MIAMI, FL — More than a year after COVID-19 first ravaged the meetings and events industry, the F&D 2021 Top Destination Award-winning Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau (GMCVB) has successfully brought back two in-person meetings in a safe and responsible way.
For the first time since the pandemic hit, a medical meeting in the United States convened in person: The Aesthetic Society hosted its Annual Meeting at the F&D 2021 Prime Site Award-winning Miami Beach Convention Center (MBCC) from April 29 to May 3. The meeting featured 714 in-person attendees, 515 virtual participants and 972 exhibitor representatives for 119 companies. In addition to the 155,000 gross sq. ft. of meeting space booked at the MBCC, 2,400 group room nights were booked and seven private social events were held at the Loews Miami Beach, MBCC, Dolce, The Betsy, The Temple House and The Villa.
“After a year of uncertainty,” says Sue Dykema, CAE, Executive Director of The Aesthetic Society, “we were thrilled to offer our members the opportunity to safely gather with their peers during The Aesthetic Meeting 2021 in Miami Beach. The energy was palpable in the convention center — everyone was eager to connect with their friends and engage with the industry representatives in our Aesthetic Marketplace. In partnership with the Miami Beach Convention Center, we met our goal to create a safe environment for educational opportunities and collaboration. For those not yet ready to travel, we offered a virtual option to join us ‘live’ from home.”
Jewelers International Showcase (JIS), one of the first in-person trade events of the year, saw 170 brands exhibited and nearly 300 retail buyers fill the show floor in the MBCC from March 22-24. During 2020, Reed Exhibitions, owner of JIS, conducted several customer and visitor surveys to understand and determine how to best support them post-pandemic. The decision to move forward with the March Show in Miami Beach was based on direct feedback from the jewelry industry.
Additionally, the GMCVB hosted its well-attended 2021 Annual Meeting and 2021 State of the Industry events at the reimagined MBCC.
“Key to our recovery, we are thrilled to see the events industry coming back to Greater Miami, of course with revised health and safety protocols in place,” William D. Talbert III, CDME, President & CEO of the GMCVB, stated. “We are honored that organizations such as the Aesthetic Society and Jewelers International Showcase have entrusted our great destination to achieve their vision for their respective gatherings.”
“We are, as always, venue ready. The MBCC’s recovery and reopening plans include stringent safety details and protocols regarding things like hand-sanitizing stations, a very robust signage program, and booth placement,” says Freddie Peterson, General Manager of the MBCC. “Coupled with dedicated Health Ambassadors and certified Pandemic Compliance Advisors, the center is Global Biorisk Advisory Council certified, meaning it has the ability to ‘prepare for, respond to and recover from biorisk situations.’ We are gearing up to safely host 12 events alone over the next four months.”
Read the Q&A with Sonia Fong, VP, Convention Sales with the GMCVB, in the F&D 2021 Spring issue.
