the April 2009 Issue in PDF Format - Trade Show Executive

News
Continued from page 10
assistance, had created a public
relations nightmare for companies
that were cancelling events in droves.
The USTA cited a poll released in late
February by Meetings & Conventions
magazine in which 21% of the 135
respondents said they had cancelled
an event “as a direct result of the
bailout backlash against meetings and
travel.”
Another 38% said their company
had decided to avoid holding
meetings at upscale hotels and 28%
were foregoing golf resorts.
Geoff Freeman, senior vice
president of public affairs for the
USTA, was quoted in The San Diego
Union-Tribune saying meetings and
events had been relegated to the same
level as alcohol and tobacco in the
“new Washington”. He said, “That’s
the newest sin, meetings and events.”
MeetingsMeanBusiness.com seeks to
organize a grassroots campaign by
the industry to convince lawmakers
and the media that business travel
and events are good for the economy
both in terms of direct jobs and
spending in a community, but also as
a contributor to a general recovery.
Participants in the call were each
urged to rally another 50 colleagues
to help spread the word about the
value of meetings, but also to their
employees who may be miffed at
being told to tighten their belts while
their colleagues jet off to a business
meeting at an upscale hotel.
A newspaper ad being placed in
early March confronted Congress
directly with the headline, “Want to
lose one million more jobs? Just keep
talking.”
On the conference call, Dow said
the travel industry preferred not to
single out individual members of
Congress for criticism but rather to
make sure as many local, state and
national political leaders knew of the
benefits of events and the risks of
further job loss should the industry
decline further.
Reach Roger Dow at (202) 408-
8422 or rdow@ustravel.org
Want to lose one million
more jobs?
Just keep talking.
Op-Ed Article From Philly CVB Underscores Value of Events
By Hil Anderson, senior editor
Philadelphia, PA – The Philadelphia
Convention & Visitors Bureau was
among the first CVBs to answer the call
to the barricades in the form of an op-ed
article in the Philadelphia Daily News that
challenged the allegedly negative view of
meetings in the U.S. media.
“Our national partners at the U.S.
Travel Association are working hard to
change the negative perception by the
media that business-related travel and
meetings are irresponsible practices,”
said the March 5 article signed by Nick
DeBenedictis, chairman of the Philadelphia
CVB. “We say: No way! Meetings can mean
not only business opportunities, but also
contribute to job and economic growth
for local communities and can serve as a
justifiable reward for hard work.”
DeBenedictis outlined the economic
All Americans are angry at the recent revelations of bad judgment and
excess by some corporate leaders - especially when the result is a taxpayerfunded
clean up.
However, targeting business meetings and events is the wrong answer.
With their political rhetoric and short-sighted legislation, Congress is
sending a message to TARP recipients and every other business that
Congress doesn’t want those meetings to happen. The results are
predictable. Thousands of companies — not just TARP recipients — are
cancelling their meetings out of fear.
For every meeting that is cancelled, jobs are lost — it’s that simple —
and it’s happening all across the country. 1 out of every 8 jobs in this
country is linked to travel and tourism – and those Americans will be
even angrier if they lose their job because of political rhetoric.
The overwhelming majority of business meetings are not for senior
executives — they are for top salesmen, high performing employees and
valued customers and business partners. Business gets done and companies
grow because of these meetings and events.
We’ve released a code of conduct for companies using
taxpayer dollars. We encourage Congress and Treasury
to embrace these standards — and stop the rhetoric.
Visit our website for more details —
www.meetingsmeanbusiness.com.
Meetings
Mean
business.
Stating the Case. The U.S. Travel Association created a full-page newspaper ad reminding elected
officials that broad-brush attacks on business travel have consequences on the U.S. economy.
benefits that business events brought
to Philadelphia and called them a major
contributor to the city’s economy that
could not be ignored despite the pullback
on business travel.
“The need to bring more meetings to
Philadelphia is critical,” DeBenedictis said.
“Each year, the largest contributor to filling
hotel rooms in the city is people visiting for
conventions and other group-related events
– an average of 40%.”
He added that in 2008, conventions,
meetings and groups filled nearly one
million hotel room-nights, according to
PKF Consulting in Philadelphia, PA.
“These visitors spend money in the local
economy, generate tax revenue and support
more than 88,000 jobs in the region,” he
said.
Reach Nick DeBenedictis at (215) 636-
3300 or nickd@pcvb.org
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