The Meetings Industry Contributes More to U.S. National GDP Than the Air Transportation, Motion Picture, Sound Recording, Performing Arts and Spectator Sport Industries
Paul Van Deventer, MMB co-chair and president and CEO of Meeting Professionals International
(Washington, DC, Thursday, April 6, 2017) – The U.S. economy and businesses are directly affected by the meetings, conferences, conventions, incentive travel, and trade shows that are held across the country. Leaders from across the meetings and events industry are coming together to support Global Meetings Industry Day (GMID) on Thursday, April 6, 2017.
- The meetings industry contributes more to U.S. national GDP than the air transportation, motion picture, sound recording, performing arts and spectator sport industries. It is an economic engine, creating hundreds of thousands of jobs, generating billions of dollars in revenue and supporting communities across the country.
- When it comes to making investments in their business, executives find face-to-face meetings to be a high priority (82%) – even more than technology (79%) or customer research (66%), according to MMB’s 2016 Business Leaders Survey.
- Nine in ten say meetings improve their ability to close deals (93%), network (90%) and grow professionally (88%).
- According to a study by PwC, the meetings industry contributed more than $280 billion to the U.S. national economy and put another $88 billion back into the economy through federal, state and local taxes in 2012.
- An Oxford Economics report highlights the industry’s value to businesses, finding that companies that invested more in business travel during the economic downturn grew the fastest.
- Hosting an event, convention or trade show stimulates a region’s economy by bringing in new visitors, who stay in area hotels, eat in local restaurants, shop in neighborhood stores and bring new revenue to the destination.
- Experiencing a destination first hand is the best marketing tool for a community. While at a meeting, attendees have the opportunity to explore a destination and those experiences often influence their decision to come back – whether for business or leisure travel.