10 Jan 2014
PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 9, 2014…The Pennsylvania Convention Center welcomes its busiest January in more than five years, with four city-wide conventions taking place this month generating more than $92 million in economic impact for the City. The groups occupying the Center in January include the American Economic Association, which took place January 3-5 ($42 million economic impact); US Lacrosse National Convention, January 10-12 ($9 million economic impact); National Soccer Coaches Association of America, January 15-19 ($15 million economic impact) and the American Library Association, January 24-28 ($26 million economic impact). They will be among the first city-wide meetings held in the facility under the new SMG management team.
Meetings booked by the PHLCVB for January 1 – December 31 will fill 484,496 total room nights, generating more than $729 million in economic impact for Philadelphia. The PHLCVB sales team will continue to book short-term groups during the year for 2014.
“Working with the SMG team and the Greater Philadelphia Hotel Association, the PHLCVB has strategic and tactical initiatives underway to book even more short-term business at the Convention Center and for the future, with the goal of ensuring that our hotel rooms remain filled,” said Jack Ferguson, PHLCVB President & CEO.
“Excellent customer service will be our culture and everyone's top priority at the Pennsylvania Convention Center this year,” said Lorenz Hassenstein, General Manager at PCC for SMG. “Importing SMG's best practices from other properties around the country, combined with the addition of nearly 20 veteran executives from within the events industry, will ensure fast progress and our team's eventual success.”
Strengthening Philadelphia's calendar of activities this year are several major sporting events which collectively solidify the City's standing as a top national sports destination. Those events include the NCAA Men's Frozen Four Championships in April, the National Veteran's Wheelchair Games in August and the Rock n' Roll Marathon in September.
In 2014, a wide variety of notable conventions and tradeshows will occupy the Center. In the first half of the year East Coast Volleyball, April 12-14, will take place over the traditionally slow Easter holiday weekend, followed by the American Academy of Neurology, April 26- May3. During the summer – considered a need period for area hotels, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc, July 10-18, and the National Association of Letter Carriers, July 21-25 will convene in Philadelphia. In the fall, the National Society of Hispanic MBA's will meet in Philadelphia for the first time, from September 25-27, followed by the Infectious Diseases Society of America, October 8-12. Noteworthy conventions to conclude the year include the American Society of Nephrology, November 11-16 and the American Society of Cell Biology, December 6-10. Combined, these highlighted conventions will generate more than $195 million in economic impact.
“The years 2014 through 2016 are challenging years for our industry but we are very optimistic about SMG & the work of the PHLCVB going into the coming year,” said Jim Gratton, Greater Philadelphia Hotel Association President.
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Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau (PHLCVB), www.discoverPHL.com, a private non-profit membership corporation, is the official Tourism Promotion Agency for the City of Philadelphia globally, and the primary sales and marketing agency for the expanded Pennsylvania Convention Center. The PCVB competes with its counterparts worldwide for convention and tourism business. The organization has departments dedicated to the multicultural, sports, and life sciences markets. The PHLCVB incorporates the short code PHL, an open source graphic identifier for the City of Philadelphia into the Convention & Visitors Bureau brand identity. The graphic identifier and other assets for use by public, private and non-profit organizations can be found at www.PHLpartners.com. To request a login, email phlpartners@discoverphl.com
