The DMC Network and Ovation Global DMC’s 5th Annual Talent Search kicked off on the Tuesday evening of IMEX America in Las Vegas last week. Taking place in the Marquee Night Club at The Cosmopolitan hotel, this year’s event drew its largest ever crowd ever, welcoming over 900 delegates from the show to celebrate Las Vegas as a destination.
‘’This year’s event was all about Las Vegas’’ shared Dan Tavrytzky, Managing Director of the DMC Network. ‘’The tragic events of the week prior were upsetting on so many levels. We as destination professionals know just how valuable tourism is for the Las Vegas economy, and how important it is to show support immediately after an event like this. We knew we wanted to acknowledge the victims and their families in a way that still supported the destination – cancelling our event would not have done that so we decided to change the format from our traditional talent search, where industry delegates from around the world compete for the title of best performance and travel prize, and use our already well established evening to showcase local Las Vegas talent –giving them the opportunity to shine and highlight that the city is open for business, while also partnering with the American Red Cross of Southern Nevada to raise much needed funds for the destination through a raffle for all attendees.’’
Guests were treated to an energetic show by three local Las Vegas bands, each showcasing their own unique take on popular music, with an esteemed panel of industry judges from Experient, Marriott International, Switzerland Convention and Incentive Bureau and Meeting Professionals International (MPI). Raffle tickets were sold to win a 5 night stay at the Westin Paris and air travel or a year’s membership with MPI, while the crowd was entertained with energetic covers into the morning hours. Local band ‘STATUS’ was ultimately crowned the winners at the end of the evening.
Speaking of the win, this year’s winning band said ‘’We are honored to receive the trophy at this year’s show. At a time when Las Vegas needs support more than ever before, it is wonderful to see companies continuing to come to the destination and host their events – it sends a real, tangible message to the world that we are here and we are open for business. Our city’s economy is built on tourism so there is nothing more valuable than this kind of support’’
Judge Darren Temple, Chief Operating Officer of MPI is quoted as saying: ‘’MPI has been involved in the Talent Search since its inception 5 years ago. The change in format this year was something we were very supportive of – MPI’s membership base is a global one, and we all travel as a part of our careers – any opportunity to showcase local destination support as a wider industry group is one that we are happy to support.’’
Following the event, the dates for the 6th Annual Talent Search were announced as Tuesday the 16th of October 2018, and as always, in conjunction with IMEX America.
