attract our scientists and researchers beyond the beach — or whatever is the big attraction.” Asking those kinds of questions is a given, Puckorius said.
“It’s part of a meeting planner’s job to look past what’s obvi- ous. You have to ask yourself: ‘What can help your organiza- tion, and what can make an impact on that organization?’” For ACRM, “cost is still the major factor in determining where a meeting is held,” Puckorius said. “But the costs have to come in the right places.” And for destinations that are competing for meetings
business, serving as an expert guide to local intellectual and business resources that can enrich a meeting is a way to stand out from the rest of the pack. In the case of ACRM’s Annual Conference, it was a national sales director for Disney Destinations — the meeting will be held at Disney’s
Contemporary Resort — who mentioned Medical City to Puckorius. “The bureau is key in this puzzle,” Puckorius said. “They have to have a really good relationship with the business community.”
‘BEYOND RATE AND SPACE’ Leveraging the region’s scientific resources is not a new idea in Orlando, which is a top destination for medical meetings in the United States, said Tammi Runzler, CASE, senior vice president of convention sales and services for Visit Orlando. But as plans for Medical City began to develop a few years ago, it prompted Runzler to begin looking at the new com- plex’s resources within the context of the overall medical and scientific infrastructure of Orlando and Orange County. Medical City will — and already is — having a big impact on
Rising Star The new Orlando Veterans Affairs Medical Center under construction at Lake Nona Medical City is part of a life- sciences cluster that will include hospitals, a medical school, research centers, and industry — creating collaborations that are expected to be a draw for medical associations around the world.