Meetings Today - May 2018

That’s an apt premise for Coastal Virginia as a whole. Encompassing the nine cities and six counties of the Hampton Roads region on southeastern Virginia’s Lower Peninsula, the region opened the book on the American experience with the settlement of Jamestown in 1607 and has contributed major chapters ever since.

At the forefront of inspiration and dis-
covery, from land and sea to outer space,
the area’s dynamic destinations inspire
expanded thinking and new directions.

Shining Lights

Another 2018 win for Norfolk was the re-
turn of the Norfolk Botanical Garden’s Lan-
ternAsia exhibition. Created by Chinese
firm Tianyu Culture Communication, this
wondrous global traveling display of 36 co-
lossal handcrafted works of art, illuminated
at night and representing Asia’s 2,000-year
lantern tradition, chose Norfolk in 2016 as
one of its inaugural U.S. destinations.

As Virginia Secretary of Commerce and
Trade Maurice Jones noted of the original
event: “Norfolk’s selection as the location
for this unique exhibit is a testament to
the city’s ability to attract not only global
companies, but talent and culture from all
over the world.”
Norfolk’s overall appeal is blooming, as
Donna Allen, VisitNorfolk’s vice president
of sales and marketing, explained.

“In a hometown survey, Travel + Leisure’s readers voted Norfolk ‘Favorite American City’ for 2018, with the publication selecting the city as one of the ‘Top 50 Places to Travel’ in 2017,” Allen said. “First-time visitors think of Norfolk as a traditional military town, but we are much

The Richmond, Va.-based Virginia Society of Association Executives brings its annual conference to Norfolk, Va., early this May for three days of premier education and other programs. Attracting nearly 200 attendees from across the Commonwealth, including association executives, meeting planners, hoteliers and other suppliers to the association management industry, the 2018 conference is themed on “Ideas That Work.”