In our April issue,  we revealed some of the meeting destinations planners singled out in the 2014 Watkins Report, which asked more than 800 planners to rate cities on key factors, including hotels, accessibility, convention services and facilities, and having a “superior” CVB or DMO. The 12 destinations below — some of which appear on multiple lists — are ones that planners say bear watching as they strategically maneuver to attain/retain the attributes of the overall experience that planners find the most appealing:

1. Charlotte

2. Chicago

3. Cincinnati

4. Cleveland

5. Columbus

6. Nashville

7. New Orleans

8. New York

9. Pittsburgh

10. San Francisco

11. Vancouver

12. Washington, D.C. 

SOURCE: Based on the Watkins Report of the 2014 survey of meeting planners. The copyrighted full report is made available via subscription only to bona fide CVBs or DMOs for use within their own organizations for strategic planning and marketing. For information on obtaining a copy of the 2014 report or being a co-sponsor of the next survey and report, contact Curt@WatkinsResearchGroup.com.