With The Special Event & Catersource 2020 starting today in Las Vegas, Nevada we wonder how many event pros have their events industry conferences penciled in for the remainder of the year?
Most corporate event planners book trade shows in large cities throughout the United States and if you’re lucky, you’ll get a two-for-one destination conference. Many industries heavily promote destination business events because they know that busy professionals enjoy attending work events that double into recreational time. In fact, group travel is trending because of the overall experience it delivers attendees.
Traveling to conferences and expos doesn’t always mean an island abroad that’s surrounded in white sand and palm trees. That doesn’t mean it’s not going to be as exciting when they’re being held within the U.S. and it surely doesn’t implicate the value that you’ll walk away with in terms of learning all of the new industry trends and updates.
For event professionals it is so important to be on top of the latest in event design, event management, trending venues, event marketing, and so many other categories. How else will you stay relevant and above your competitors? With that in mind, here are:
Top Events Industry Conferences to Attend in 2020
Whether you’re looking to exhibit at an events industry conference or register as an attendee, the earlier you do it, the better. Pricing is usually higher as the conference date approaches and mostly everyone offers early bird specials with generous discounts. Nonetheless, we’ve included the top events industry conferences for the remainder of the year in chronological order despite how near or far they are scheduled.
Catersource (partnered with The Special Event)
March 9th-12th, 2020 – Las Vegas, Nevada
The next 3 days are going to be packed with over 200 sessions that are structured to go over the best strategies in event transformation and enlightening food service designs. There is no doubt that food plays a major role in the event experience in both the social and corporate events world and Catersource delivers ample access to innovative catering techniques. Enhancing your food landscape will be the aim for those who are registered to attend Catersource!
Skift Europe 2020
April 28th, 2020 - London
Skift is the events industry conference you attend when you mostly produce events for C-suite executives. Since most corporate event planners specialize in a specific niche of the events market, this conference would be of most interest to those who work in the research, travel, and dining sectors. The one-day event will not only focus on the latest in tourism and hospitality developments, but they organize their conference to include both local and worldwide expansions.
The Skift Global Forum will be held in New York City on September 25th-26th, 2020.
EMS2020 and EventTech
May 11th-13th, 2020 – Chicago, Illinois
Come one, come all, to the event marketing conference that has it all! The EMS (Experiential Marketing Summit) and EventTech combines the best of the events and technology industries together to explore top solutions for events. You will be exposed to demonstrations, training, and learn from other event pros while you network at the conference.
As one of the marketing leaders for events, Event Marketer has gathered top sponsors and influential marketers that will help event pros develop the best practices in emerging trends.
C2 Montreal
May 27th-29th, 2020 - Montreal, Canada
Event planners build their brand by networking with professionals in the business, but that doesn’t always come easy. Where it is a seamless process and requires little to no effort is at C2 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. This immersive event takes place over a 3-day period and may be one of the most inspirational events industry conferences around. Here you will develop new and creative solutions for all of your upcoming events. Attendees come from around the globe to collaborate and share non-typical imaginative resolutions for all experiences.
Cvent Connect
June 15th-18th, 2020 – Las Vegas, Nevada
What happens in Vegas?! For the 2nd time this year another events industry conference will take place in Sin City. Cvent Connect is where event professionals gather to find out about all of the cutting-edge technology. Here you’ll be able to rub elbows with the top dogs of the hospitality, meetings, and events industries.
If you’re ever looking to do a walkthrough that will allow you to see events from an attendees’ prospective, then this is the conference to register for. You will not only experience how technology enhances an event experience, but you’ll also be inspired to implement more of it for future events.
IAVM VenueConnect
July 26th-29th, 2020 – Long Beach, California
If you haven’t figured it out, IAVM stands for the International Association of Venue Managers. This conference is a venue manager’s dream (or should be). At VenueConnect you will have the opportunity to network with venue managers while interacting in educational workshops.
At VenueConnect, you will meet the executives that run the top convention centers, performing art centers, stadiums and more. For event planners who work in the large events realm, these are the event pros for you to build rapport with while learning about the best venue practices.
The Event Planner Expo
October 13th- 15th, 2020 – New York, New York
From novice event planners to all the renowned veterans in the social and corporate planning worlds, The Event Planner Expo is where they all come together. Between the prominent speakers to the career-changing workshops, there is no other events industry conference that can compare in value. Event pros from around the country attend The Event Planner Expo each year to open up their chances to connect with all of the most influential event planning professionals.
There is no doubt that you will walk away with new business opportunities, a more augmented creative vision, and new ammo for deploying the most innovative event trends. So, whether you register as an attendee or as an exhibitor the end result will be a sponge of resources to scale your brand and take you to the next level in the events industry.
Registration for The Event Planner Expo is now open to all who wish to attend. There are a variety of deals being offered for all of those who want to take advantage of the early bird specials.
