Visit Lauderdale is championing the rallying cry that “Meetings Matter” on Global Meetings Industry Day, an international day of advocacy held on March 30 to showcase the value created by business meetings, trade shows, conferences and conventions. This year’s theme highlights the numerous benefits of in-person meetings, such as positive economic impact on the region, jobs, forging of business connections and sharing of information that positively impacts the regional economy and benefits businesses of all sizes.
One among the numerous conferences Greater Fort Lauderdale is hosting is “Seatrade Cruise Global” at the Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center from March 27-30, 2023.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, business events ranging from small conferences to major trade shows typically welcomed over 1 billion attendees nationwide annually, according to the U.S. Travel Association. When global trade shows and conferences were shuttered and replaced by virtual gatherings in an effort to curtail the virus, convention center revenue around the world plunged, thousands of workers lost their jobs and vendors struggled to stay afloat.
In 2022, the industry began a positive trajectory and generated nearly $100 billion in travel spending nationwide, accounting for 38 percent of all business travel spending and directly supporting 600,000 American jobs with businesses of all sizes, according to the U.S. Travel Association. In Greater Fort Lauderdale, revenue from overnight visitors of conferences and expos climbed to over $295 million, thanks to a more than 88 percent year over year increase in overnight accommodations utilized by guests who traveled to the destination to attend in-person meetings and events.
Greater Fort Lauderdale is poised to welcome even more business travelers with the $1.3 billion expansion of the Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center. With the first phase now complete, work is progressing on a new eastside expansion with waterfront ballrooms, meeting rooms and kitchen facilities, and a six-acre waterfront plaza. Also on the horizon is a new 801-room, five-story Omni headquarters hotel connected to the convention center. When complete in late 2025, the facility’s size will increase to 1.2 million square feet.
Visit Lauderdale recently also unveiled its new “Everyone Under the Sun” brand campaign, which reflects Greater Fort Lauderdale’s inclusive community.
For more information, visit www.visitlauderdale.com.
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