Providence is among an elite list of 10 cities that editors of Successful Meetings magazine believe will be the top destinations for meeting and business travel in the future. While cities like Las Vegas and Orlando are hot spots now, the editors say, they won’t be in the future, replaced by the likes of Providence, Anaheim, California and Biloxi, Mississippi.
”We developed the list by looking at elements that transform destinations, such as a lot of hotel development, major new attractions, or airport expansions,” said Julie Barker, Editor-in-Chief of Successful Meetings. “Then, by taking the pulse of people in the know, we confirmed or discarded our theories. For business travelers, the future should be a lot of fun because these are very different cities, not at all the same old places where meetings have been held in the past.”
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The magazine did not give a ranking to its top 10 cities of the future, but listed them alphabetically.
Of Providence it said: “Blame it on the TV show by the same name, but this place has got buzz,” Barker said. The magazine said major development is also attracting attention with “ongoing hotel construction (that) will result in the completion of more than 1,000 new hotel rooms by 2002.”
Joining Providence on the list are: Anaheim, California; Anchorage, Alaska; Austin, Texas; Biloxi, Mississippi; Boston; Central Utah; Charleston, South Carolina; Memphis, Tennessee; and Puerto Rico.
Why Central Utah? Because, the editors said that with the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City, Provo and the rest of the area is just 45 minutes away, and with 3,500 existing and proposed hotel rooms, meeting planners see a great value and numerous recreational opportunities.
Anaheim is the “first city of Disney,” with considerable hotel construction; Anchorage has the hotel space and a “foreign experience” without leaving the country; Austin’s new airport makes it easy to get to; Biloxi is the new home of a $650 million Mirage Resorts; Boston is the more relaxed alternative to larger cities; Charleston is opening a new convention center; Memphis is “heating up”: with a new retail and entertainment center; and tourist center Puerto Rico will lure business meetings with five new properties and a new convention center.
