Industry thought leader and veteran hotel executive Michael Dominguez, President & CEO of Associated Luxury Hotels International (ALHI), shared his expert view of the state of our industry and its present trajectory. ALHI serves as the global sales and marketing extension for more than 250 global hotels and resorts, cruise lines, and destinations management companies. His message was clear: While the travel industry recovery has been uneven when comparing urban to resort destinations, the recovery has arrived for most of the country. Michael also reiterated that the luxury travel segment is booming with no signs of a retreat.

Among the good news we shared:

• Our Meet Minneapolis team set a new, all-time record in generating 579,000 future group hotel room nights for Minneapolis in 2023.
• We are in the midst of hosting more than 13,000 American Physical Society attendees at the MCC.
  • We don’t typically have big conventions in the first quarter.
  • And that’s just the start of an extremely busy year in Minneapolis for meetings, conventions and events.
• We anticipate well over 100,000 visitors to Minneapolis this year for three big sporting events taking place – Big Ten Women’s and Men’s Basketball Tournaments and USA Gymnastics Olympic Trials.

More specifically around that last point, there is great collaboration between Meet Minneapolis, other area destination marketing organizations, and Minnesota Sports and Events (MNSE). MNSE, our region’s major sports events marketing organization, was founded in 2020.

At our Annual Meeting, Wendy Blackshaw, MNSE CEO, and Lester Bagley, MNSE executive board member, provided updates on major events currently being recruited as well as those already coming to our area. The crown jewel is the USA Gymnastics 2024 Olympic Trials and a variety of related ancillary events taking place in June. Activations will take place throughout our region with major events scheduled at Target Center and the MCC. NBC is the exclusive broadcast partner for this and other Olympic Trials. It is an unprecedented opportunity to be a part of the Olympic movement and receive the notoriety that will come to our community.

We were also pleased to report on two major initiatives that will move the needle for our industry. The Minneapolis Tourism Improvement District (TID) project is well underway. This is a hotel-led initiative that would provide supplemental tourism funding designed to drive additional positive results for our community. A task force of hotel general managers is currently working on the parameters for a Minneapolis TID with implementation expected later this year.

Work has also commenced on a new destination plan, “Destination Minneapolis: Charting the Future of Minneapolis Tourism.” This will provide us with a strategic road map for the future by aligning the public, private and civic sectors around a shared tourism vision. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey is chair of the board steering committee. The goal is to identify what Minneapolis needs to remain competitive in the meetings, events, and visitor markets for the next 10 years and beyond.

As we work to change perceptions and have a positive impact on our community, hosting major events plays a leading role. Our Meet Minneapolis team and our partners are proud to welcome visitors to our city who have not been here in a long time or maybe at all. Perceptions often change when people see the evidence with their own eyes.

Meet Minneapolis is poised to be your trusted partner in continuing to grow our industry. Thank you for your support and please be on the lookout for more relevant updates that will help you in your planning.