PCVB Details Largest Bookings at Pennsylvania Convention Center in 2007
PHILADELPHIA, PA, January 23, 2007. The Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau (PCVB) today released the convention schedule for 2007; 245 meetings and conventions will generate more than 482,993 total room nights for Philadelphia and $656 million in economic impact. This includes both large and small meetings and conventions held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center and in area hotels booked through the PCVB. Booked groups will bring attendees from every type of industry, including life sciences, education, finance, religion, and sports to the region.
"We will continue to book meetings for 2007 as well as for future years," said Jack Ferguson, PCVB executive vice president, convention division. "Thanks to our dedicated short-term sales staff, we typically book an additional 100,000 room nights for the year, within the year."
To support the short-term sales efforts, the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau and Pennsylvania Convention Center are integrating marketing and advertising elements for the short-term customer with the successful "Philadelphia, Where You're at Liberty to Meet" campaign.
The PCVB's campaign current campaign, launched in 2006, initially focused on selling Philadelphia to planners who book their conventions and tradeshows at least five years in advance. We have been really successful in booking long-term groups thanks to ongoing positive Convention Center expansion news, as well as the city's success in hosting the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) Annual Meeting last January. This includes $543 million in contracts on the books for the expanded Pennsylvania Convention Center.
For 2007, the largest conventions Philadelphia will host include: the National Education Association, June 25-July 5 (47,725 total room nights); National Baptist Convention, September 3-7 (25,450 total room nights); American Industrial Hygiene Association, May 30-June 9 (21,910 total room nights); American Academy of Physicians Assistants, May 25-31 (22,690 total room nights); American Dietetic Association, September 29-October 1 (15,225 total hotel room nights); and Medical Group Management Association, October 24-November 1 (12,010 total room nights).
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