Black Meetings & Tourism - TRAVEL INDUSTRY RETURNING TO NORMAL

Airline Industry Report
TRAVEL INDUSTRY RETURNING TO NORMAL SOLOMON J. HERBERT
As we slowly move beyond this COVID-19 pandemic, I am happy to report I see signs that the travel/meetings/hospitality industry is coming back. Major industry organizations, whose conferences were cancelled when the crisis began last year, have now scheduled events for later this year and beyond. For starters, the iconic National Coalition of Black Meeting Professionals (NCBMP) is moving forward with its Annual Conference on November 10-13 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Travel Professionals of Color (TPOC) has scheduled their 20 ^th Anniversary conference and celebration for September 22-26 in the Big Apple. Meeting Professionals International (MPI) is holding their World Education Congress in Las Vegas at Caesars Forum from June 15-17. And the National Association of Black Hotel Owners, Operators and Developers (NABHOOD) is back in Miami Florida for its Hotel Ownership Investment Summit & Trade Show October 6-8 at the Miami Marriott Biscayne Bay, followed immediately by the Annual International Multicultural & Heritage Tourism Summit & Trade Show October 8-10, also at the Marriott. And the 2021 Annual Convention of Destinations International, a hybrid event in Baltimore, Maryland. It is so crucial that we work together and support one another and the above organizations if we are to come out of this pandemic poised for growth and a healthy rebound! I am planning to attend all six events, and hope you will too. Also on the calendar is IMEX America, slated for November 9-11 in Las Vegas. The focus of this gathering also includes international meetings and travel. Black Meetings & Tourism has exhibited at IMEX American in the past and plans to participate as an exhibitor again this year. In 2019 BM&T held an African-American Meet Up as part of our IMEX activities, under the expert guidance of our seasoned meeting planner, Katrina Ruff of Forums Meetings & Events. We hosted about 50 Black planners representing organization like CDC, FEDEX, and GE to name a few, who had the opportunity to network, interact with our Meet Up sponsors, enjoy refreshments, and then listen to presentations from our event sponsors. *Black Meetings & Tourism* is planning another African-American Meet Up at IMEX again this year. If you are a planner, and will be in attendance at IMEX America in Las Vegas, you are invited to be our guest. Rub elbows with your colleagues and friends who participate in IMEX, and meet and greet new Black planners you have never met before, as well as our event sponsors, all the while expanding your network of professional contacts. You will also learn more about the opportunities offered by international travel and meetings. On the other hand, if you represent a DMO, a hotel or hotel corporation, an airline, or some other industry entity, please consider becoming a co-sponsor of BM&T’s African-American Meet Up at IMEX America in Las Vegas. You will be introduced to some of the top meeting and travel professionals in the industry while promoting and enhancing your brand to the more than $118 billion African-American market segment. And of course, we will definitely write about your sponsorship support in an upcoming issue of Black Meetings & Tourism and in the BM&T e-newsletter. This will be a win-win situation for all participants. So whether a planner, travel agent or supplier, reach out to me at the address below and get involved. Solomon J. Herbert Publisher/Editor-in-Chief E-Mail: BMandTMag@aol.com

Airline Industry Report

TRAVEL INDUSTRY RETURNING TO NORMAL
SOLOMON J. HERBERT

As we slowly move beyond this COVID-19 pandemic, I am happy to report I see signs that the travel/meetings/hospitality industry is coming back. Major industry organizations, whose conferences were cancelled when the crisis began last year, have now scheduled events for later this year and beyond. For starters, the iconic National Coalition of Black Meeting Professionals (NCBMP) is moving forward with its Annual Conference on November 10-13 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Travel Professionals of Color (TPOC) has scheduled their 20 ^th Anniversary conference and celebration for September 22-26 in the Big Apple. Meeting Professionals International (MPI) is holding their World Education Congress in Las Vegas at Caesars Forum from June 15-17. And the National Association of Black Hotel Owners, Operators and Developers (NABHOOD) is back in Miami Florida for its Hotel Ownership Investment Summit & Trade Show October 6-8 at the Miami Marriott Biscayne Bay, followed immediately by the Annual International Multicultural & Heritage Tourism Summit & Trade Show October 8-10, also at the Marriott. And the 2021 Annual Convention of Destinations International, a hybrid event in Baltimore, Maryland. It is so crucial that we work together and support one another and the above organizations if we are to come out of this pandemic poised for growth and a healthy rebound! I am planning to attend all six events, and hope you will too.

Also on the calendar is IMEX America, slated for November 9-11 in Las Vegas. The focus of this gathering also includes international meetings and travel. Black Meetings & Tourism has exhibited at IMEX American in the past and plans to participate as an exhibitor again this year. In 2019 BM&T held an African-American Meet Up as part of our IMEX activities, under the expert guidance of our seasoned meeting planner, Katrina Ruff of Forums Meetings & Events. We hosted about 50 Black planners representing organization like CDC, FEDEX, and GE to name a few, who had the opportunity to network, interact with our Meet Up sponsors, enjoy refreshments, and then listen to presentations from our event sponsors.

Black Meetings & Tourism is planning another African-American Meet Up at IMEX again this year. If you are a planner, and will be in attendance at IMEX America in Las Vegas, you are invited to be our guest. Rub elbows with your colleagues and friends who participate in IMEX, and meet and greet new Black planners you have never met before, as well as our event sponsors, all the while expanding your network of professional contacts. You will also learn more about the opportunities offered by international travel and meetings.

On the other hand, if you represent a DMO, a hotel or hotel corporation, an airline, or some other industry entity, please consider becoming a co-sponsor of BM&T’s African-American Meet Up at IMEX America in Las Vegas. You will be introduced to some of the top meeting and travel professionals in the industry while promoting and enhancing your brand to the more than $118 billion African-American market segment. And of course, we will definitely write about your sponsorship support in an upcoming issue of Black Meetings & Tourism and in the BM&T e-newsletter. This will be a win-win situation for all participants. So whether a planner, travel agent or supplier, reach out to me at the address below and get involved.

Solomon J. Herbert

Publisher/Editor-in-Chief

E-Mail: BMandTMag@aol.com