2014 Member Seminar Post Event Report

Oct 31, 2014

NEW YORK, NY, USA - The 2014 Member Seminar, held October 19-22 in New York City, drew 185 participants, of which 126 were WTC delegates representing 76 Cities. This number represents a ten-delegate increase compared to 2013.

This year’s Member Seminar, titled “Tools for Trade”, unveiled new initiatives intended to: strengthen our network through online communications tools; help drive revenue for WTCs; and better connect WTC business members. WTCA management highlighted numerous new Online initiatives including the:

Membership Application
Resource Center
Reciprocity Desk
Basic Certification

Member participation was the major focus of the Seminar, with the program featuring multiple “Q&A” sessions with WTCA executives, a B2B platform focus group, and presentations by established WTCs on different revenue generation methods to leverage.

The event also featured a Welcome Reception showcasing an authentic New York Doo-Wop band, a Philippines-themed Happy Hour ramping up for the Spring 2014 General Assembly in Manila, a trip down memory lane with a Motown Broadway show, and a Farewell Open House lunch at the WTCA offices. A special touch was the visit to the September 11 National Museum.

91% of surveyed participants answered that they were either very satisfied or satisfied with the 2014 Member Seminar.

WTCA thanks our 2014 Member Seminar Sponsors:

HSBC
Philippines Department of Tourism
Reed Exhibitions
Business Monitor International

For detailed presentations of the below “Tools for Trade” sessions, please visit the WTCA Resource Center.

OPENING SESSION

Eric Dahl’s CEO Update focused on the Association’s current financial situation, a regional overview of WTC Licenses, digital platform updates, and 2015 priorities. Senior Marketing Strategist Julia Knoke presented the recently launched online tools: Resource Center, Membership Application, Newsletter, and Advanced Search.

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TOOLS FOR EXCELLENCE

This session reinforced that the “backbone” of our global WTCA network is Reciprocity. Future WTCA initiatives designed to stimulate, standardize, evaluate and track Reciprocity were described and discussed during this session, including:

Reciprocity Desk
InfoShare Form
Basic Certification
B2B Platform (Focus Group format)

WTCA thanks WTC Greater Philadelphia and WTC Winnipeg for their contributions to the programs and to the presentation.

TOOLS FOR REVENUE GENERATION

This Member-driven session featured WTC representatives from Buffalo Niagara, Lille-Arras, and Nanjing. They discussed revenue-generating products and services that work for them, and how they could be leveraged and adapted for other WTCs. WTCA announced a new FREE resource for Members: Customs and Etiquette Briefs for over 100 countries, to be available November 15th.

CHRIS YOUNG, "DESTINATION: PHILIPPINES"

In preparation for the upcoming General Assembly in Manila, Philippines, International Protocol Specialist Chris Young gave an informative and enthusiastic overview of Filipino business culture and etiquette.

REGIONAL MEETINGS

As per our usual format, three regional meeting were held during the event: EMEA, Asia Pacific, and Americas. Presentations and notes from each meeting can be found on the Resource Center.

Need assistance accessing the Resource Center? Contact Julia Knoke at jknoke@wtca.org. Forgot your wtca.org log-in? Contact Deviki Gupta at dgupta@wtca.org.