Rx: Meet with Inspiration in New Orleans

Information soars across cyberspace and appears on portable communication devices, laptop computers and Tablet PC’s so quickly that keeping up with your electronic in-box can be a daunting task. Our world moves at a faster pace than ever before and worker productivity is at an all time high. Still, the amount of hours in a day is the same for everyone. 24 Hours. No more, no less.

Time is constant but change keeps no clock and occurs when we least expect it. Change… It’s for certain. The equation of time plus change in the business landscape equals companies working to bring new products to market, providing educational information to their customers and sales forces while simultaneously planning strategically for the future and allocating resources for research and development.

In an economic model all of this sounds straightforward. However; in real time, successfully managing global and national events, the cost of brining a product to market, expiring patents, growing new product pipelines and allocating resources to keep up with changes are just a few of the continually evolving factors experienced by the pharmaceutical industry today.

Standard industry practice is to conduct product launches and knowledge seminars, investigator meetings, continuing education courses, executive strategy sessions, board meetings and divisional staff meetings as part of the effort to educate, train and market products. The common denominators among all of these events are that they require human capital and time to develop and successfully execute.

Why New Orleans

The New Orleans Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau and its member partners have demonstrated to attendees, meeting planning professionals and senior executives that our destination is ideally suited for hosting corporate short-term events that are shaped by the ever changing demands of the business climate, usually under tight time constraints. Delta Airlines, IBM, Continental Airlines, Coca-Cola, Anheuser-Busch Companies, Volkswagen and other corporations have hosted or soon will host corporate meetings in New Orleans.

Video and written testimonials from clients such as Maritz Travel Company and Avaya can be viewed by following this link: http://www.neworleanscvb.com/static/index.cfm/
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Why the New Orleans Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau?

The NOMCVB is the destination solution for sourcing all aspects of meetings, conventions, product launches and educational seminars. From multi-property and multi-venue programs to small intimate meetings for boards, advisory and steering committees, the CVB team provides meeting planning professionals with complete destination information, without service or sourcing fees and turnkey resources respective of their deadlines.

We’re continually evaluating and realigning our resources to meet the needs of the ever changing corporate landscape. As the driving force behind New Orleans’ most important industry, our depth of experience and broad reach within the community compliments the true partnership we form with our clients that is focused on achieving their meeting and convention ROE (Return on Event) objectives.

Our member community consists of world-class convention facilities, a broad spectrum of hotels, restaurants, destination management companies, venues, transportation suppliers, audio visual companies and a full compliment of hospitality professionals focused on executing events of all sizes.

We are Not Strangers to Change

The meetings and conventions industry in New Orleans and the citizens of the City know a great deal about change. We’ve weathered the effects of 2005 and have successfully seen the return of conventions, the Louisiana Superdome, big-ticket sporting events and the re-opening of grand hotels, including renovation works to a large portion of the downtown hotel population and convention facilities…all resulting in the resurgence of the New Orleans experience with assured continued progress.

By the Numbers

Conventions and meetings returned to New Orleans in 2006 building upon the success of large citywide association programs, major cultural and sporting events and short-term corporate programs. The City has successfully retained 70% of convention and meetings business for 2007 and over 90% for 2008 and is well positioned for welcoming meetings of all sizes. Two major citywide meetings, The American College of Cardiology and Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society will again return and host their conventions in New Orleans this spring attracting pharmaceutical companies as exhibitors who will first hand experience the soulful resilience of the Crescent City.

What the Travel Experts Say

In offering a preview of what travelers can expect in 2007 in its January issue, in which it names up-and-coming destinations and trends, Travel + Leisure included New Orleans among its choices, with Alexandria, Egypt; Quito Ecuador and Istria, Croatia. In the issue, Travel + Leisure wrote: “Less than 18 months after Hurricane Katrina, much of New Orleans is back and ready for visitors. Revamped favorites and interesting newcomers are contributing to the second act of one of America’s favorite cities.”

The magazine also commented on visitor growing interest in helping with the city’s recovery writing: “For travelers who want to play a more direct part in the Crescent City’s renaissance, ‘voluntourism’ opportunities abound.”

Voluntourism

Many corporations are drawn to New Orleans for the wealth of “voluntourism” opportunities available during meetings to expand strategic philanthropic and branding efforts. The work undertaken by those helping to rebuild communities has been immensely rewarding for the volunteers, corporations, associations and recipients. From constructing homes in the Musician’s Village in the Lower 9th Ward to being a part of rebuilding City Park, one of the largest public parks in the country, to humanitarian work in schools and hospitals, The NOMCVB team will assist in finding the right community service project for your organization and coordinate initial communication between the corporation and organization leaders.

