Over the summer, the Hawaii Visitors Bureau became the Hawai'i Visitors and Convention Bureau. The bureau's president, Paul Casey, said the name change indicates the entity's renewed efforts to attract meetings, conventions, and incentive groups...

Pharmaceutical company profits are back. The anything-goes days of pharmaceutical industry funding are gone. But if industry reps say budgets for funding meetings are shrinking, it sure isn't because of profitability. Take a gander at these third...

Given the limited financing available for construction of full-service hotels, some companies are taking a less costly route and converting existing buildings, such as office buildings and department stores in urban settings, into hotels...

The Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) and the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) will team up to deliver METCON (Meetings and Exhibitions Technology Conference). This new venture will debut next April 9 to 11 at...

Bruce J. Bellande, PhD, is the new executive director of the Alliance for Continuing Medical Education. With his appointment, the Alliance's office has moved to his home town, Birmingham, AL. The new address is Suite 208, Southcrest Bldg., 1025...

The Philippines played host to several major meetings industry events in August, not the least of which was the induction of the first set of officers for the Society of Association Executives-Philippines...

In my last column, I said you would be able to abandon the "shotgun" approach to marketing. Database marketing allows you to do that by zeroing in on your most highly qualified prospects-those people most likely to be interested in your seminars...

Does slitting your throat count?" Pam Jensen, CMP, division director, educational programs, American Asso-ciation of Blood Banks, answers with a wry laugh when asked how she copes with the seller's market. With humor and creativity, planners are...

Medical trade fairs come to Southeast Asia: Thailand has had its share of political turmoil in recent months, but its economic growth just rolls along. In 1996, for example, the Thais had under construction 1,576 health centers, 85 community...

Last time, I wrote that the key to successful direct marketing is to find an optimal combination of reach and frequency-putting your message in front of the right audience size the right number of times. This column will provide the conceptual...