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Doesn’texactlynail itdownfor you?Perhaps you were looking for specifics, and that definition left you with more questions than answers—such as, how many attendees comprise a “smaller meeting”?And does “space limitations” correspond to a set number of square feet? Or maybe you wonder how many daily flights into and out of a city ele- vate it to first-tier status. Which leads to the bigger question: If first-, second-, and

third-tier city designations continue to be a part of regular industry parlance,why are theymore amatter of perception than industry standard? Convene put that question to two representative indus-

try associations — the Convention Industry Council (CIC) and Destination Marketing Association Inter- national (DMAI)—and also asked a handful of planners and suppliers howthey themselves interpret the tiers. Here’s what they had to say.

36 pcmaconvene February 2011 www.pcma.org