Defining Conventions as Urban Innovation and Economic Accelerators

Although the services provided by the meetings industry often go unnoticed, they are a catalyst for economic growth. They have the power to influence how a city is shaped, including who lives there, who works there and who visits year-to-year. What’s more, conferences can determine what other industries flock to the region and ultimately whether long-term investment opportunities will succeed or fail.

Logo for Meetings Mean Business
Although the services provided by the meetings industry often go unnoticed, they are a catalyst for economic growth. They have the power to influence how a city is shaped, including who lives there, who works there and who visits year-to-year. What’s more, conferences can determine what other industries flock to the region and ultimately whether long-term investment opportunities will succeed or fail.

At its core, the industry is evolving into a global innovation distribution channel. It is therefore no surprise that destination marketing organizations (DMOs) are increasingly using meetings to impact the communities around them, though the strategies they have relied on to do so are nothing short of remarkable.

Meetings Mean Business partnered with Skift to look at how meetings are driving economic development and generating legacy impacts. The report details how DMOs are collaborating more strategically with local governments, economic development agencies and academic institutions to increase convention business in high-priority growth sectors as a way to position their cities as innovation accelerators. It shows how meetings are economic drivers that can be leveraged to attract outside corporate investment and talent more effectively.

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The Place Brand Portfolio is City Nation Place's searchable portfolio of Awards case studies from the past five years.


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