The co-chairs of the Meetings Mean Business Coalition (MMBC), an industry-wide coalition created to showcase the undeniable value that business meetings, trade shows, incentive travel, exhibitions, conferences and conventions bring to people, businesses and communities, recently provided an update about next year’s Global Meetings Industry Day. Set for April 7, 2022, GMID is the meeting and event industry’s annual day of advocacy that shines a light on the positive impact that conferences, conventions and trade shows have on people, businesses and the economy.

“For the seventh consecutive year, we invite meetings industry professionals to come together with leaders from across business and government to advocate for the value of in-person business meetings and events,” said Fred Dixon and Michael Massari, MMBC co-chairs who also serve as president and CEO of NYC & Company and chief sales officer of Caesars Entertainment, respectively.  

They continued, “Countries, including the United States, are taking steps this month to lift travel restrictions for vaccinated foreign travelers. We applaud these actions and understand that GMID may be one of the first moments we have to unite at scale and champion the industry’s value globally, together with MMBC members and partners all over the world.”

Dixon and Massari added that while the services provided by the meetings industry often go unnoticed, the economic impact is unmistakable. Hosting a conference, convention or trade show enables cities to spur economic growth by bringing in new visitors who stay in area hotels, eat in local restaurants, shop in neighborhood stores and bring in new revenue, they explained.

Prior to the pandemic, in-person meetings supported 5.9 million American jobs and spurred hundreds of billions of dollars in annual revenue, with professional meetings and events sustaining more jobs than the telecommunications and oil and gas extraction industries, they added.  

“Right now, our cities are suffering and it’s difficult to overstate the value of in-person meetings, business travel and hospitality services to their return, resilience and recovery,” Dixon and Massari continued. “The demand to meet in person has only heightened during the past two years and for businesses large and small, meetings remain essential to employee education, training, collaboration and retention.”

The pair announced that like 2021, the theme for GMID 2022 will be “Meet Safe,” in support of the fact that successful in-person meetings are possible and taking place around the world in accordance with local protocols and government regulations. 

“GMID will show—not just tell—the enduring value of participating and investing in such events for years to come,” they added.

Leading up to GMID next year, Dixon and Massari encourage all past and future GMID participants to look to MMBC for news and resources in the coming months as well as contribute to the multiple examples of replicable events being held on MMBC’s Meet Safe platform, which showcases how in-person and hybrid meetings and events can take place now and into the future by adhering to local gathering limits and health and safety best practices. 

“As an industry, we have led the charge as early adopters of the measures required to carry forward safe in-person business meetings,” Dixon and Massari continued. “Raising the bar to meet health and safety standards was a necessity, not an option. Proudly, we have been uncompromising in our effort to ensure the well-being of every meeting attendee. That will never change.” 

With more than 60 members, the MMBC works to unite the events industry, rally industry advocates, work with stakeholders, conduct original research, engage with outside voices and bring the industry together to emphasize its importance through one powerful voice. To learn more about MMBC and GMID 2022, go here.

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