Destination Articles

• Where Texas Arts and Culture Mingle

  By David Vranicar

  December 31, 2012

  Thanks to I-30, rapid transit and the nearby airport, Dallas and Fort Worth have never been closer. Then again, while Dallas zealously modernized its arts and architecture, Fort Worth stubbornly guarded its heritage and charm, ensuring that each city has its own distinct feel. But whether these are two separate towns or a tag-team unit, the Dallas-Fort Worth area is an ideal spot for events.

• Built on a Meeting

  By Christine Loomis

  November 20, 2012

  Grapevine, Texas, may not have the cachet of neighbors Dallas and Fort Worth, but it has more than a century and a half of meetings success to build on.

• Meet Big in Texas

  By Jennie Nunn

  August 30, 2012

   Mention the word “Texas,” and three things immediately come to mind: spicy chili, leather cowboy boots and the Alamo. But aside from its warm climate, friendly residents and Southwest charm, there’s much more to the Lone Star State than meets the eye. From the idyllic setting of San Antonio’s River Walk and Austin’s famous live music scene to the state’s oldest modern art museum in Forth Worth to a wealth of outdoor activities such as hiking, biking and fishing, it’s no surprise Texas is a top destination for meeting planners and hosts several world conferences each year.

• Texas Two-Step

  By Steve Winston

  December 29, 2011

  The neighboring cities of Dallas and Fort Worth, aka The Metroplex, have been described many ways. A tale of two cities. Two sides of the same coin. Dallas looks to the east, Fort Worth looks to the west. Fort Worth’s all cowboy, with two-stepping boots and well-worn hats. Dallas is all Fortune 500, suited up and silk-tied.

  Yet, in reality, these two cities may have more in common than many people believe. In “wild-and-woolly” Fort Worth, for example, you’ll find several of the finest art museums in America. And in big-business-deal Dallas, you’ll find several of the best-known honky-tonks in America. In “frontier” Fort Worth, you’ll see people in cowboy boots and hats…at the opera, wearing tuxedos. And in sophisticated Dallas, what’s the name of that famous football team? That’s right…the Cowboys.  

  These are cities with comprehensive meetings infrastructures, more than enough after-meeting options to keep your attendees happy and incredible airport access.
  What it boils down to is this: Dallas and Fort Worth are both a little bit country and a little bit rock ‘n’ roll when it comes to meetings business. 

• Florida’s Heartland

  By Robert Jenkins

  August 29, 2011

  On a map, the area of central Florida defined by Orlando, Daytona Beach and Kissimmee is a pretty narrow triangle. But it offers planners the broadest range of meeting options outside its high-tech convention centers: an oceanfront playground, the world’s most-popular collection of theme parks and simple, back-to-nature Florida. You can put your delegates in hotels streamlined to host conventions or lodgings with décor that plays upon fantasies and dreams. As for the all-important R&R outside the professional development sessions and exhibit halls, planners will need a checklist—there’s hot-air ballooning, ziplining, getting up-close-if-not-quite-personal with alligators, surfing and golfing where the top pros compete. Airlift is among the nation’s best, with no winter storms to close the runways.

• Texas Round-Up: Meeting in the Lone Star State

  By Kendra Strey

  August 29, 2011

  It’s no secret that Texas is big. In fact, most of the Atlantic seaboard could fit inside its boundaries. But this is good news for meeting planners—it means more options. “Our hotel rates and food and beverage charges are competitive, and our central location is convenient for companies that fly in delegates from both coasts—or internationally,” says Dean Conwell of the Texas Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus