We’re always touting the power of association meetings and sports-related travel and last week I had the opportunity to experience that strength first-hand. As a presenter at the annual meeting of Running USA, I was pleasantly surprised to not only find an association meeting where the attendance was not off at all from last year but also to discover that many of the race directors in attendance are actually planning to either expand their current events or launch new events in the coming year. Attending the meeting was much like entering a parallel dimension where economic gloom and doom was not the order of the day.

While no sector of the economy has escaped the effects of the current economic downturn, we are grateful that the state-and-regional association meetings market and the sports-related travel market are—relative to other group travel markets—weathering this economic storm. Destinations, hotels and other travel providers looking for sources of group business during this challenging time should consider anew these two markets. For more information, please call us toll-free at (877) 577-3700 or feel free to leave your comments below.

Tim Schneider
Schneider Publishing Company

The buzz in the corridors at the annual meeting of the Professional Convention Management Association last month in New Orleans was all about the economy. Many of the hotel marketing and convention bureau executives I spoke with indicated genuine concern about the short- and long-term prospects for group business. Several have seen double-digit decreases in bookings and attendance numbers for corporate meetings and incentive groups. As a result, many hotel and destination marketers are confronting either the possibility or reality of seeing their own budgets reduced.

Against this tumultuous backdrop, if you ask a convention bureau or hotel marketing executive which markets are holding up strongest, the answer usually includes association meetings, particularly the meetings of state and regional associations. Relative to the other group-travel markets, the 59 million hotel room nights generated by state and regional associations have become even more important in today’s volatile environment. That’s because in times of turmoil, the meetings of state and regional associations are more heavily relied upon by members who look to their associations for information that will help them survive and prosper despite the challenging times.

Just as the importance of state and regional association meetings has grown, so too has our commitment to serving this community. We are pleased to announce two new offerings designed to increase the level of service we provide to association executives nationwide: the relaunch of AssociationNews.com and the launch of a digital version of Association News magazine.

The Web site has been given a completely new appearance that reflects the design sensibilities of our printed magazine while also providing interactive elements to enliven your Association News experience. For example, our online Site Selector makes finding in-depth information on destinations and meeting venues as easy as clicking your mouse. We’ve also created an online Resource Directory that serves as a complement to our printed directories as well as an online version of our popular People & Places department. Finally, our Web site’s new search feature makes it easier for you to locate the industry intelligence you need to be more successful.

Concurrent with the redesign of our Web site, we’ve also launched a digital edition of Association News. The digital edition allows us to expand the reach of Association News to include more association readers than are served by any other meetings publication. To subscribe, please visit AssociationNews.com.

All of these changes and enhancements reflect our continued belief in the importance of state and regional associations. While we encourage our readers to make use of the new Web site and digital edition, we also encourage convention bureaus, hotels, hotel chains and others that benefit from the meetings activity of associations to consider increasing their support of the state and regional association community. In these challenging times, investing in one of the few markets that continues to provide solid returns can be just the economic fix you’re looking for!

Tim Schneider
Schneider Publishing Company