As the meetings industry continues to suffer from cancellations and postponements, professional trade associations and tourist boards are fighting back. I applaud their attempts to bring attention to the vital role that meetings and events play in the global economy. A little late but better late than never. A few interesting facts from the U.S. Travel Association:
During the first two months of 2009, the U.S. lodging industry lost more than $1 billion in revenue from the cancellation of corporatemeetings and events.
Meetings and events support an estimated 1 million jobs and $2.7 billion in wages in the United States. The USTA says 200,000 travel related jobs were lost in 2008, and 247,000 could be lost in 2009 if meetings and events continue to be demonized.
Business travel generates about $250 billion in annual spending and approximately $40 billion in tax revenue for local, state and federal coffers.
I could go on and on with facts but hopefully the three above make the point that meetings and events drive an impressive amount of economic spending and local and state taxes.
Unfortunately, these numbers are lost on an industry that continues to distance itself from other more traditional marketing disciplines. I believe that the current crisis calls for a complete different way of looking at how the entire industry justifies its existence. We need more data collected yearly and/or quarterly to prove ROI and why face to face is still the most powerful tool.
When was the last time field or product marketing was attacked in the same way? Then again, wedding photographers and meetings planned by admins have never been confused as strategic.
Proving Value Of Face To Face Meetings
As the meetings industry continues to suffer from cancellations and postponements, professional trade associations and tourist boards are fighting back. I applaud their attempts to bring attention to the vital role that meetings and events play in the global economy. A little late but better late than never. A few interesting facts from the U.S. Travel Association:
I could go on and on with facts but hopefully the three above make the point that meetings and events drive an impressive amount of economic spending and local and state taxes.
Unfortunately, these numbers are lost on an industry that continues to distance itself from other more traditional marketing disciplines. I believe that the current crisis calls for a complete different way of looking at how the entire industry justifies its existence. We need more data collected yearly and/or quarterly to prove ROI and why face to face is still the most powerful tool.
When was the last time field or product marketing was attacked in the same way? Then again, wedding photographers and meetings planned by admins have never been confused as strategic.