In late October, representatives from Meetings Mean Business Canada (MMB Canada) visited Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary to connect with business events industry executives and continue building support for the pan-association coalition.
The coalition, which advocates on behalf of the business events industry, was represented by Grant Snider, CEO of Meeting Escrow and current chair of MMB Canada; Reggie Lang, business development manager, Groups, Conventions and Incentive Travel, WestJet; and Heidi Welker, senior vice-president, Business Development and Industry Partnerships, Freeman Audio Visual Canada. Meetings were hosted by the Vancouver Convention Centre, the SHAW Conference Centre Edmonton and the Calgary TELUS Convention Centre.
Over the two days of meetings, Snider, Lang and Welker reported on the momentum the coalition has had since its relaunch in January 2017 and how it is fast becoming the single advocacy voice for business events in Canada working in tandem with the Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC). The coalition has raised over $100,000 of initial funding and counts more than 100 industry executive leaders among its supporters.
“We went to Western Canada at the start of our outreach campaign because it’s crucial we have cross-Canada support from the entire business events industry for this initiative,” Snider explained. “Without a single unifying voice, we’re a series of isolated, random noises and our industry goes with the advocacy it deserves as a highly significant net contributor to the Canadian economy. We generate $27 to $30 billion annually in direct spending and employ over 341,000 people in well-paying, full-time jobs, yet we are largely invisible to elected officials and policy-makers.”
To learn more about MMB Canada and view the current supporter list visit https://www.meetingsmeanbusiness.ca/supporters
About Meetings Mean Business Canada
Meetings Mean Business Canada, the first coalition to execute the Meeting Mean Business licensing agreement, was formed to advocate on behalf of the Canadian business events industry. The MMB Canada board is actively reaching out to key industry stakeholders across all sectors of the industry to transform the coalition into a proactive, well-funded advocacy movement with strong connections to federal, provincial and municipal governments.
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