The U.S. Travel Association is continuing its awareness campaign to update elected officials on the economic importance of meetings, incentive and convention travel, with a renewed focus on a dozen key states and metropolitan areas (
click on the image to view a full-size chart).
The Meetings Mean Business campaign was launched in 2009 to counter the so-called AIG effect, a political and public relations backlash against corporate meetings and events at "luxury" hotels that triggered a wave of cancellations and lost business for hotels and convention sites.
For 2012, U.S. Travel is hoping to enlist the support of up to 43 members of Congress who would be industry "champions" in districts where meetings- and events-related travel is a key driver of visitor spending and employment. Although the AIG effect has diminished, U.S. Travel said it wants to head off a recurrence with a "defensive" educational and awareness campaign during this election year.
The Convention Industry Council last year published a report that the meetings industry directly supported 1.7 million jobs and over $25 billion in federal, state and local tax revenue.