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PLENARY One Year After Eyjafjallajökull Q Hotel Occupancy Q Super Bowl Hotels
BLOWN AWAY: Panels and presentations at the Atlantic Conference on Eyjafjallajökull and Aviation, held in Iceland last September, included examinations of institu- tional failures that led to flight cancellations.
(Volcano) continued from page 15
Europe’s post-Eyjafjallajökull airspace had not been assembled by the International Civil Avia- tion Organisation (ICAO),” Flight International magazine reported after the conference, “and in Europe itself the expertise existed in pock- ets that were not connected to the decision- making process.” Since then, organizations have rushed to make sure they are better prepared next time. ICAO, which oversees international air naviga- tion, has assembled an International Volcanic Ash Task Force to develop a set of standard- ized practices for the aviation industry to fol- low in the event of volcanic ash-cloud contami- nation. This month, Eurocontrol, the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation, will test a new emergency-response system in a two-day exercise that will simulate last year’s eruption. Meanwhile, some meeting planners have changed their policies as a result of the vol- cano, which “prompted people to think about alternative delivery methods,” according to Susan Farrell, senior director of education and program services for SmithBucklin. After the volcano left a keynote speaker for SmithBuck- lin client COE’s 2010 Annual PLM Conference & TechniFair stranded in Europe, for example, event organizers moved quickly to stream the
18 pcma convene April 2011
SHOCKS TO THE SYSTEM
Drops in U.S. hotel occupancy
one month after: Sept. 11:
presentation live to the meeting venue in Las Vegas. Now, Farrell said, it’s standard practice for SmithBucklin to include provisions about virtual appearances in speaker contracts and to cover virtual alternatives in speaker training. Coming on the heels of the industry-wide
trauma of the global recession, Farrell said, last year’s volcano has also resulted in a big shift toward hybrid meetings. “A lot of [clients],” she said, “now are simultaneously conducting virtual and face-to-face meetings.” n — Barbara Palmer
FOR MORE INFORMATION: To learn more about the Eyjafjallajökull and Aviation conference, visit http://en.keilir.net/ keilir/conferences/eyjafjallajokull.
-3.3% -1.7%
✱ Sept. 2008 Economic Crisis: SOURCE:
The Impact of Terrorism and Economic Shocks on U.S. Hotels, Cornell Center for Hospitality Research
(www.hotelschool.cornell .edu/research/chr/)
RESEARCH