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Another successful PCMA Convening Leaders event in the books! In-person meetings are happening, are successful, and are needed for everyone in our industry!

How is the show attended?

There were over 2,500 face-to-face attendees and over 600 virtual attendees that attended PCMA from all over the World and 47% of those have over 20+ years of experience in the industry.

Are you still seeing impacts of Covid on participation in this Global meetings/events show?

You had to be fully vaccinated or show proof of a negative test in order to register and you had to show that proof before registering on site. There were cancellations but attendees were also able to switch to being a virtual attendees so that they could get the same content.

Why did you attend this show?

I’ve attended this show for almost 20 years and a majority of my client base is association, and this is one of the best association shows out there. Association Meeting Planners and Execs come in from all over the world to attend this show. Also, it is one of the few shows that does not have an exhibit floor component and is truly educational which is something that I have always loved about the show.

What did you notice at this year’s show that you haven’t noticed in the past?

PCMA has been setting up what’s called a “Promenade Area” and it is basically a large ballroom space broken out into smaller pods/exhibit space so that attendees can see exhibitors, have food and beverage items and also attend smaller more intimate breakout topics. It’s an innovative way to bring people together. The education this year was focused on humanity, being a good human, talking to your attendees to see what “they” want, taking care of your employees. It was very human-based this year.

What is the biggest takeaway from this show to share with other planners?

Face-to-face meetings are happening and even with the Omicron variant group RFP’s are being worked on all over the country. Masks, onsite Covid testing mobile app vaccination cards are more and more acceptable ways to have a safe and effective meeting.