Keeping the faith
Religious meetings have long been a stable source of business for some areas such as Atlanta but other cities have also increasingly escalated efforts to court this market that continues strong regardless of economic cycles, say meeting observers.
Other cities that have increased their religious meeting marketing efforts include Corpus Christi and Kansas City, says Meetings South.
“According to the latest member survey from the Religious Conference Management Association (RCMA), 14.7 million people attended 27,816 meetings conducted by RCMA in 2006. A similar survey for 1994 tallied just 4.4 million attendees,†said the magazine.
The organization also reported that a majority of religious meetings use exhibits and trade shows.
Atlanta has long been a Mecca for religious groups.
“Religious meetings are extremely important for us,†said Bob Schuler, vice president of sales and services for the Atlanta CVB.
The city’s attractions include its location, along with excellent access, a welcoming culture and a good mix of affordable hotel rooms.
“One of the best characteristics of these groups is that they are flexible and often willing to meet during business downtimes — like summer here — when hotels are hungry for guests,†Mr Schuler said.
Other areas far from the south are trying to emulate Atlanta.
Phoenix, for example, launched its faithinphoenix.com Web site about a year ago to draw religious meetings.
“We set out to create a site that would provide one-stop shopping for religious meeting planners,†said Donald Oswald, national convention sales manager for the CVB. He added:
“The religious meetings market is big and growing, and from a business standpoint, they are a good fit for us.â€
Report by David Wilkening
David
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