Business Events Update - February 2024
Driving Demand for Business Events
BLLT successfully secured the bid for Meetings and Incentives (m&i) Luxe America, scheduled for March 2025 at Chateau Lake Louise. This event will gather 200 elite incentive buyers and suppliers, maintaining an equal ratio. With a significant portion of buyers from the US and 20% from the UK and European Markets, it will be one of our largest hosted programs to date! Building on the success of our previous m&i event in 2017, we anticipate a considerable return on investment.
Banff and Lake Louise’s In-Destination Hosting Gains Media Attention
Eight members’ winter offerings were showcased in Meetings & Incentive Travel Magazine’s “Canada’s winter incentive pulls out all the stops.” The piece highlighted diverse winter experiences beyond skiing, emphasizing Indigenous experiences and sustainable practices. BIZ Bash published, “Banff in the Winter? Trust Us — It Makes for a Can't-Miss Meeting Destination” targeting US meeting planners and featuring several members.
Maximizing Market Presence: Corridor Strategy and Canada Market representation
Our corridor strategy with Tourism Calgary (TC) yielded two significant benefits. As part of a TC business development trip, 10 association and corporate clients from the US and Canada were given the chance to visit Banff for a day. For minimal investment on our part, this enabled participants to experience what our destination can offer for their future events. We also benefited from TC’s participation in The Council of Engineering and Scientific Society Executives (CESSE) CEO Forum.
During Ottawa Meet Week 2024, we participated in Destination Direct, targeting the Canadian Association market. We have received two requests for proposals for our destination, with more anticipated in the coming months.
Community Impact Program gains momentum
The BLLT Community Impact Program has resulted in $2000 invested in destination initiatives and $95 donated to two charities. Three more programs in Q2 will deliver even greater impact.
We collaborated with Fairmont on a Winter Business Development Trip in which we showcased our CIP cards to meeting planners, illustrating their potential for future events. All participants gave the destination a perfect 5/5 rating, expressing intent to include the CIP in future programs and commenting on how it aligns with modern event organization principles, focusing on giving back rather than traditional gifts.
Read more about our Community Impact Program.
Climbing the Global Destination Sustainability Index
Global Destination Sustainability Academy has launched the 2024 GDS Index, featuring 77 criteria across Environmental, Social, Supplier, and DMO categories. We are collaborating with Parks Canada, Town of Banff, BLLHA, and our members to boost the destination's score in 2024.