Memorial Weekend is upon us, which means the major meeting industry trade shows are just around the corner.

IBTM America will convene in one of the hottest meeting cities on the planet June 15−17, when Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville hosts Reed Travel Exhibitions’ U.S. business travel event. The resort boasts 600,000 sq. ft. of meeting space, which is divided among 152 rooms.

The Nashville trade show will feature expansive learning opportunities, including an area that will offer live tech demonstrations by some of the leading event suppliers. TechCollective is a partnership between IBTM America and Dahlia+ and will feature more than a half dozen suppliers such as  Meetoo, a live polling app, and event-planning software provider EventCollab.

“Technology is one of the fastest growing sectors in the meetings and events industry right now, and at IBTM events we believe that start-ups are the wave of the future,” says Jaime McAuley, event director for IBTM America. “We aim to always have a spot for these companies at our events, and the TechCollective is the newest opportunity we have created for our emerging tech suppliers to not only show the industry what they can do, but gain support and exposure from us.”

Season of Meeting Industry Trade Shows

Meeting Professionals International (MPI) World Education Congress (WEC) has been moved up in the calendar to avoid the heart of the convention season in August. The 2016 event will take place June 11−14 at Harrah’s Atlantic City Waterfront Conference Center in New Jersey. The new venue, which opened last September, is expected to help Atlantic City develop its meetings and events industry.

DMAI Annual Convention is Aug. 1−4 at Minneapolis Convention Center, which always draws quantity and quality convention and visitors bureau representatives. CVBs are our best friends!

One of the best parties of the year everywhere it’s held, ASAE Annual Meeting & Exposition is scheduled for Aug. 13−16 at Salt Palace in Salt Lake City.

Smart Meetings loves meeting industry trade shows. We hope to see you this summer.

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