Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau Leads the Way With 2 Major In-Person Events This Spring at the Miami Beach Convention Center

As the industry moves more and more to meet in person, Miami supports two “firsts” post-pandemic

Miami, Florida (May 2021): Its May 2021, more than a year after the COVID pandemic first ravaged the meetings and events industry, and the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau (GMCVB) has already successfully brought back not one, but two in person meetings in a safe and responsible way. For the first time since the pandemic hit, a medical meeting in the United States convened in person – The Aesthetic Society hosted their annual meeting at the Miami Beach Convention Center from April 29 to May 3.

The annual meeting featured 714 in-person attendees, 515 virtual participants and 972 exhibitor representatives for 119 companies. In addition to the 155,000 gross meeting space booked at the MBCC, 2,400 group room nights were booked by attendees and seven private social events were held at the Loews Miami Beach, Miami Beach Convention Center, Dolce, The Betsy, The Temple House, and The Villa.

“After a year of uncertainty,” says Sue Dykema, CAE, executive director of The Aesthetic Society, “we were thrilled to offer our members the opportunity to safely gather with their peers during The Aesthetic Meeting 2021 in Miami Beach! The energy was palpable in the convention center – everyone was eager to connect with their friends and engage with the industry representatives in our Aesthetic Marketplace. In partnership with the Miami Beach Convention Center, we met our goal to create a safe environment for educational opportunities and collaboration. For those not yet ready to travel, we offered a virtual option to join us “live” from home.”

But that is not the only “first” GMCVB had their hand in; Jewelers International Showcase (JIS), one of the first in-person trade events of the year, saw 170 brands exhibited and nearly 300 retail buyers fill the show floor in the Miami Beach Convention Center from March 22 - 24. During 2020, Reed Exhibitions, owner of JIS, conducted several customer and visitor surveys to understand and determine how to best support them post-pandemic. The decision to move forward with the March Show in Miami Beach was based on direct feedback from the jewelry industry. Additionally, the GMCVB hosted their well-attended 2021 Annual Meeting and 2021 State of the Industry events at the reimagined Miami Beach Convention Center.

“Key to our recovery, we are thrilled to see the events industry coming back to Greater Miami & Miami Beach, of course with revised health and safety protocols in place,” William D. Talbert III, CDME, President & CEO of the GMCVB stated, “we are honored that organizations such as the Aesthetic Society and Jewelers International Showcase have entrusted our great destination to achieve their vision for their respective gatherings”.

“We are, as always, venue ready. The MBCC’s recovery and reopening plans include stringent safety details and protocols regarding things like hand sanitizing stations, a very robust signage program, and booth placement,” says Freddie Peterson, General Manager of the Miami Beach Convention Center. “Coupled with dedicated Health Ambassadors and certified Pandemic Compliance Advisors the center is Global Biorisk Advisory Council certified, meaning it has the ability to “prepare for, respond to and recover from biorisk situations”. We are gearing up to safely host twelve events alone over the next four months

There are photos available from the Aesthetic Society annual meeting for editorial use, please credit [insert photo credit]. For additional media inquiries, please contact Suzie Sponder, suzie@gmcvb.com and Chiara Peretti, chiara.peretti@aboutdci.com

ABOUT THE GMCVB

The Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau (GMCVB) is an accredited not-for-profit sales and marketing organization whose mission is to attract visitors to Greater Miami & Miami Beach for leisure, business and conventions. For a vacation guide, visit our website at www.MiamiandBeaches.com or call 1.888.76.MIAMI (US/Canada only) or 305.447.7777. To reach the GMCVB offices, dial 305.539.3000. Meeting planners may call 1.800.933.8448 (US/Canada only) or 305.539.3071 or visit www.MiamiMeetings.com. To get further engaged with Miami and the Beaches, join the conversation by following us on our social media channels at Facebook.com/visitmiami, Twitter.com/miamiandbeaches, Instagram.com/miamiandbeaches and Pinterest.com/miamiandbeaches.

ABOUT MBCC

The MBCC is the centerpiece to Miami Beach’s meetings and conventions industry. Re-imagined following a $620-million-dollar renovation, the expanded MBCC includes a new 60,000 square-foot Grand Ballroom, almost 500,000 sq. ft. of exhibition space, an expanded Grand Lobby, pre-function areas that are bathed in natural light, up to 84 breakout rooms, almost 2,100 miles of cabling to support all IT communications, $7.1 million dollars’ worth of art curated by the City of Miami Beach Art in Public Places program, a new six-acre public green space that can serve as incremental event space, and much, much more

MBCC Ready reopening plans detail the rigorous venue health and safety measures deployed to reduce the risk of transmission and promote the return to live events. MBCC’s customizable event layouts support social distancing for a wide range of guest counts, while venue health and safety measures build confidence in the event experience as part of the MBCC’s return to live events. The Miami Beach Convention Center (MBCC) is proud achieve Global Biorisk Advisory Council® (GBAC) STAR™ Facility Accreditation, the gold standard for facilities and venues worldwide. Under the guidance of GBAC (a division of ISSA, the worldwide cleaning industry association), MBCC has implemented the most stringent protocols and staff training for cleaning, disinfection and infectious disease prevention. To facilitate the event planning experience while remaining in-line with venue measures and local public health recommendations, MBCC designated Health Ambassadors and certified Pandemic Compliance Advisors (PCA)to support the pre-event planning process. The MBCC staff has taken the pledge to protect with the Miami Beach Race to Trace program, a program intended to provide focused Covid-19 contact tracing and other health resources to businesses. The MBCC’s commitment to reinforcing the fundamental practices recommended by the CDC are reinforced with new physical and digital, permanent and portable signage deployed throughout the venue’s front of house and back of house areas. Additional wall-mounted and portable hand sanitizer stations, as well as touch-free and environmentally friendly restroom features, are other physical measures that promote healthy practices. New health and safety practices align with the MBCC’s LEED® Silver Certification achieved as part of the venue’s $620-million-dollar expansion project which includes many environmentally-friendly features.