At this year’s ASAE conference in Cleveland, one exhibitor took the “talk session” concept to a whole new level. On August 13, the final day of the annual meeting, Destination Canada took advantage of a free afternoon to whisk 13 lucky attendees off to Pelee Island on Lake Erie, about a 25-minute flight from Cleveland and across the border in Ontario, Canada.
The idea for the excursion, the first in a series of “breakout sessions” the ODD is calling “Breakout-Breakout Sessions,” came from Destination Canada’s new marketing campaign, “Leave Inspired. Not Tired.”
“We all go to conferences and there’s so much content that we don’t always have time to take it all in,” says Virginie De Visscher, general manager of business events for Destination Canada. “We want to convey to people that we’re coming together in Canada, with our open spaces, our open minds and our open hearts, that we hope they can take it all in and come back feeling inspired and not necessarily tired.”
How did it work? Destination Canada, with support from ASAE, encouraged attendees to bring their passports before they traveled to the show. Once in Cleveland, they could enter a drawing to be part of the group selected for the tour (which was scheduled during a break in ASAE programming before the closing reception). The lucky winners were announced the day before the trip.
According to De Visscher, Pelee Island was chosen for its proximity to Cleveland (a quick round-trip flight away) and its “magnificent history.”
“It’s the oldest winery in Canada, and it’s a beautiful place, which fit perfectly with the theme we were going to share (at the conference),” she says. “The idea was to go on a trip, why not to Canada?”
On the island, the group toured the ruins of Vin Villa Cellars with winemaker Tim Charisse. They enjoyed tapas and wines, then gathered for a talk by Canadian sustainability expert and author Leor Rotchild, who spoke about his latest book, How We Meet Matters: Planning Sustainable Events for Purpose and Impact and integrate sustainability into events.
“That’s the message we wanted to convey to our delegates, to bring this message of sustainability to a space that inspires them,” says De Visscher. “We were sitting on these old ruins and what looks like an amphitheater overlooking the lake; it’s so beautiful. It feels like this is the planet and this is Canada that I want to preserve. But at the same time, stories are nourishing to the spirit. We wanted participants to absorb these lessons and take them home with them.”
This message was consistent with the sustainability theme that Destination Canada brought to ASAE, including its “Sustainability Story Pavilion.” At the show, attendees were treated to large displays of Destination Canada’s sustainability initiatives that highlighted best practices in hosting sustainable events in communities across Canada (Destination Canada also offsets the carbon emissions created by the Pelee Island trip).
And while the trip was a success, it wasn’t without its challenges. De Visscher says one of the most surprising obstacles was the fact that many of the U.S.-based participants didn’t travel with their passports, meaning they couldn’t participate in the trip. His team also had “Plans B, C, and D” in case the weather became a problem. Fortunately, it didn’t.
Ultimately, she thanks the DMO planning partners, the Pelee Island community and ASAE for pulling off such a unique feat, and the 13 participants, of course, for taking the plunge with them.
“We had CEOs and executive directors, but also newbies from the membership team and others,” De Visscher says of the group created from a drawing. “We also had people from different backgrounds and ethnicities, and from different parts of the world.”
This is just the beginning of Destination Canada’s Breakout-Breakout Sessions. De Visscher says his team is already planning future iterations that will take place at IMEX America and PCMA Convening Leaders.
“We may not take people to Canada every time (it just so happens that it worked out in this location), but the concept of ‘Breakout-Breakouts’ will definitely come back,” she says.
Just in case, don’t forget your passport.
This article was originally published in our sister publication, BizBash. Photos courtesy of Destination Canada.
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