What's New in Meetings and Trade Shows: America's Center Renovations, Connect Hong Kong, NYC Tourism's New CEO, and More

In Case You Missed It

This week, BizBash released its highly anticipated feature 10 Most Innovative Meetings of 2024. Now in its 14th year, our annual list of the industry’s most innovative meetings highlights the vision behind business events that are anything but ordinary. Featuring a mix of strategies from top brands like Google Cloud, Visa, Canva, and HubSpot, this year's roundup showcases the clever layouts, immersive programming formats, hyperpersonalized experiences, and tech-driven solutions that made these meetings memorable. 

This month in meetings and trade shows, we also took a deep dive into CrowdStrike's Fal.Con 2024 and how experiential agency VDA worked around an unexpected increase in attendance; highlighted 13 trade show booths that used interactivity to boost engagement; and experienced TED's new event in Atlanta, TEDNext.

Here are five more things you should know about this month...

1. St. Louis gets ready to unveil America's Center renovations.

Now through 2025, St. Louis is unveiling new additions to its America’s Center Convention Complex. Also known as AC Next Gen, the $256 million expansion includes a new 72,000-square-foot exhibit hall, a food farm to grow fresh produce, a new outdoor gathering space that was formerly a parking lot, an enhancement of the Washington Avenue entrance, and more than twice the number of loading docks for access to the exhibit space. The docks will also be enclosed to make access easier for exhibitors. The first phase of the renovations is completed now, with the second and final phase of the renovation set to wrap up in the first half of 2025.

Event profs could be some of the first groups to experience the new digs—MPI WEC will take place at America's Center June 17-19, 2025. The convention complex last played host to WEC in 2012.

2. Encore's new program aims to better support seasonal event profs.

Global event technology and production services provider Encore is stepping up in a major way to support event industry staffers who work seasonally. Last month, the company launched its Overtime Savings Program in the U.S. as a way to mitigate those seasonal fluctuations that often result in workers’ hours varying from ample overtime during peak times to reduced schedules in off-season periods. The program allows frontline workers to save their hard-earned overtime pay for future need periods.

“We established the program as another way to support our team members so that they can be at their best in delivering for our customers,”  Encore President and CEO Ben Erwin said in a press release. “With this innovation, they can better plan and save their premium overtime pay for periods of the year when they might not work as many hours. Providing this capability and funding a company-paid match for a portion of the savings should motivate financial wellness and enable them to continue to build their career with Encore. Team member reactions tell us we are on to something."

Stay tuned for a more in-depth look at this program on BizBash this week...

3. Informa will launch Connect Hong Kong next year.

Organized by Informa Markets with Informa Connect as co-organizer, Connect Marketplace Hong Kong will launch March 19-21, 2025, at AsiaWorld-Expo. The inaugural Asia-Pacific event for the meetings, incentives, conferences, and events (MICE) community marks the debut of Connect Marketplace in Asia.

With the theme “Your Bleisure, Our Pleasure,” the event will serve as a platform for the global meeting industry, tourism authorities, and related stakeholders to connect, collaborate, and build relationships that will redefine MICE networks across Asia-Pacific and beyond. The event is set to welcome more than 600 hosted buyers from around the world and attract 8,000 visitors from 14 countries and regions, including Australia, China, India, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, and the U.S. 

“Hosting the inaugural Connect Marketplace Hong Kong 2025 at AsiaWorld-Expo is not only a key highlight of our 20th anniversary celebrations, it marks a significant milestone for the Asia-Pacific MICE industry,” AsiaWorld-Expo CEO Irene Chan told BizBash's sister publication Trade Show News Network. “With AsiaWorld-Expo’s strategic location at the center of the thriving China Greater Bay Area, we are confident that this premier networking event will set the stage for a new era of connections and collaborations across the Asia-Pacific region.” 

Editor's note: Connect is BizBash's parent company.

Julie CokerPhoto: Courtesy of NYC Tourism + Conventions4. NYC Tourism + Conventions names Julie Coker president and CEO.

ICYMI: Julie Coker is headed to the Big Apple. Coker has served as the president and CEO of the San Diego Tourism Authority for four years, and on Dec. 9, she will officially take over that same role at NYC Tourism + Conventions. She will be the first Black woman to serve as leader of the DMO. (She takes over from former president and CEO Fred Dixon, who served as the organization’s leader for 10 years before he was tapped to lead Brand USA.)

"Leading the San Diego Tourism Authority has been an incredible journey, and I'm immensely proud of what our team has accomplished,” Coker said in a statement. “Together with our board of directors, members, and the local tourism community, we successfully navigated the challenges of the pandemic and have driven San Diego’s tourism recovery. This resilience and collaborative spirit have laid a strong foundation for my new chapter with New York City Tourism + Conventions. I’m eager to bring my passion for the tourism industry to New York City and look forward to building upon the remarkable work of the talented team in place, further enhancing the global appeal of one of the world’s most iconic cities.”

5. Visit Tampa Bay wants to recognize the positive impact of meetings and conventions.

One DMO is eager to celebrate all the good that comes from bringing a meeting or convention to a destination. Earlier this month, Visit Tampa Bay introduced its Meeting the Moment program, an initiative designed to celebrate the significant, positive impact that meetings and conventions bring to its community. The program will highlight organizations and events that incorporate sustainable practices, community engagement, and inclusivity. It will also annually honor organizations and events that go beyond economic contributions and showcase a deep commitment to corporate social responsibility.

"We are delighted to recognize organizations that make a meaningful, lasting impact in our community and set an inspiring example within the industry for others to emulate," said Santiago Corrada, president and CEO of Visit Tampa Bay. 

Award recipients will gain brand visibility through Visit Tampa Bay’s marketing platforms, will be featured in media campaigns, and will be celebrated at a special recognition ceremony during National Tourism Week. Those interested in applying can learn more here.