Atlanta’s meeting market marching to a different drummer
Atlanta during the US’s Civil War was famous for Sherman’s destructive "March to the Sea," but the march these days is geared towards a revival of the convention market which in common with other areas was impacted not by war but by the recession.
Atlanta’s march this time is impacted by its geography: it is one of the most accessible cities in the world, according to Mark Vaughan, vp for the local CVB. He says nearly 80% of the US population is within a two-hour flight. In addition, three interstates converge on the city.
In addition, the city is becoming even more accessible (though vehicular traffic has also gotten more clogged) because of the planned opening this spring of a new international airport at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. That development should help the city attract more international business.
Several new hotels have added more choices for meeting planners.
"More than $16 billion in development will open in the next three years," Vaughan told MeetingsFocusSouth.
Not only its accessibility but its size is an Atlanta advantage.
Its Centennial Olympic Park is connected to the Georgia World Congress Center, which is the US’s fourth largest convention center at 14 million square feet of exhibit space. There are also 10,000 hotels within a one-mile radius.
There was more good news for the meeting market when the world’s largest cheerleading convention met at the Georgia World Congress Center.
"The entire city of Atlanta knows when the competition comes to town not only from the cheer-sport banners hanging on light posts and billboards everywhere but because hotels and restaurants are all packed with cheerleaders, their families, and their supporters," says the newsletter at the ArdsmoreHotelblog.
By David Wilkening
David
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