How to Make a Destination Part of Your Event

How many times have you been to an event where you arrived in the city and never left the hotel or convention hall?  Don’t be “that” event; take advantage of your host city’s rich history and flavor.  

Here are a few tips for incorporating your destination in a way that will result in top notch engagement and raving reviews.

1. Focus on Food
2. Leave time for exploring
3. Incorporate moments worthy of social media posts

Focus on Food

Who isn’t a self-proclaimed “foodie” these days? According to a recent article from Time Magazine, restaurant spend is rising at levels this country hasn’t seen since 1992. As Americans we spend a good chunk of our disposable income on restaurants. This is a statistic not to be ignored when planning an event.

To see what’s hot in your destination city, follow a food blogger or ask a local. Everyone knows Chicago is famous for deep dish pizza, but ask a native and they’ll tell you there’s so much more the city has to offer in terms of local flavor. Travelers are savvier these days so they want insider knowledge of what’s trendy and good.

To accommodate a wide range of food preferences, food trucks are wildly popular as are cooking demos/competitions that utilize local ingredients. Add a beer or wine tasting to an evening event and you’ve got a winner.

Leave time for exploring and connecting

It’s easy to fall into the trap of cramming as much content as you can into an agenda, but there is a huge value in getting everyone out of a meeting room.

Time and time again when polling meeting attendees the resounding feedback is that the most valuable aspect was connecting with counterparts. Providing options for your attendees in terms of evening activities will yield the greatest satisfaction. No one wants to be forced into attending a screaming rock band if they’d rather be exploring a local art gallery and vice versa.

Don’t want to do a planned activity? Simply providing suggestions from locals will allow your attendees to connect with the city as they choose.

Incorporate post-worthy moments

Everyone has that one friend who travels for work posting selfies and snapshots of their glamorous adventures. #businesstripapproved #bestjobever #workingvacation Millennials in particular are seeking opportunities for social currency….so give it to them!  Can’t take the team to the Statue of Liberty? Bring it to them in the form of a backdrop and watch your attendees ham it up in front of a camera.

Between local flavor, time for connecting, and social media worthy moments you’re well on your way to using your destination to boost engagement and satisfaction.