Sorry, couldn’t resist trotting out that old yodeling warble, as we’re mining for meetings high in the Swiss Alps this month.
Our cover story, detailing Switzerland, leads on the front of the magazine and anchors our International section.
Earlier in my career I had the distinction of being the Switzerland editor for a major travel trade magazine, along with the entirely unrelated destination combination of Africa, the Middle East, Canada, the Pacific Northwest and Tennessee— yeah, go figure. Anyway, I had the pleasure of traveling to Switzerland and zipping through the Alps on Swiss Rail; stopping in the medieval burg of Berne, with its standard-bearing bears; meandering through old school Lucerne; and thoroughly lapping up Lugano, with its Italian-influenced food and culture combined with Swiss efficiency and chocolate— what’s not to love!
And I think you’ll love Jeff Heilman’s piece on the country in this issue. Switzerland is truly an amalgam of European cultures, where English—as well as French, German and many other languages—is widely spoken. It’s a country that truly prides itself on being multilingual.
Highlights of the Features section this month include stories on boutique hotels, government meetings, historic places and conference centers, including a Q&A with Mark Cooper, new CEO of the International Association of Conference Centers.
Also on tap this spring is the rollout of our annual Meetings Focus Live! educational events. After making its 2013 debut in Las Vegas in April, the three-night hosted-buyer programs will travel to Los Angeles; Portland, Ore.; Biloxi, Miss.; Sandestin, Fla.; Branson, Mo.; Hershey, Pa.; and the Big Island of Hawaii.
I’m really excited to announce that a featured facilitator at all but one of this year’s Meetings Focus Live! programs is John Chen, president of Geoteaming, who will lead the groups through his company’s innovative team-building programs. You can check out his column to get a taste of what’s in store. For more info about the Meetings Focus Live! programs, go to www.meetingstoday.com/liveevents. Happy planning!
