News Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau (ACVB) attracted 25 new and returning large conventions for future years by the close of quarter two; roughly twice the number secured by ACVB’s sales team at this time last year.
These events represent more than 500,000 hotel room nights, an estimated 800,000 attendees and more than $500 million in economic impact. “Our commitment to growing attendance in Atlanta draws first-time and return clients alike,” said Mark Vaughan, executive vice president and chief sales officer, ACVB. “During the first half of 2014, we’ve seen 18 out of 20 conventions exceed or meet their attendance goals, and it’s this performance that results in new and repeat sales.”
Steve Harvey will bring the 2014 Ford Neighborhood Awards to Atlanta Aug. 7-10 at Philips Arena and the Georgia World Congress Center (GWCC). Seventy percent of Harvey’s listeners are within a seven-hour drive of Atlanta, positioning the event to draw an estimated 150,000 attendees over the course of the weekend. The Neighborhood Awards will return to Atlanta in 2015.
Coverings, North America’s premier international trade fair and expo dedicated exclusively to showcasing the newest in tile + stone, will return to Atlanta for its 2018 show with an estimated 25,000 attendees. Coverings held their trade fair and expo in Atlanta for the first time in 2013 and experienced strong attendance and three percent growth in the number of architects, designers and other specifiers. Also returning is The American Foundry Society’s CastExpo in 2019. CastExpo last held their meeting in Atlanta in 2008 and will bring 8,000 metal casters to the city.
“With all of the attractions available in Atlanta, our attendees will have the best of both worlds,” said Jerry Call, CEO, American Foundry Society. “Attendees will experience a great trade show at an outstanding venue in a city that’s ready to welcome them.”
More than $1.5 billion in new retail, hotel and attractions offerings will open in Atlanta in 2014, with the majority of the development concentrated just steps away from the GWCC. New downtown Atlanta attractions include the newly-opened Center for Civil and Human Rights, the soon-to-open College Football Hall of Fame and Chick-fil-A Fan Experience, and the Atlanta Streetcar, which is scheduled to be operational by the end of the year. Established in 1913, ACVB is a private, nonprofit organization created to favorably impact the Atlanta economy through conventions and tourism.