Vice President of Industry Relations

The New Orleans Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau was the first bureau in the nation to create an executive level position devoted to representing the interest of the professional meeting planner. Donna Karl, CMP a former meetings professional with the American Academy of Pediatrics has earned the planning industry’s respect through a long career in which she excelled as a professional planner. Completely focused on the needs of our meeting planning partners, she continually provides counsel and guidance to planning professionals across a broad scope of subject matter.

Our Team

While our core corporate sales organization and executive leadership are located in New Orleans, we’ve expanded our satellite team from offices in Chicago and Washington, DC to include New York to better serve the needs of our clients. The NOMCVB corporate team is the single point of contact for sourcing all elements of meeting programs to the destination member community and is focused on providing holistic responses based on customer driven criteria.

We’re Jazzed You’re Here

Our award winning meeting and convention service team works along with your programming team to ensure that the planning and execution of the event is as seamless as possible. Our signature program, We’re Jazzed You’re Here was designed to ensure planners, executives and delegates alike experience the welcoming hospitality New Orleans is so well known for.

Compact Geographic Landscape

One of the most important factors in planning events that require multiple hotels and venues is the amount of time spent transporting attendees. The unique footprint of New Orleans and the proximity of hotels to the Convention Center, French Quarter and major restaurants is why New Orleans has been a favorite location for events of all sizes. As one the most walkable cities in America, New Orleans offers a complete destination experience because of its compact geography. 140 hotels offering over 29,500 hotel rooms are located in the metropolitan area with over 90 of those hotels concentrated in the downtown area.

Convention Facilities

The state-of-the-art Convention Center contains a dedicated amphitheatre and adjacent meeting space and has recently completed an estimated $60 million dollar renovation. The newly restored Superdome and New Orleans Arena provide flexible meeting, exhibition, concert and sporting facilities all in downtown New Orleans and within walking distance to major hotels and attractions.

Our corporate team will research convention facility and venue availability then source date selection to the member hotel community ensuring harmony between venue and hotel dates. The end result is a single, concise record of availability provided by the CVB team to the meeting planning professional.

Return on Event

We know the real work begins once the meeting has been confirmed and we also know how important meetings are to your organization’s bottom line. Education, communication, brand building, team building, information sharing and getting the word out are what our communication programs are all about. We provide multiple faceted marketing and public relations tools that provide our clients with a full spectrum of services designed to help build attendance and awareness.

New Orleans is a unique city that evokes images of history, food and fun. The more your attendees learn about the city, the more they will want to come.

Electronic Response Solutions

Our online request for proposal allows planners to submit complete meeting specifications including hotel, venue, destination management and recreational requirements through a single electronic request for proposal.
http://www.neworleanscvb.com/rfp/index.cfm/sectionID/3/
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Unique Destination Appeal

New Orleans continues to be one of America’s most authentic and unique cities. Contributing to the authenticity of the city are the restaurants, venues, neighborhoods, special events, museums and distinctive culture that truly embodies the New Orleans experience.

• Restaurants and Venues
  According to the Louisiana Restaurant Association, there are approximately 700 restaurants open in Orleans parish alone, including the restaurants in the French Quarter, downtown, Warehouse Arts District, Garden District and Uptown New Orleans.
  
  From small dinners among business colleagues to large company events, the New Orleans restaurant community is world renowned for consistently achieving food excellence.
• Special Events
  Welcoming large crowds efficiently has been a long tradition in New Orleans. Mardi Gras, The Jazz and Heritage Festival, The French Quarter Festival and The Zurich PGA classic events are attended annually by national and international travelers alike.
• Cultural Activities
  The historic French Quarter is home to some of the most uniquely European influenced architecture featuring buildings, townhouses, hidden courtyards and galleries from the 17th and 18th centuries.
  
  The National World War II Museum, The Contemporary Arts Center, The Historic New Orleans Collection, The New Orleans Museum of Art, the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra and Le Petit Theatre all enhance the New Orleans artistic experience.
• Sporting Activities
  Sporting options include award winning golf, fishing, professional football, baseball and basketball and gaming, many taking place at the Louisiana Superdome and New Orleans arena.

Experience New Orleans

New Orleans continues to be, in many ways, better than ever. Chefs are cooking, musicians are playing, there is a renewed sense of appreciation for our rich history and culture, and that authentic, sensory experience people have come to love that is New Orleans is very much alive. Forever New Orleans...Where Soul is Waterproof.

The New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau www.neworleanscvb.com