Like the judges on American Idol, it seems meeting planners are always looking for the next big thing, and like with the dedicated followers of Idol, fresh faces are always in season.
Granted, some newly emerging meetings destination in the Caribbean and the Southern U.S. may not be the next Atlanta or Orlando, but they still have the promise of becoming as well-known as, say, runners-up Daughtry and Bo Bice.
Dominican Republic
Best known as a bargain leisure-travel destination, the Dominican Republic is among the destinations now finding their groove. The island’s west coast seemingly is home to more all-inclusive resorts than anywhere on the planet but the market is diversifying with an increasing number of new high-end hotels.
In fact, more and more new Dominican Republic properties are flying the flag of brands familiar to American meeting planners—in a destination long dominated by Spanish hotel chains. The music-themed Hard Rock Hotel in Punta Cana, for example, opened last February with 65,000 square feet of meeting and convention space—bigger than the nearby Barcelo Convention Center—making it the largest meeting facility on the island. The Punta Cana hotel is the only all-inclusive in the Hard Rock chain, and entices U.S. planners with its brand familiarity.
“Companies from all over the world, from banks, food-service companies, direct-sales corporations, automotive, insurance, social and wedding groups, all have had very successful events on-property,” says Hard Rock Corporate Director of Groups Enrique Martin del Campo.
Patricia Perez, director of the Dominican Republic Tourism Office in Chicago, says that Punta Cana is getting increased interest from the American incentive travel market. That’s because the Punta Cana region has become the focal point for high-end development, including the Cap Cana resort complex and the forthcoming 204-room Westin Punta Cana, scheduled to open next year at the Puntacana Resort & Club.
With five international airports and a reputation for good value, the Dominican Republic is positioned to attract meetings from U.S. groups fighting a tough economy, Perez says. Along the seafront promenade—or Malecon—of the country’s other meetings hub, Santo Domingo, there is already a Marriott, Hilton and other business hotels. A new Embassy Suites will open at an upscale shopping mall in the city—the oldest continually inahbited city in the Americas—next fall with 16,000 square feet of meeting space.
Perez notes that Santo Domingo has some of richest cultural history in the Caribbean, with an old city (the Zona Colonial) boasting buildings dating back to the 16th century. It’s about to undergo a $35 million improvement project.
Jamaica
Jamaica is another Caribbean destination that is trying to shake its fun-in-the-sun image—or at least show it has another side to offer meeting planners. Known primarily for its all-inclusive hotels and cruise ports like Ocho Rios and Montego Bay, Jamaica long has been home to a smattering of exclusive hotels, including The Ritz-Carlton, Rose Hall Resort and the neighboring Half Moon, where members of the British royal family recently stayed. No surprise, then, that the new Montego Bay Convention Centre was built in close proximity to these top resorts and other properties in the Rose Hall district (just outside of Montego Bay), including Iberostar, Hilton and Sandals resorts.
The convention center is billed as the biggest in the English-speaking Caribbean, distinguishing it from the larger Puerto Rico Convention Center in the bilingual U.S. commonwealth. With more than 4,000 hotel rooms nearby, 50,000 square feet of exhibition space, over 20,000 square feet of banquet space and more than 11,000 square feet of meeting space, the center is poised to handle larger meetings and small to medium-size trade shows, especially in the slower tourism months of May to mid-November.
Marketing of the Montego Bay Convention Centre began in earnest in July 2011 when management company SMG came onboard, and initial bookings included the International Women’s Forum, slated for March 2013.
So far, the center has attracted mostly regional corporate groups and international associations.
“We’re actively pursuing a lot of association business,” says convention center General Manager Dittie Guise. “Interest has been very high, especially from Canada and the U.K.”
Wilmington, N.C.
Of course, you don’t need to go as far as the Caribbean to find up-and-coming meetings destinations with an ocean view.
Wilmington, N.C., last year opened the 107,000-square-foot Wilmington Convention Center on its two-mile riverwalk along the Cape Fear River. The facility is located within a short walk of Wilmington’s downtown, Civil War monuments, shopping and restaurants.
Wilmington features a 230-block historic district, is home to the battleship USS North Carolina and has been the setting for scores of movies and TV shows. A trio of ocean beaches can be reached from the destination in as little as 10 minutes.
“We’re one of the few destinations that can offer a historic riverfront town with true beach access,” says Kim Hufham, chief operating officer of the Wilmington and Beaches CVB.
The facility is the largest on the state’s east coast and is ideally suited for meetings of 400-600 attendees, says Susan Eaton, general manager of the convention center.
“Planners in North Carolina now have a place to go on the coast,” she says. “Some groups that traditionally took their meetings outside the state now have a destination inside North Carolina.”
The facility also benefits from its proximity to Camp Lejuene, hosting 10 Marine Corps Balls last year and another 21 that are on the calendar this year.
Discussions are under way to add a headquarters hotel in Wilmington, perhaps under the Embassy Suites flag.
Augusta, Ga.
Another small, historic riverfront city, Augusta, Ga., is best known as a golfing destination, but city officials have high hopes that the new Trade, Exhibit and Event (TEE) Center—opening later this year—will be a calling card for local and regional meeting planners. Connected to the existing Augusta Marriott and Convention Center, the TEE will add 38,000 square feet of meeting space, bringing the facility to over 100,000 square feet.
The internationally known home of the annual Masters Golf Tournament, Augusta boasts Colonial architecture and a downtown riverwalk where meeting attendees can walk to dinner after their event ends, when they’ll have choices ranging from fine dining to tacos at Nacho Mama’s.
Notably, the new facility will have 30,000 square feet of column-free exhibition space, effectively enabling Augusta to host trade shows, according to Peggy Seigler, vice president of sales and marketing.
“It doesn’t change the ideal meeting size for attendees, but it does change the ideal meeting type,” she says.
Freelance writer Bob Curley enjoys emerging destinations where he can stay within a frisbee toss of the beach.
