Albuquerque, NM (September 2011) – The International Cake Exploration Societé (ICES) has awarded Albuquerque its 2014 Annual Convention & Show and the 2013 Mid-Year Meeting. This organization, which is comprised of cake decorators and sugar artists will bring approximately 1,700 attendees to Albuquerque July 27 – August 4, 2014 to meet downtown at the Albuquerque Convention Center. The two meetings are expected to generate 2,320 room nights and $1.04 million in direct spending for the city.

The bid process and presentation throughout 2011 was the Visit Albuquerque’s (Visit Albuquerque) second bid attempt at this convention. Don Griego, CMP, Visit Albuquerque Senior National Sales Manager, refined his approach this year because he felt the meeting was such an excellent fit for our city. Albuquerque was one of 12 destinations in consideration for 2014.

The item that really “put the icing on the cake” was a creative video presentation by the Albuquerque team. Mayor Berry opened the video inviting the group to meet in our city. A team of hospitality representatives from the Visit Albuquerque, Albuquerque Convention Center, Hyatt Regency Albuquerque and the Doubletree by Hilton in Downtown Albuquerque, participated in the fun, creative video related to the “Cake Hospital.”

The ICES organization is comprised of 4,000+ sugar artists, cake decorators and related vendors from around the world. Each year, the ICES Annual Convention incorporates a number of cake decorating and sugar art competitions. During the convention, a “Cake Hospital” is available to members to make last-minute repairs to their masterpieces before judging.

The Visit Albuquerque team played up the cake hospital theme and delivered a fun video message describing how our local team can be an extension of the ICES planning team while the meeting takes place in Albuquerque. View the bid video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtbAdBtdzIc

“We are very excited to land the ICES 2014 Annual Convention. Albuquerque is such a creative destination and we know that these innovative cake artists will really enjoy their time in our city,” said Dale Lockett, President/CEO of the Visit Albuquerque. “Booking this meeting is the result of excellent teamwork among our in-house team, our hospitality industry and Mayor Berry.”