As projected, its 2012 annual meeting achieved record attendance, surpassing by a small margin the previous attendance record, which was set at last year's meeting, the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) announced yesterday.
The PCMA 56th Annual Meeting, Convening Leaders, took place Jan. 8-11 in San Diego. Although PCMA did not release a final head count, it said its 2012 meeting saw a 9 percent increase in professional planner participation.
Also up, the association said, was participation in the meeting's virtual component, which was attended by 225 users spending more than 10 hours online, compared to 109 in 2011. Total hours spent in virtual sessions increased from 3,123 in 2011 to 5,123 in 2012. What's more, PCMA said it "dispelled the virtual cannibalization of face-to-face audiences myth," as more than 300 registrants said they were influenced to attend face-to-face this year by their previous participation in a PCMA virtual or hybrid meeting.
"We're very fortunate our leadership feels strongly that the association has to be on the leading edge of meeting trends and that our members allow us to continue to take risks," said PCMA President and CEO Deborah Sexton. "If attendees leave here excited about trying something new — changing it up — that's what it's all about. With the help of our onsite production partners Active Network, bXb Online, Experient, Freeman, INXPO and MultiView, this year's engagement numbers confirm we're delivering an experience our members need and want both virtually and face-to-face. We've raised the bar and set expectations."
The 2013 PCMA Annual Meeting is scheduled for Jan. 13-16, 2013, at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando. For more information, visit www.pcma.org.