Urban districts are heating up in a multitude of places around the country. We asked meeting planners for input on what cities they think are up-and-coming and why the locations are trending nowadays.

Conventions are becoming increasingly savvy when it comes to CSR initiatives, and MPI’s 2018 World Education Congress (WEC), held June 2-5, 2018, in Indianapolis, was no exception. Visit Indy and MPI incorporated a wealth of unique initiatives into the program to support local charities and help create a model and methodology by which future meetings all over the world can emulate.

One of the best ways for planners to incorporate wellness into meetings is by gifting attendees with health-conscious amenities during the agenda. From essential oils to bath products to nutritious cookbooks, the choices nowadays are endless. Following are four great options.

Port Aransas and Mustang Island (Texas), San Antonio, St. Louis, Richmond, Virginia, and Providence, Rhode Island, are boosting their branding and group appeal through culinary programming.

Unique, booze-infused venues, including traditional bars, speakeasies and distilleries, await groups that would like to toast over delicious handcrafted cocktails after a meeting. Across the country, group-friendly destinations feature standout bar settings with inviting decor, ranging from rustic to industrial, and menus starring world-class wines, microbrews and exquisite specialty mixed drinks.

From attention-getting cultural scenes to major new convention centers, here are four destinations where major downtown investments are significantly reshaping and redefining the meetings scene.

MidAmerica casino resorts no longer have to gamble when it comes to attracting meeting professionals. Whether it’s a mutiflag salute for our troops, fire pits on stage or an underground rave party, gaming properties are betting the house that they can compete with any big-city counterpart.

It’s likely you’ve all been there. Despite the best intentions to maintain a fitness routine while traveling for business as busy meeting planners, something inevitably goes awry.

The East Coast’s major players are increasingly looking to wine, dine and wow groups in this ever-expanding regional market.

It’s been six months since the wildfires in Sonoma and Napa counties were extinguished, and the message from locals to planners is clear: Spring is in the air, and it’s business as usual in Wine Country—as beautiful and bucolic as ever.