10 Reasons Your City Needs More Meetings and Conventions

As tourism numbers continue to grow and local resistance to the resulting impacts becomes more of a factor in many destinations, thoughts turn to how best to high-grade the visitor traffic in order to get the most benefit with the least pain. This is where meetings, conventions and exhibitions – collectively known as the meetings industry – may offer the best option for cities looking to optimize the revenue benefits while at the same time looking to their broader economic and social policy aspirations for the betterment of the local community.

Here are 10 good reasons why these events are worth pursuing as a priority for your city.

1. Delegates spend more: It’s simple; if it’s about optimizing economic returns, there’s little question about which travelers spend more. A variety of studies over many years have consistently shown that delegates outspend visitor averages, and for some very obvious reasons: They are more likely to be business or professional people than the average visitor; many are on expenses or being paid by employers, and this is reflected in where they stay and how much they are prepared to spend.
2. Use of established accommodation: In a time when there are growing (and often worrisome) alternatives for visitor accommodation, including the online rental of private lodging, delegates are much more likely to opt for traditional venues such as hotels than many other visitors in order to be closer to the action, part of the conference structure, and because they don’t have as much need to economize (see above). This is far more consistent with how the visitor economy is structured in most destinations, and far less disruptive than if they were scattered all over the city as are many forms of alternate lodging.
3. Benefits are widespread – and impact much more than just one sector: When it comes to convention-related revenues, it’s not just about the hospitality sector as many claim. Recent economic studies have shown that over half of the revenues to a community arise from things like staging, organization, technology and event organization – areas far beyond what would traditionally be thought of as visitor services. This is a much more diverse set of benefits, meaning lots more sectors share in the results.
4. Bring new knowledge, experiences and expertise: When it comes to community benefits as a whole, the best of all is why delegates are there in the first place: They are attending in order to share and enhance experiences and expertise, which generally rubs off on the local community, leaving a legacy of knowledge and creative experience that both reflects well on the host destination and advances the contacts and knowledge of the local business, academic and professional communities.
5. Consistent with the concerns (and aspirations) of local residents: Few people like to see “their” city seen as simply a playground for non-resident partiers, but that’s the unfortunate reputation a few heavily visited cities have secured for themselves. How much better to have your home regarded as a venue for events that bring together global expertise for serious deliberations – particularly when these complement your own aspirations for future economic and social development!
6. Enhance city exposure and image: Major events attract global attention – whether within a specialized audience or when the world as a whole is watching what’s going on. This raises city profile and prestige, particularly when the achievements of a hosted group relate to the policy objectives of local government.
7. Spread the hospitality season: many kinds of visitors tend to “clump” into the high season – intensifying the disruptions and not really helping support infrastructure when they need it the most. Meetings, conventions and conferences, on the other hand, have much more flexibility and often seek out “off” seasons specifically to get better deals on accommodation and to avoid the chaos of peak periods. In the end, this is just what most hospitality suppliers need in order to sustain them through the more challenging times until the next peak arrives.
8. Generate future tourism: delegates are people who might otherwise never have come to a conference destination – and thus a whole new market for future visits. Many studies have shown that the experience they have awhile attending their event can and does result in repeat visits, often with the family in tow, not to mention the pre – and post – conference travel that accompanies many conventions themselves.
9. Support economic policy in priority areas: Conferences and conventions focus global attention on the host community and associate it with the topics being addressed. When those areas are related to local priorities for economic and social development, the host city has an opportunity to position itself and its related industries and institutions on a global stage – and to make a statement about its own commitments and intentions in key sectors to an audience of potential supporters and investors.
10. Valuable source of new talent: Many savvy cities are realizing that a major conference can be one of the best available tools for attracting and accessing the global expertise that represent the future of key sectors – and an opportunity to encourage them to relocate to that community! This can be one of the most effective (and cost effective) ways of reinforcing other economic development initiatives.

The “more is better” approach to the visitor economy is being questioned in many quarters these days, and with good (and growing) reasons. When it comes to securing the most benefit from any given category of visitor, event delegates have a lot to recommend them – and smart cites are beginning to figure that out and use it to their advantage.

AIPC represents a global network of more than 170 leading centres in 57 countries with the active involvement of over 900 management-level professionals worldwide. It is committed to encouraging and recognizing excellence in convention center management, based on the diverse experience and expertise of its international representation, and maintains a variety of educational, research, networking and standards programs to achieve this. AIPC also celebrates and promotes the essential role of the international meetings industry in supporting economic,