Thursday, February 17, 2011

Convene On Site: Economic Significance Study

PwC's Robert Canton, with Roger Dow, U.S. Travel; Deborah Sexton, PCMA; Michael Gehrisch, DMAI; Bruce MacMillan, MPI; John Graham, ASAE; and Joseph McInerney, AH&LA.
Two years after the meetings industry's allied organizations got all Five Families (as a huge fan of "The Godfather," I mean that as a compliment) on the question of figuring out, once and for all, the true value of meetings and conventions, they have their answer: $263 billion. That jaw-dropping number was front and center at the press conference in Washington, D.C., this afternoon where the Convention Industry Council (CIC) presented the results of its landmark new study, The Economic Significance of Meetings to the U.S. Economy. Conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), with support from an alliance of 14 meetings- and travel-industry organizations, the study found that meetings contribute $263 billion in direct spending and 1.7 million job to the U.S. economy every year -- not to mention $106 billion to U.S. GDP.

But the study, while exhaustive in scope and execution, is only the beginning. PwC's Robert Canton was joined at today's press conference by U.S. Travel's Roger Dow, PCMA's Deborah Sexton, DMAI's Michael Gehrisch, MPI's Bruce MacMillan, ASAE's John Graham, and AH&LA's Joseph McInerney -- all of whom stressed that this information was a long time coming, and that the next step is to make good use of it. "We as an industry took for granted that [people understood that] face-to-face meetings are important," Graham said. "That was flat-out wrong." Added Sexton: "This data did not exist. ... The economy is picking up, and it appears our industry is picking up, but the industry needs to be understood. I don't think it's over just because the research is."

Look for a comprehensive breakdown of the study's results in the March issue of Convene. And hit that link above for a whole mess of information, including a toolkit for putting these amazing numbers to work on behalf of meeting professionals everywhere.

1 comment:

Larry Martin said...

The economy help them understand the society and world affairs, help us to be better informed voters, and teach us about the choice and decision-making.

Due to the fact that the economy is a big part of life, it is important that we understand perfectly. Economics is used in almost every aspect of life, and is a big part of many of the decisions we make every day. The economy is an important area for the study insofar as it helps to understand the society and world affairs, helps us to be better informed voters, and more. When asked why the economy is important to study, my grand-father and I shared almost the same ideas.

Larry Martin
Bachelor of Dance Education Course