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April 7-11, 2013. ARDA stands for the American Resort Development Association, and its big focus seems to be timeshare. This is the trade association representing the vacation ownership and resort development industries (i.e. timeshares in ordinary parlance). ARDA has almost 1,000 corporate members ranging from privately held firms to publicly traded corporations with extensive experience in shared ownership interests in leisure real estate. The membership also includes timeshare owner associations (HOAs), resort management companies, industry vendors, suppliers, and consultants; as well as owners, through the ARDA Resort Owners Coalition. The ARDA International Foundation (AIF) offers professional and educational development through publications covering the industry’s ethical, legal, regulatory, and operational intricacies; study courses; and tests that assess industry knowledge. Market intelligence recognizes no “black dates”, apparently…
March 11-14, 2013. At Cruise Shipping Miami boat people could launch new products, unveil services, meet cruise industry buyers and attend conferences covering up-to-date topics on matters relating to Cruise Shipping. No other event, we heard, brings together the international cruise industry like the Cruise Shipping Miami conference and tradeshow. For 30 years, Cruise Shipping Miami has been and continues to be the must-attend event for buyers and suppliers, we heard. This was a stimulating week of innovation, education and networking. CSM 2013 attracted a broad range of industry players and delivered the audience sellers were looking for — cruise industry buyers and decision makers, unlocking business potential across all shipping and related product sectors. Definitely worth “cruising around”…
February 28 – March 2, 2013. These people have a lot of, well… baggage. If you want to reach traveling consumers you’ve got to get your product in front of travel goods retailers, and The Travel Goods Show, we were told, is where that happens. Attendee lists included big retailers like Macy’s and Costco, as well as small, independent travel goods retailers. The new product pavilion was where manufacturers could grab the spotlight for new items, and get the attention of retailers and the press. Samsonite rubbed shoulders with Heys USA, boutique brands such as GUESS Travel and Hartmann, and out-doorsy crossover brands like High Sierra and Thule — hey, mind out who you’re hitting with that oversized backpack rig, bud! Now, if only someone could come up with a suitcase that would find ITSELF in an airport baggage reclaim area….!
January 18-20, 2013. This was the New York Times’ tenth anniversary of hosting the Travel Show, and quite an international celebration it turned out to be. Five cultural stages (for Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean and Global (i.e. rest-of-the-world) featured live performances and culinary presentations from exotic locations everywhere. “Global” turned out to include America’s Everglades National Park and Universal Orlando Resort where, we were reliably informed, you can “Be Courageous, Be Outrageous, and Be Extraordinary”. Industry professionals milled around along with the general public, to a get closer look at domestic and international hot spots, familiar favorites, and esoteric under-the-radar escape destinations that are still relatively crowd-free. Pyongyang, anyone?
January 5-9, 2013. The American Bus Association, or ABA, is a trade association for motorcoach operators and tour companies in the United States and Canada. Its membership consists of about 1,000 companies that operate buses or bus-based tours, about 2,800 organizations representing the travel and tourism industry, and several hundred suppliers of buses and related products and services. The motorcoach, travel and tourism industry claims to be playing a growing role in helping the U.S. economy on its “road” to recovery. The U.S. Travel Association says the total economic impact of the travel and tourism industry is $1.9 trillion, supporting 14.4 million American jobs. Specifically in the motorcoach industry, suppliers and manufacturers employ nearly 1.1 million people and are generating nearly $113 billion in economic activity. So you wouldn’t want to throw it under the bus….
January 3-6, 2013. The New York Boat Show bills itself as being “Progressive”. And why wouldn’t it be? (Except that in this case Progressive is the name of the insurance company that sponsors the whole jamboree). The organization behind the show is the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA), which claims pre-eminence as the world’s largest producer of boat shows. NMMA is the association that represents the $39.5 billion-per-year recreational boating industry. Member companies produce over 80 percent of the boats, engines, trailers, accessories and gear used by boaters and anglers in the U.S.A. The Boat Show is a once-a-year opportunity to compare makes and models, secure insurance and financing, and gear up with the latest accessories. And yes, there was quite a lot of ‘showboating’ going on…
Nov. 13-16, 2012. IAAPA is the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, so holding their conference and expo a stone’s throw away from Walt Disney World’s Epcot theme park was sort of appropriate. Indeed, a panel of theme-park industry “legends” debated an interesting question: What happens when the future catches up with Epcot as that “futuristic” icon celebrates its 30th anniversary? When objects, concepts and products the industry once dreamed about are now a reality …well, what’s a theme park to do? “What we think about Epcot now is not so much predicting the future, but inspiring generations to move into the future, make it their own, and have an optimistic view of it,” said Eric Jacobson, who oversees all of Walt Disney World’s creative development for Walt Disney Imagineering. So, those people who say the future isn’t what it used to be? They turned out to be wrong…
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