Pow-Wow is set for a ‘humdinger’

TravelMole MD Graham McKenzie reflects on the success of this year’s show and looks forward to the next…

"The last few remaining delegates at International Pow Wow should be home by now, the Mardi gras beads stored in the draw marked ‘seemed a good idea at the time’, the beignets digested and the jazz still ringing in the ears.

Attendees at IPW16 will almost certainly agree with me when I say that it was without doubt a successful conference.

Once again the people at Travel USA have pulled the cat out of the bag with enormous help from the local visitor and convention bureau in New Orleans.

It was especially impressive given that the time given to get ready was much shorter than normal. We already know where IPW will be in 2024, but New Orleans was given just 18 months to prepare when Miami dropped out.

New Orleans could be just about the ideal convention location with its large modern facilities, numerous hotels with easy access and of course the magnificent entertainment. Food, music and sport are all well represented within the city boundaries and most of it in walking distance. Bourbon Street is a unique experience and one that should not be missed with its heady mixture of street art, music, food and of course specialist cocktails.

IPW16 posted a record 105,000 pre-scheduled business meetings during the event’s five days, which is expected to bring $4.7 billion in direct bookings to US destinations over the next three years.

There were more than 6,000 attendees from 73 countries, including over 1,300 international and domestic travel buyers at IPW, with a large increase in delegates from South America and Asia. The only sector that was slightly down was the number of media delegates. The conference is appointment-based mixed with lots of entertainment, parties, dinners plus pre and post fams. Even the lunch breaks, which are strictly timed, have top dollar acts including this year Gladys Knight, Broadway Musicals and Bare Naked Ladies. Generally a good and productive time is had by all.

This year, however, events were overshadowed by the horror a few days before in Orlando when a 29-year-old American killed 49 people and wounded 53 others with a semi-automatic rifle and a semi-automatic pistol inside Pulse, a gay nightclub.

Almost each public speaking opportunity was preceded by thoughts, prayers and declaration of love and strength to the victims of the atrocity. Given that this act of violence was in the heart of tourist USA, this type of outpouring was no surprise and indeed was welcomed. What was more of a surprise was the apparent reluctance of the various tourism powers including Travel USA to join more vociferously the lobby for stronger gun control laws, especially when related to the mass slaughter weapons that, like the automatic used in Pulse, can fire 24 shots in 9 seconds. Yet when asked this question in the press conference, by myself, no such support was forthcoming.

Other potential issues on the horizon, such as the presidential race in November, and the effect of success for the ‘wrong candidate’ might have on travel to the USA were also given short thrift. This is much more understandable as nobody wants to come out publicly against somebody that in six months’ time might be your boss.

Despite this International Pow Wow is set fair for the future with next year’s show set to be a humdinger as it is going to be in the nation’s capital Washington DC where it will be #MYDCcool."