Multi-billion dollar impact for meetings industry
The meetings industry generates around $770 billion for the US economy, according to a report by the Convention Industry Council (CIC).
The report, titled ‘the Economic Significance of Meetings to the U.S. Economy 2012’, shows that in 2012, 1.83 million meetings were held in the US, up from 1.8 million in 2009, when the CIC’s last study was carried out.
Meeting attendance rose with over 225 million attending a meeting, conference or trade fair, which generated $115 billion to GDP.
Around 85% of these meetings were held at venues with on-site accommodation, producing 275 million room nights.
The CIC estimates a total economic impact of US meetings in 2012 to be $770.4 billion.
The study shows that most participants generally travel 50 miles or more to attend a meeting, spending on hotels, transportation and restaurants, which all contributed to federal, state and local tax revenues, reaching $88 billion for the year.
Last month the CIC re-launched the ‘Meetings Mean Business’ campaign to highlight the benefits of face-to-face meetings in the wake of drastic cutbacks in federal government travel spending.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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