Getting Down to Business
The main purpose of the Small Market Meetings Conference is to bring together hundreds of meeting planners and destination representatives at two fast-paced marketplace sessions. A typical planner will hold dozens of six-minute one-on-one meetings with industry representatives so the two sides can exchange contact information and pitch their needs and solutions. It is a great way for both sides to begin a potentially profitable business relationship.
For example, at the 2017 Small Market Meetings Conference in South Bend, Indiana, planners told Small Market Meetings magazine they came with specific agendas to help them find the best sites and facilities for their meetings.
“We have 400,000 members,” said Adrienne Tucker of the Chicago office of the American Bar Association. “We hold many meetings, and I am responsible for about 30 a year. I want to connect with smaller cities and markets and, hopefully, have meetings in them.”
Convention and visitors bureaus from across the country send representatives to promote their cities as meetings destinations.
“We are looking for meeting planners who want a smaller market, which is indeed what we are,” said Victoria Matthews of the Fredericksburg [Virginia] Regional Tourism Partnership. “We looked at the profiles of the planners who were coming here and got appointments with those who seemed most appropriate for meetings in Fredericksburg.”
Ontario Food, Fun, Sights
The conference’s host city always treats delegates to dinner and entertainment, and attendees won’t be disappointed when they get to Ontario. On the first night, the CVB will host a walk-around reception/dinner with heavy hors d’oeuvres in the Ontario Convention Center. The second night’s dinner will take place at an amusing place called Big Al’s, described as a sort of Chuck E. Cheese but designed for adults. Big Al’s offers bowling, classic and modern games, bars, restaurants and 55 giant TV screens.
Sightseeing is always part of the second day’s conference agenda. Delegates will be given their choice of three short jaunts around the area. One tour will be to the Ontario Museum of History and Art, which presents local and traveling exhibits. Delegates will learn more about Southern California, its people, history, culture and legacy. A second tour option is a visit to the ever-popular Ontario Mills, one of the largest shopping centers in the country. About 28 million people visit it every year.
“Many world travelers flock there,” said Larry Kaufman, director of sales for the CVB. “The Chinese even have a name for the place — 10 Doors — because there are 10 entrances to Ontario Mills.” The center is oval shaped and has 10 distinctive shopping “neighborhoods.” A total of 200 stores feature men’s, women’s and children’s clothing; footwear; jewelry; sporting goods; and a lot more. A third tour is being organized by the CVB and will have a surprise theme.
There are no scheduled pre- or post-FAM tours during the Small Market Meetings Conference. However, the Ontario CVB staff will be glad to provide plenty of contacts and inside information for any side trips delegates want to take on their own before or after the conference. Delegates visiting in the past have come early or stayed late to see a sports event, a concert or a family show at Citizens Business Bank Arena, which can seat 11,000 people and stages some 125 events each year.
