IETF destinations are always an interesting discussion, I know this thread is going to generate a lot of fun :-) We have already brought up points about heat waves, terrorists, CO2 emissions, wine, and relative city violence rates. I'm looking forward to the rest of this thread...
But I wanted to continue the touristy part discussion that you Paul brought up:
Your concern over the travel budgets of others is touching (if a little creepy).
let 'em spend as much money as they want going anywhere they want. just keep them away from the meeting rooms unless they have a more compelling reason to be in there than "this is more fun than my actual job, and the company is buying me MFLD, so, what's not to like?"
First, I tend to find tourists and MFLD rather harmless. In fact, I think they are good for our financing. Some might say necessary. And they usually stay out of the mike, don't disturb presentations, and don't comment on the mailing list where the real consensus is verified. But if some of them do, that's even better - then we have attracted new contributors. And we DO need new contributors.
Secondly, the perception that people have about the vacation or business nature of a location is not universal. Some people get bored in museums, others can't stand beach resorts. Or what looks like an expensive vacation trip for a US person looks like a regular business meeting for Europeans and vice versa. Say, Los Angeles vs. Paris. And managers who approve travel are different too. Some might worry if a person tries to go to a meeting without having a clearly defined goal and task; others might look more at the location or cost. Intercontinental travel certainly gets more scrutiny than other travel, but with participants all over the globe this can't be avoided all the time or for everybody.
In short, I wouldn't worry too much about the touristy nature of a location. Lets pick locations based on available & good facilities and connections. And since we have contributors from all over the world, its good to have meetings in different parts of the world too. And changing the locations makes it easier to attract new people, maybe new sponsors, too.
--Jari
P.S. I hope the IETFers have appreciation for other things too than that what happens in the meeting rooms. I did enjoy good restaurants in San Diego, the museums in Washington, the electronics shops in Seoul, and skiing after the meeting in Salt Lake City. Or shopping in Minneapolis. Maybe next March I get to go to the museum of questionable medical devices.
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