Orlando Set To Become Number One Destination For Healthy Meetings
November 19, 2020
With the health and safety of visitors top of mind, Orlando and Orange County are open for business travel and tourism — including the Orange County Convention Center (OCCC), which, in collaboration with Visit Orlando, has announced a first-of-its-kind medical concierge program with Orlando Health and achieved the Global Biorisk Advisory Council’s (GBAC) Star Accreditation. What’s more, Orlando International Airport (MCO) and its onsite Hyatt Regency Orlando International Airport have also earned GBAC Star Accreditation.
Your group can also look forward to new and improved safety measures during every step of your next convention, meeting or event, starting with your arrival at Orlando International Airport (MCO) and continuing with our ground transportation, meeting hotels and venues, and even theme parks and attractions.
Before your next Orlando meeting, get an overview of how the Orange County Convention Center and Orlando’s meetings industry have adapted to meet today’s business-travel needs, and how we’re going above and beyond to safeguard your attendees’ peace of mind.
For a world-class convention, you need a world-class convention center — and one that prioritizes the health and safety of your attendees, at that. With new cleanliness measures in place, Orlando’s state-of-the-art Orange County Convention Center is the perfect candidate. Developed in accordance with policy recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Orange County government, and state and federal mandates, the OCCC’s Recovery and Resiliency Plan employs a three-pronged strategy to safeguard clients, attendees and employees, including:
- Implementing the OCCC’s Recovery and Resiliency Guidelines
- GBAC Star Accreditation
- In partnership with Visit Orlando, collaborating with Orlando Health — a premier, established healthcare system — to create a pioneering medical concierge program.
The OCCC and Visit Orlando’s collaboration with Orlando Health is the first of its kind in the convention and trade show industry. As a result of the program, Orlando Health will provide personalized medical services and resources to all meetings and conventions held at the convention center through 2020, giving convention groups direct access to medical collaboration, planning and support.
Services for conventions will include customized medical plan guidance, planner access to a medical expert, 24/7 medical concierge services through Orlando Health’s Virtual Visit, direct access to PPE for attendees, medical advisory services to the event’s host hotels and transportation vendors, and medically certified communication materials. It’s the latest example of the extraordinary regional collaborations the OCCC has in Orange County with medical partners and leisure and hospitality sectors.
Of course, GBAC STAR Accreditation is impressive in its own right, in that it provides third-party validation to ensure the implementation of rigorous sanitation protocols. It is recognized as the gold standard of safe venues, and for good reason.
Relying on the best available data, science and research, the OCCC’s Recovery and Resiliency Plan will provide an excellent road map to ramping up operations at the country’s second-largest convention center. In fact, large-scale events have already returned to the OCCC, starting with the Amateur Athletic Union’s (AAU’s) national volleyball tournament on July 14-22. More than 400 teams and 10,500 attendees participated.
On July 24, Alliance Nationwide Exposition (ANE) hosted Together Again Expo at the OCCC. This industry event provided a forum on how live events can safely move forward and get back to business as Florida enters Phase 2 of the COVID-19 recovery. Together, the AAU and ANE events underscore the Orange County Convention Center’s readiness for your meeting and event needs — and those of your attendees.
Theme parks and attractions are reopening throughout Orlando — which means you’ll never run out of one-of-a-kind venues for unique meetings and offsite adventures, and your attendees will never run out of post-meeting fun. And just like our transportation providers, the OCCC and our meeting hotels, Orlando’s world-famous playgrounds are taking extra steps to help safeguard visitors.
Currently, your attendees can look forward to visiting Universal Orlando Resort and SeaWorld® Orlando, with Walt Disney World Resort set to reopen its theme parks starting July 11. Reservations are required at Walt Disney World and SeaWorld parks. (Disney Springs® and Universal CityWalk are also open!)
Your group can also look forward to dozens of standalone attractions, many of which are in the heart of the convention district. From the all-in-one fun at ICON Park — home to The Wheel, Orlando StarFlyer, Madame Tussauds and other options — to fast times at Andretti Indoor Karting & Games or a unique spin on a classic sport at Topgolf, endless adventures are waiting for your attendees in Orlando. Most importantly, our theme parks and attractions are putting safety first as Orlando’s meetings industry ramps up again. It all adds up to the greatest, safest destination for conventions, meetings and events of all sizes!