Roger Dow, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association, spoke
recently at the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association
International (HSMAI) Leadership Conference, and addressed the issue of
whether social media would hurt the meetings industry.
Roger Dow, U.S. Travel, on the Power of Face-to-Face
"The thought that social media or go to meeting type technology will
replace relationships and face-to-face is crazy. Face-to-face
relationships will always be critical, especially in the meetings area,"
he said.
The power of the meetings industry was also shown in
the new "Economic Significance of Meetings to the U.S. Economy" study,
which estimates that 205 million people attended nearly 1.8 million
meetings in the U.S. in 2009. Those meetings generated $263 billion in
direct spending, supported 1.7 million jobs, and contributed $106
billion to the gross domestic product. The study was conducted by
PricewaterhouseCoopers for the CIC.
Meeting planners will have
the opportunity to meet face-to-face with representatives from leading
meeting facilities, destinations, and industry suppliers at the upcoming
HSMAI Affordable Meetings events in Chicago, Long Beach, and
Washington, DC. The 2011 series kicks off April 13-14 with Affordable
Meetings Mid-America in Chicago.
Roger Dow, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association, spoke recently at the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI) Leadership Conference, and addressed the issue of whether social media would hurt the meetings industry.
