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Meetings & Conventions: Newsline
Security Delays At Major Airports
Lia LorenzanoCensus on Events Surprises Many
The Chicago-based Center for Exhibition Industry Research
released its first Exhibition Industry Census in February,
pinpointing cities in North America that host the most exhibitions,
defined as events of 3,000 square feet or more with 10 or more
exhibitors.
Orlando, Las Vegas and Chicago took three of the top five slots.
The survey’s dark horse was San Diego, which came in ninth, ahead
of San Francisco and Los Angeles.
“While San Francisco and L.A. are better established, San Diego
is a new center with a convenient hotel package that has made it a
formidable competitor,” said CEIR’s president/CEO Douglas
Ducate.
Another striking result: Only a minority of the events tracked
are actually held in convention centers. In top-ranking Orlando,
for example, only 27 percent of exhibitions were held in convention
centers; 44 percent took place in hotels, close to the national
average of 41 percent.
The data is useful to executives like Fred Shea, vice president
of sales operations for Chicago-based Hyatt Hotels. “The census was
the first time we’ve had clear-cut data on shows as small as 3,000
square feet,” he said. “It was an eye-opener that there’s a lot
more business in trade shows.”
Hyatt is using the census to determine how much meeting space to
build or add to properties across the country. For instance, Shea
said the report has already inspired the chain to add 10,000 square
feet of exhibit space to the blueprint for a new Orlando hotel.
• MARTHA COOKE
Top Exhibition
Cities
Destinations that hosted the most events in 2000
1. Orlando
625
2. Las Vegas
589
3. Toronto
582
4. Chicago
493
5. New Orleans
447
6. Atlanta
422
7. Dallas
382
8. New York City
346
9. San Diego
331
10. Washington, D.C.
323
11. Nashville
296
12. Denver
265
Source:
Center for Exhibition Industry Research
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