incapable of deliv- ering, such as networking or experiencing the culture of a new destination. These two elements alone add to the richness of experience at most conventions. Lets dispel the nonsense of travel and cost right now. If September 11, didn't stifle the need and desire for meetings and conventions, a temporary blip on the economic radar certainly won't matter much in the long run. And speaking of interaction, how many of us have been IS A SOUR ECONOMY AND THE DIGITAL REVOLUTION DESTROYING OUR BUSINESS? BY MICHAEL BENNETT Photo Credit: Amanda Rohde G A R Y S A I N Black Meetings & Tourism October/November 2009: www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com 30