Corporate Travel Destinations

Salt Lake City, Utah is a popular tourist destination, particularly for those interested in seeing Temple Square and taking a tour of one of the most famous religious buildings in the country. Visitors to Salt Lake City can enjoy world-class skiing and snowboarding in the winter, hiking and other outdoor activities in the sunny summer months, and a clean, well-planned city throughout the year. The city is well-known for its wide streets and easy grid-like street layout, making it easy to get around.

What many people do not know is that there are also over 120 meeting venues, including museums, stand-alone banquet halls, hotels and historic buildings. Coupled with the presence of major hotel brands and an airport that is serviced by major airlines, it is easy to see why Salt Lake City is becoming a popular corporate meeting and event destination.

While the city only has a population of approximately 180,000, it is surprisingly well-equipped to handle small, mid-sized or larger meetings and events. In addition to a variety of meeting venues, transportation options and accommodations, Salt Lake City and the surrounding area also provide abundant options for outdoor activities and excursions to sites of historical and cultural interest.

For a well-rounded meeting destination that offers the charm of a historic town, as well as the amenities of a major city, Salt Lake City should not be overlooked.

It is not without reason that Cancun is known worldwide as a preferred resort destination. There's something for everyone in this tropical seaside vacation spot. Located on Mexico's eastern shores in the state of Quintana Roo, Cancun is a top pick for corporate travel planners who are looking for a temperate climate, sandy beaches and an active night life. Approximately 4 million visitors come every year to enjoy the area in 24,000 hotel rooms and dine in over 380 restaurants. Corporate travelers from the colder regions to the north especially appreciate the warm winter weather with average highs of 82°F in December. There's no better way to beat the winter blahs than a visit to this tropical retreat.

Urban legend would tell us that the location for Cancun was selected by computers. The fact is that a team of researchers worked to locate and select the city's ideal location. Modern day Cancun is the final result of a 1967 feasibility study conducted by Banco de México. Failing to locate enough private investors, the Mexican Government had to finance the first nine hotels. From those humble beginnings Cancun has grown to become a world-renowned tourist resort. Along with the many resort and vacation facilities, Cancun offers excellent venues for corporate meetings and events.

Santo Domingo, located on the coast of the Dominican Republic offers the perfect blend of modern amenities and rich history and culture. Christopher Columbus first came upon this region in 1492, with his brother, Bartolome Colon, founding the city of Santo Domingo de Guzman in 1498. As the first city in the New World, UNESCO naturally awarded it status as a World Heritage Site and visitors can still walk along the cobblestone streets of the original city, now called Colonial City, where the first university, church, hospital and monastery constructed in the New World can still be seen.

A popular destination for the cruise meeting industry, the Port of Santo Domingo has two cruise ship terminals: the Don Diego Terminal and the San Souci Terminal. Each of these terminals allows passengers convenient access to nearby Colonial City, as well as a number of important historical sites and landmarks, many dining options serving scrumptious local cuisine and nightspots that come alive each evening with the vibrant sounds of merengue. Santo Domingo is considered one of the most important cultural capitals of the Americas and offers a wide variety of entertainment, dining, shopping and cultural attractions, such as the museums of the Plaza de Cultura, the Columbus Lighthouse and the Parque Colon.

A well-established, modern public transportation system makes getting around this historic city a breeze, which will allow your attendees to take in all that Santo Domingo has to offer between scheduled meetings and events.

The Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort knows just what it takes to create the most imaginative meetings that generate the highest possible results.  Their approach definitely lightens the work load for meeting planners, since the resort takes the responsibility for achieving the "WOW" factor for your meetings and events. 

Their approach, called ReImagine Meetings, puts the focus on combining creativity, theme, technology, and relationships. In addition to more than 329,000 square feet of indoor meeting space, the resorts proximity to Walt Disney World offers access to the parks and fabulous Disney events.

Why not ReImagine your next meeting or event at a place where the unforgettable surroundings will inspire creativity?  For meetings from 15 to 15,000, the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin have been delivering top notch events for two decades.
 

Hard Rock International is planning a Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hungary, near the Austrian and Slovakian borders.

They expect to open in early 2012, and the hotel will have more than 600 guest rooms. 

