Black Meetings and Tourism

July / August 2016

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As the hospitality and meetings and conventions industries continue to evolve, Meet Minneapolis, Convention and Visitors Association, recently completed an initiative that is repositioning the organization for success into the future. "Destination Innovation" was a yearlong, in-depth examination of all aspects of Meet Minneapolis and how it does its work. The project resulted in a series of changes at Meet Minneapolis that were rolled out in early 2016. Meeting planners, tourists, hotels and others who play key roles in the industry are changing how they operate, because of advances in technology, innovations in sales processes, and new ways to get information. That is why Meet Minneapolis undertook the Destination Innovation project, to ensure that it is nimble and well positioned to stay head of trends affecting destination marketing organizations (DMOs) in the coming years. "I firmly believe that this evolution to Meet Minneapolis will keep us on the forefront of DMOs in the country," said Melvin Tennant, president & CEO of Meet Minneapolis. "The outcomes of Destination Innovation will help us achieve our goals and most importantly, to bring greater numbers of visitors to Minneapolis and to help us achieve our vision of becoming the destination of choice." Meet Minneapolis approached the project by focusing on three levels of analysis: shifts in the industry, shifts among its peers and shifts in the organi- zation. Through interviews, literature reviews, surveys, and organizational assessments, Meet Minneapolis and its consultants studied each of these areas in detail to inform its next steps as an organization. As a result of this work, Meet Minneapolis identified four key areas that it will put a stronger focus on moving forward: • Public affairs and community relations • Public relations and communications • Diversity and inclusion • Finance and human capital Putting more emphasis on these areas led to several key changes to Meet Minneapolis' organizational structure. That includes the creation of a Public Affairs Department and other changes that boost the organization's communications capacity to make the most of its public relations, web, digital and social media channels. Meet Minneapolis works closely with the Destination Marketing Association International (DMAI) and with these changes, the organization is coming into even closer alignment with DMAI's vision for what DMOs of the future will look like. DMAI indicates that successful DMOs will play an expanded role in economic development issues, they will focus on branding their destinations across markets, and they will capitalize on social media and smart technol- ogy to engage and access residents, the industry and key markets. For more information visit www.minneapolis.org and http://go.minneapolis.org. I N T H E N E W S B M & T ••• July/August 2016 ••• www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com 6 Fiji Airways' new A330 aircraft landed at SFO recently and took off for the first time, marking the start of the airline's new sea- sonal non-stop service from San Francisco (SFO) to Fiji. Fiji's National Carrier will offer twice-weekly non-stop services from San Francisco to Nadi, Fiji until August 14th, 2016 and again during the holidays, in December 2016 and January 2017. The flights will operate from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) to Fiji (NAN) on Thursdays and Sundays, with flight times to pro- vide easy connectivity to the Fiji islands, Australia, New Zealand, and the South Pacific Island nations. Flights are available for pur- chase on www.fijiairways.com.. MEET MINNEAPOLIS EVOLVES THROUGH ITS DESTINATION INNOVATION INITIATIVE FIJI AIRWAYS LAUNCHES ITS NEW NON-STOP SERVICE FROM SFO TO FIJI MELVIN TENNANT

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