Orlando briefs this month track convention activity at major venues, strong theme park performance, visitor safety planning, and long-term airport investments as Central Florida moves toward a busy summer season.
The Experiential Design Authority (TEDA) has announced the finalists for the 2026 ExSys Awards. This year’s competition drew more than 200 entries — a 54-percent increase over 2025 — establishing the ExSys Awards as the most competitive program in the system-based experiential design industry.
Las Vegas has lived in two sports lanes lately: Fernando Mendoza owning draft headlines and the Golden Knights grinding through Round 2 of the NHL
Artificial intelligence is no longer a fringe experiment reserved for Silicon Valley labs or sci-fi think pieces. It is actively reshaping industries that once seemed immune to automation—creative fields included. Architecture firms are using generative design tools to explore thousands of structural options in minutes. Fashion brands are testing AI-generated collections.
Convention center upgrades stack up nationwide, from Wi-Fi 7 and LEED wins to recovery work and new reports, as venues point to strong 2026 demand.
In the tradeshow and live-events industry, work happens under fixed deadlines and in temporary conditions. Crews arrive, build complex environments, and operate with little margin for error. In that context, preparation matters as much as execution. One way the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America (UBC) approaches readiness is through physical, hands-on environments that reflect the constraints of the jobsite.
Volunteers from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority celebrated Global Meetings Industry Day in advance of May 6 with a charity event benefitting SafeNest, a nonprofit organization supporting battered and abused women.
I talk to mid-market CEOs every week who’ve done everything right on paper. They bought the tools. Hired the people. Launched the pilots. Gave the all-hands speech about transformation.
Six months later, the meeting notes look better. The emails are more polished. And the organization is still slow, still noisy, still stuck in the same decision loops it was stuck in before they spent the money.
Over a year ago, in my January ’25 column, titled The Future of Tradeshows, I wrote:
“The Department of Defense began funding AI research in the sixties. Today, AI enhances communication and accelerates analysis and content production. It can impact all phases of a tradeshow: from improving security and event planning, to logistics and production.
Event Marketer announced a landmark strategic alliance with The Exhibitor Advocate, the only nonprofit organization exclusively dedicated to championing the interests and success of the trade show exhibitor community.
International briefs this month span venue operations, certifications, sustainability tools, congress growth, destination marketing, and event technology across Europe, North America, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America.
On May 4th, Craig Hoffend announced his departure from Gielissen Interiors | Exhibitions | Events on LinkedIn. “After five incredible years,” he says, “I am stepping down as CEO of North America at Gielissen: Interiors, Exhibitions, Events. It has been an honor to lead and build a company that truly embodies the core values of Gielissen.”
