A New Resource for Meeting Professionals
Online Planners Forum -- New
New Orleans on Every Budget
Drinking in the Low-Carb Trend - Part I
What Meeting Professionals Want: Survey Results
Around the Industry
Krisam & GEP News
Take Our Poll

New Online Planners Forum
Questions? Problems? Want to share your expertise? Share your ideas and problems with fellow planners in the new online Planners Forum hosted by Krisam and GEP. If you have a difficult problem, chances are other planners share your dilemma and some may have found creative solutions. The online forum gives you daily access to the wisdom of your peers, and a place for you to turn for advice. And it's so easy to use. Just like typing an email. See the latest areas of discussions at left in "From the Forums". Join a discussion now or start one on a subject important to you.

How to Do New Orleans on Every Budget
Exotic, quixotic New Orleans exudes so much atmosphere that just being there feels like an event unto itself. From budget friendly to trés cher, you can plan an event in the Big Easy that gives your meeting goers an insider's feel and an awfully good time. Bonnie Boyd and Beth Amadon of Bonnie Boyd & Company, a New Orleans DMC, give you a menu of possibilities for all spending levels. Check out their ideas, from parades to streetcars to swamp tours. Read article.

Q & A: Drinking in the Low-Carb Trend - Part I
One survey predicts 50% of American adults will be controlling their carbs within the next 12 months. The same survey says officially 8% of Americans are on a specific low-carb diet now. However you look at it, meeting planners need to take note as they plan their menus. Beth Grant, corporate director for food and beverage for Loews Hotel, has introduced not only low-carb meals, but low-carb drinks. In an interview with The Event Insider, she describes her program along with suggestions for how to feed and refresh larger groups with dieters in mind. Check out the contents of NOCarbtails and view a buffet menu fit for a king and yet great for fitness.Read article.

What Meeting Professionals Want -- Survey Results
Budgets (72%), the economy (49%), and attendance (32%) were the three greatest concerns of meeting planners surveyed in December 2003 by Krisam & GEP. More than 240 planners responded to the e-mail survey seeking to determine what business issues had the greatest impact on the meeting industry today.

Other high-ranking mentions were travel and expense budgets and short-term planning horizon for events. Half of the respondents work for corporations while the rest are split between associations and mixed clienteles. Association planners were more concerned about attendance and attrition, while corporate planners ranked travel and expense budget higher. Security and technology ranked the lowest.

The survey also asked what planners would like to see in a newsletter. The top five choices were:

• an information exchange with fellow planners (see our new online forum)
• the latest meeting trends
• how to plan a themed event on three budgets
• expert advice on food and beverage trends
• and checklists for planning successful meetings.

Around the Industry

• The new annual survey by Corporate Meetings and Incentives magazine is out reporting on trends in the incentive industry. Most popular destinations were Hawaii, Florida, California and Nevada. Cruises are up. Budgets appear to be improving. For more results, got to the CMI website to see the January 2004 issue.
  
  
• Also recently released was FutureWatch 2004, the annual industry survey co-sponsored by Meeting Professionals International and American Express. It too predicts spending increases in this new year though at a tiny 3% rate. The survey also reports on operational trends, policies and procedures. See full results.
  
  
• One more survey, by the Insurance Conference Planner, shows favorite activities of insurance producers. In descending order were spas, sightseeing, scuba, and golf. Favorite locations were Hawaii, Las Vegas, Southern California, and Miami.
  
  
• Speaking of Hawaii, the big island decided to go smoke-free in most restaurants as of Feb. 1, 2004. Smoking is permitted in bar areas of restaurants for the next six months. After September 1, smoking areas must be separated by walls and have entrances 15 feet away from the non-smoking entrance.
  
  
• Speaking of big, the new expansion of the Orange County Convention Center in Florida to 2.1 million square feet makes it second largest to McCormick Place, Chicago.
  
  
• Everyone's concerned about budgets these days, so where's the best place to convene if funds are short? Jacksonville, FL; Columbus, OH; and Raleigh, NC; are the top three most affordable meeting cities based on a study by online corporate travel provider GetThere.
  
  
• Another budget booster is the move by Mexico to eliminate the 15% value-added tax for people attending meetings and conventions in the country. It took effect on January 1st.

Krisam & GEP News
GEP unites European DMCs. Sixteen independently owned and operated Destination Management Companies (DMCs) have recently formed a cooperative company, GEP Europe. Based in Belgium, GEP Europe is a central sales office representing DMCs in Western, Southern, Central and Eastern Europe. Well known for their individual merits, the DMCs have come together to provide a one-stop contact for DMC services throughout Europe. Caroline Stas is director of GEP Europe, which will make its debut at International CONFEX 24-26 February 2004 in London (Stand Y263). Find out more.

Four new DMC partners have joined GEP: Logistics, LLC in Alaska; JPdL Destination Management in Canada; Vesatours in Costa Rica, and IMS - Incoming Marketing Services in Prague. These additions bring the GEP partnership to 57 DMCs, serving over 60 highly requested destinations on six continents.

Recent additions to the Krisam Group hotels: The Lodge at Rancho Mirage, Rancho Mirage, CA; Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, NV; InterContinental Buckhead Atlanta, Atlanta, GA; and InterContinental Toronto Centre, Toronto, Canada.

New York and Washington Top Destination List for 2003: In a year-end report from Global Events Partners, the Big Apple (Empire Force Events) and the Nation's Capital (GEP Washington) ranked one and two as the top destinations for DMC activity in the year, followed by Las Vegas (Baskow & Associates) as number three. Overall the top ten list showed greater activity in the U.S. and less in Europe from the previous year. The leaders in 2002 were Italy (Newtours), France, and Spain (Creatur). Rounding out the top ten in 2003 were:

4. Italy (Newtours)
5. San Diego (PRA)
6. San Francisco (Mana, Allison & Associates)
7. Chicago (Chicago Is)
8. Spain (Creatur)
9. Southern Florida (Gardner & Associates)
10. Orlando (Florida Coast to Coast)

The report also showed a slight decline in dollar volume, thanks to the soft economy, but an increase in leads sent to partners to 1,874, up from 1,504 in 2002, promising a record year in 2004.

Upcoming Industry Events:

Take Our Poll
This month's poll question is:

Do you think the government's new registration system for foreign visitors will hurt the meetings industry?

There's been a lot of talk about the new U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) high-tech registration system. Begun on January 5, 2004, the new system fingerprints and photographs foreign visitors, who are required to have visas, as they enter through designated U.S. airports and seaports. The program exempts permanent U.S. residents and foreign visitors from 27 countries, mostly European, who do not generally need visas to enter the U.S. Get the details. How do you think the program will affect you? Take the poll at left and let us know. Please respond by March 1st. Results will be published in the next newsletter.