Indianapolis Tries to Attract Conventions From Europe

Sotiris H. Avgoustis, chair and associate professor of the IU Department of Tourism, Conventions and Event Management at IUPUI, recently touted the assets of Indianapolis at an international meetings conference in Greece. A meeting planner from the United Kingdom is already showing interest.

Source: Inside INdiana Business

Press Release

Last week, Sotiris H. Avgoustis, PhD, who is Chair and Associate Professor of the IU Department of Tourism, Conventions and Event Management at IUPUI, spoke on behalf of Indianapolis at the second International Meetings Industry Conference (IMIC 2006), in Athens, Greece.

His keynote presentation was titled "The history of Indianapolis as an Emerging Meeting, Conventions and Exhibition Destination". He shared with 350 conference participants from Europe the steps our city took beginning in the 1960s to transform itself into a world-class convention destination. Participants were impressed by the level of cooperation between business leaders, local politicians and the Indianapolis community that resulted in the development of an infrastructure that allows Indianapolis to capitalize on its geographic location.

Following the presentation, a meeting planner from the United Kingdom asked for a copy so that he could share it with other meeting planners in the UK.

MICE tourism is the new buzzword in international tourism markets and relates to various forms of business tourism associated with groups of business individuals rather than individual business travelers. MICE stand for meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions. As international trends suggest, MICE tourism is the fastest growing tourism sector and it is expected to continue to grow past 2010.

The Indianapolis Convention & Visitors Association assisted Dr. Avgoustis in his presentation. Dr. Avgoustis is an acknowleged expert in the tourism/hospitality industry and his program at IUPUI is growing rapidly.

Source: Indianapolis Convention & Visitors Association