Meetings said to contribute $130 billion to U.S. travel industry
Meetings hosted by businesses, associations, nonprofits and governments contribute $130.2 billion to the U.S. domestic travel industry, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) said in a report.
Hotels in 2012 generated $39.3 billion in revenue from meetings attendees, while food-and-beverage operators generated $29.8 billion, PwC said. Airlines generated $23.8 billion in revenue from meetings attendees that year.
An additional $150.2 billion is generated via meeting planners, production, venue rentals and other non-tourism services.
PwC said the report, which was prepared for the Convention Industry Council, is the first of its kind, so year-earlier comparable figures aren?t available.
PwC estimated that 1.83 million meetings hosted 224.9 million attendees in 2012. About half of the attendees went to meetings hosted by corporations, while 26% percent attended association and membership-hosted meetings.
Nonprofits and government entities conducted meetings that were attended by 23% and 2% of U.S. attendees, respectively.