This Week's Herman Trend Alert Demand-Driven Workforce Development

The Herman Trend Alert May 2, 2007 International Associations Favor US for Meetings In a study released last week in Amsterdam by the International Congress & Convention Association (ICCA), the United States was the country with the most international meetings for the third year in a row. The US hosted 414 international meetings. Germany was a not so close second at 334 with Britain following at 279, and France and Spain almost tying for fourth and fifth at 269 and 266. It's easy to understand why international association meeting professionals favored the US. The dollar is down against most other currencies of the world and there has not been a terrorist incident on US soil since September 11, 2001. However, it did surprise us that no US metro areas made it into the ten most popular cities for meetings. We had at least expected Las Vegas or Orlando to make the list. The number one city for international meetings was Vienna, the same as in 2005, and Paris jumped four places to take the number-two spot. The rest of the top ten destinations for 2006, in order, were : Singapore, Barcelona, Berlin, Budapest, Seoul, Prague, and Copenhagen and Lisbon in a tie. In sequence, the balance of the top ten countries is Italy, Brazil, Austria, Australia, and The Netherlands. To gather this data, ICCA researchers identified 5,838 events that took place in 2006, an increase of 523 events over 2005. To a degree, the boost in the number of meetings mirrors the strength of the market, but it also is due to a record number of association members that submitted their event information, thus adding more meetings. Rankings cover meetings and conventions organized by international associations that take place regularly and rotate between a minimum of three countries. For various reasons, the attractiveness of the dollar and relative safety this country offers trumps the negative reputation the US has acquired among the developed countries of the world. Our expectation is that there will be a continued increase in the number of international meetings in the US, until the value of the dollar increases or there is another major terrorist event in North America. © Copyright 1998-2008 by The Herman Group, Inc. -- reproduction for publication is encouraged, with the following attribution: From "The Herman Trend Alert," by Roger Herman and Joyce Gioia, Strategic Business Futurists. (800) 227-3566 or http://www.hermangroup.com. The Herman Trend Alert is a trademark of The Herman Group, Inc." DON'T BE LEFT BEHIND! If you've been thinking about attending our valuable Employee Retention Specialist Certificate Program, don't delay--only three spaces remain. With the employment market heating up, many positions are literally impossible to fill. Attend this course and you will learn dozens of low-/no-cost valuable strategies to attract and retain the talent you need. Recertification credit from HRCI. Next program: May 22-23, Charleston, SC. Call Carol at 336-282-9370 or visit http://www.employeeretentionspecialist.com. GET INSIDE THE MINDS OF YOUR EMPLOYEES Find out what's really going on inside the hearts and minds of your employees. Our InnerViews interviewing service uses SPHRs and PHRs, certified human resource professionals to probe for the information you really need to know. Exit and Stay Interviews, as well as Why-Didn't-You-Take-Our-Offer Interviews. Call Rosalie Catalano at 937-648-1918 or read more at: http://www.hermangroup.com/retentionconnection/exit_interviews.html. NEW BABY BONUS Book Joyce to speak on the West Coast in 2008 and receive 100 of her books of your choosing. There is a new baby in the family, Spencer Jay, and Joyce would appreciate more opportunities to watch him grow. For more about Joyce, visit http://www.hermangroup.com/joyce.html or call Joyce at 336-210-3548. Herman Trend Alerts are produced by the Herman Group, strategic business futurists, Certified Management Consultants, authors, and professional speakers. New subscribers are welcome. There is no charge for this public service. The Herman Trend Alert is received by over 30,000 subscribers in 78 countries, in addition to other websites and printed magazines. Do you enjoy receiving this weekly e-mail update? Contact us about our co-branded Trend Alert service. Click here to sign up for the Herman Trend Alert. Subscribe or Unsubscribe to weekly Herman Trend Alert View this week's Herman Trend Alert Archived Weekly Herman Trend Alerts

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