The meeting industry, cornerstone of the US economy

01/03/2011

What is “The Economic Significance of Meetings to the US Economy”? It is this question that the Convention Industry Council has attempted to answer with a thorough study.

Conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers with the help of a meeting industry experts panel, this study, the first ever of its size, required a year of research and analysis.

The first key figure revealed is the number of events held in the US in 2009, 1.8 million. These events are classified into the following categories: corporate and business meetings which, with 1.3 million, make up the vast majority,conventions, conferences and congresses (270,000), trade shows (11,000) and incentive meetings (66,000). 85% of the events were held in venues with l accommodation, and these meetings generated 250 million overnight stays on the part of 117 million Americans and 5 million international delegates.

In terms of employment, the meeting industry created 1.7 million jobs, which represents a larger figure than that of many other essential sectors of the US economy, including broadcasting and communications (1.3 million), truck and rail transportation industries (1.5 million), and computer and electric product manufacturing (1.1 million). These jobs provide $60 billion in labor income and support 4.6 million of US workers. All in all, the meeting industry supplies $907 billion in total economic output to the US economy.

“Two years ago, the value of meetings, one of America ’s top economic and social engines, was misunderstood by governments and the public. This new research quantifies the economic significance of our sector for legislators, regulators and economists alike”, concludes Karen Kotowski, Executive Director of the Convention Industry Council, the trade organization which unites the meetings sector and seeks to inform the public of its profound economic impact.

www.meetingsmeanbusiness.com