Third Tier? How about the Third World

Planners Talk about the logistical challenges of planning meetings in third-tier cities, but what about third-world countries?

In June, Washington, D.C.-based Courtesy Associates planned a meeting in Kigali, Rwanda, for the U.S. State Department's HIV/AIDS relief program. The meeting — for researchers and medical practitioners engaged in the implementation of HIV/AIDS programs in Africa — was attended by 1,700 people. It was the largest meeting ever held there, and the most challenging for Courtesy.

“In terms of hospitality infrastructure, Rwanda is underdeveloped, and the strain on resources challenged our expertise as well as our resources,” says Sheila Stampfli, president of Courtesy. With only three hotels in Kigali, Courtesy used 100 housing venues, including apartments, dorm rooms, and private residences, some on dirt roads. Because of the lack of hotel function space, general sessions were held under a tent, where the generators kept shutting off. But in the end, it was a rewarding experience for attendees and locals.

Bulletins:

  • By the first quarter of 2008, StarCite expects to have a new travel-booking feature: a dire ct link to Orbitz for Business and Travelport for Business from its attendee-management application.

  • McCormick Place West in Chicago opened in August. The facility has 740,000 square feet of space and is connected by enclosed walkway to McCormick Place.

         Subscribe in NewsGator Online   Subscribe in Bloglines

Want to use this article? Click here for options!
© 2008 Penton Media Inc.

Meetings Collaborative

Rate your experience with meeting venues and suppliers.

Facility / Hotel

 
Powered by: Meetings Collaborative

The Meeting Planning Blog

Face2Face Latest Posts

Digital Edition on MeetingsNet

Apex Webinars

Creating Green-Meetings Standards

An industrywide effort to produce achievable, voluntary standards for greener meetings and events is under way. The Accepted Practices Exchange (APEX), an initiative of the Convention Industry Council, is working with the Environmental Protection Agency and ASTM International Standards to create baseline guidelines that both meeting managers and the hospitality community can embrace. Join us for a free webinar.


View it Now! | View APEX Archives

Webinars

What Meeting Planners Need to Know to Manage E-Meetings

Virtual meetings save time and money, get a thumbs-up from the “green” crowd, and offer new ways for companies and organizations to communicate, market, and sell. It’s time for meeting managers to start booking and managing them.
View it Now | View Archived Webinars

CVB Supplement 2008

The Changing Face of CVBs

Featuring:
*Changing Face of CVB's
*CVB's Go Green

·Go to Digital Edition

Recent Comments

Powered by Disqus

Back to Top

Explore Our Newsletters

Meeting Planner Survival Guide

NEW & IMPROVED! Whether you're a novice planner or a veteran, this compilation of must-read articles is your meeting planning resource.

Pharma Meeting Management Forums

Pharmaceutical Meeting Management Forums-Medical Meetings and the Center for Business Intelligence present two conferences, West Coast, Dec. 8-9, in San Diego, and East Coast, March 29-31, in Baltimore.

Suppliers/
Facilities/CVBs

MeetingsNet makes it easy to find the CVBs, tourist boards, and facilities you need for your next meeting.

Deals &
Discounts

Special group hotel offers brought to you by MeetingsNet.

Find A Job

Targeted to all aspects of the hospitality and special events industry.

Education
Central

Upcoming Events, Live and Online

Inside Current Issue

Association Meetings

October 2008 AM

CMI October 2008

November 2008 CMI

FIM November

November 2008 FIM

Dec 2008 Medcial Meetings

December 2008

RCM Oct 2008

October 2008

Browse Back Issues