After three years of gray economic skies, it appears the sun is coming out for special event professionals.

“From what we can tell, 2004 will be a much better year—the strongest year since 2000,” says Laurence Whiting, director of marketing and media relations for San Francisco-based Global Gourmet Catering. Thanks to a combination of aggressive marketing and the business upswing, “We think we will do 30 percent over 2003.”

And many event professionals expect the good news to keep on coming. “The Las Vegas …

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