ALEXANDRIA, Va.
The Convention Industry Council (CIC) made significant headway in advancing its charge to champion the economic and social value of the convention, meeting, exhibition and events industry in 2015.
Here’s a look at the year in review in the organization’s own words.
Tackled Room Block Poaching
In January of 2015, CIC released a new suite of resources to assist meeting professionals in preventing businesses from actively recruiting attendees and exhibitors away from official hotel bookings—known as room block poaching—and to mitigate the impact should it occur.
The CIC’s APEX toolkit provides an overview of the issues, implications for stakeholders, a list of state attorneys general, guidance and resources on how to handle the issue of room block poaching.
You can find those free resources here.
The CMP Went Fully Digital
2015 marked the first full year that the CMP application and recertification process was completed entirely online. CIC also launched its CMP Preferred Provider Program (CMP-PP) in 2015.
The CMP-PP helps streamline the process of reporting and tracking continuing education hours needed for certification and recertification by pre-approving education sessions and activities that align with the CMP International Standards. Since its launch in 2015, CIC now has over 100 CMP Preferred Providers.
Celebrated the 30th Anniversary of the CMP Program
In 2015, CIC celebrated the 30th anniversary of the Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) program. To commemorate this special occasion, CIC launched its first peer-selected recognition program, driven primarily on social media, to recognize and honor 30 “CMP Influencers.”
These CMPs, representing a broad cross-section of the profession, exemplify the spirit of the CMP credential—professionalism, credibility and excellence—and CIC was proud to recognize these representatives of the program, as well as members of the inaugural class of CMPs, during the 2015 CMP Conclave. In 2015, CIC also welcomed a new class of 700 CMPs to its growing global community.
Advocated for the Industry during NAMID
The CIC was proud to participate in organizing the first-ever North American Meetings Industry Day (NAMID) on April 16, 2015. Spearheaded by the Meetings Mean Business Coalition, of which CIC is a proud member, NAMID brought together industry professionals across the United States, Canada and Mexico to showcase the substantial value of meetings, conferences, conventions and beyond.
The resulting coverage reinforced the reach and impact of meetings, with the event leaving its mark on both social and traditional media outlets.
Unveiled Best Practices for Increasing Efficiencies with eRFPs
CIC’s APEX eRFP Workgroup, in conjunction with the GBTA Meetings Committee, released a joint whitepaper, “Improving eRFP Efficiency and Effectiveness for the Meetings Industry.” This whitepaper, available for free on CIC’s website, reveals several emerging best practices to reduce the number of eRFPs coming to market and increase satisfaction of all stakeholders. Access it here.
Joined IAVM Wi-Fi Coalition
CIC’s APEX initiative has done extensive work around educating meeting professionals on the issue of bandwidth and understanding high speed internet access for events.
A natural extension of that commitment, CIC officially joined the International Association of Venue Managers (IAVM)’s Wi-Fi Coalition in 2015. The coalition was initially formed to address the backlash against venues blocking personal Wi-Fi devices and the subsequent involvement of the FCC.
The coalition is currently working on a draft of “common sense standards,” for the industry.
2016 Preview
Building on the success of last year’s NAMID, CIC is gearing up for the first-ever Global Meetings Industry Day (GMID) on April 14 , 2016, which will bring together industry professionals across the world to showcase the substantial value of meetings, conferences, conventions, incentive travel and more.
In 2015, CIC’s APEX glossary was revised for release in 2016.
As the CIC looks toward the new year, it is excited about unveiling new initiatives that build on past successes and partnerships that create new opportunities for the association to engage with its global community of CMPs and increase thought leadership and research avenues in the coming years.