As Cruising Slashes the Cost of Land Based Venues by 25-40%,

Planners Can Persevere with Today’s Shrinking Budgets

MIAMI, FL (Sept. 29, 2009) – Cutting costs without compromising quality or creativity is top of mind with meeting planners these days.  With that in mind, the fact remains that meetings and incentives held at sea, verses traditional land-based programs, can reduce costs by 25-40%.  But for those unfamiliar with staging events on board cruise ships, the process can be intimidating.  With the debut of Seasite.com, the first and only web portal dedicated solely to serving the cruise meeting market, planners will find what was once labor intensive, is now quick, simple and accessible all in one place.

The first and only comprehensive online marketplace for planning cruise meetings and events, Seasite is a revolutionary approach to ship selection and onboard event planning.  “It is the new frontier of cruise meetings and incentives, allowing you to do more with less,” says Josephine Kling, Seasite CEO.  “And beyond the affordability factor is the ability to design and customize and implement a program that is unique, client focused and unforgettable,” she adds.

Seasite demystifies the process and puts users in control so that meetings at sea can now be planned as easily as land based meetings.  Driven by sophisticated technology, super rich content and robust ship-search capabilities, Seasite puts incentive and meeting management companies, corporate or independent meeting planners and other group event organizers in total “cruise” control.  For those needing assistance, Cruise Advisors are on hand by chat, phone or email.  And for those already comfortable with organizing events at sea, Seasite’s sophisticated search and content rich data, coupled with its unique eRFP process, saves time and simplifies the process.  There is no cost or membership fee to use Seasite. Continue reading »

If you positioned 41 double-decker London buses back to back, you’d have an idea of just how long the Queen Mary 2 luxury liner is. Impressive as this is, size isn’t all the Queen Mary 2 has going for her. Three fourths of her rooms include private balconies and suites come in a wide range of comfort and price. The cozy Princess suites may be ideal for your clients; or they may prefer the ultimate luxury of the ship’s deluxe apartments.

Chilled champagne and sugar iced strawberries set the stage in the sumptuous quarters known as the Queens Grill Suites. Your client will have his every need met and catered to by the personal butler service. Travelers can make use of one of five swimming pools, a casino, a ballroom, and fifteen restaurants. The planetarium onboard doubles as a movie theater, offering guests their choice of stars – ones created in the heavens or ones created in Hollywood.

The Queen Mary 2 is a tribute to a more genteel golden age of ocean travel. Her ports of call include New York, Cherbourg, and Barbados. This beautiful ocean liner is the perfect setting for high-powered meetings, luxury vacations, or incentive travel.

Want to plan a cruise meeting event?  Meetings at sea are a great motivational incentive for employees.  Meetings and incentives held at sea, verses traditional land-based programs, can reduce costs by 25-40%. But for those unfamiliar with staging events on board cruise ships, the process can be intimidating. With the debut of Seasite.com, the first and only web portal dedicated solely to serving the cruise meetings market, planners will find what was once labor intensive, is now quick, simple and accessible all in one place.

The first and only comprehensive online marketplace for planning cruise meetings and events, Seasite is a revolutionary approach to ship selection and onboard event planning.  Try it today!

The corporate world is full of challenges and after the last year of pushing through the recession it’s time for a breath of fresh air. Would you like to send your client to a breathtakingly beautiful area that provides them with unique opportunities to get away from it all?

Why not choose Anchorage, Alaska for the next corporate getaway or meeting? The Anchorage Convention District is made up of two separate and complimentary Civic and Convention Centers located in the heart of downtown.

The Dena’ina (pronounced DEH-nah-EE-nah) Civic and Convention Center has 200,000 square feet of room to offer meeting planners. Native Alaska themes used throughout the Dena’ina Civic and Convention Center underscore its commitment to sustain and protect the environment by using state of the art heating equipment, low wattage escalators, and recycling products. Guests are stunned by the gorgeous stained glass murals and traditional carvings seen throughout the venue. The best in audiovisual technology is available making corporate events a breeze.

For smaller, more intimate meetings, investigate the William A. Egan Civic and Convention Center. This site offers affordable rates and is just two blocks from the Dena’ina area of the district. The Anchorage Center for the Performing Arts and Town Square Park are nearby.

Where else can you get world-class cuisine created with local resources and catch a glimpse of a moose in the distance?

One of the first casualties of the global recession was travel, especially in the corporate world. The answer to that is finally coming in–not only are most countries and properties clamoring to offer the best deals around, countries that were never considered serious destinations are becoming contenders in the world travel business.

While many groups might continue sending their conferences and meetings to Europe or larger Asian countries, some are looking at Myanmar, Vietnam, the Philippines, and other smaller destinations. Some of these destinations are just starting out in the world market for travel, and are offering the best they can give–including prices–to attract meetings. Continue reading »