Major New Study Supports the Value of Florida Conventions
According to Jeffery Oliasami, General Manager of the Renaissance World Golf Village Resort, a major Florida Convention Center, the Conventions Industry Council recently released a new study – The Economic Significance of Meetings to the U.S. Economy – which showed that the U.S. meetings industry directly supports 1.7 million jobs, a $106 billion contribution to GDP, $263 billion in spending, $60 billion in labor revenue, $14.3 billion in federal tax revenue and $11.3 billion in state and local tax revenue.
It’s not really surprising,” said Mr. Oliasami. “It’s easy to see the impact that Florida meetings and Florida conventions at our hotel have on the local economy.”
The research quantifies the economic contributions made by the 1.8 million meetings, trade shows, conventions, congresses, incentive events and other meetings that take place across the country. The 1.7 million jobs generated by the meetings industry are more than many U.S. industries, including broadcasting and communications (1.3 million jobs), truck and rail transportation industries (1.5 million jobs) and computer and electronic product manufacturing (1.1 million jobs).
Mr. Oliasami sees that trend clearly in the Florida conventions market. “The meetings and events sector supports both jobs and spending in a host of industries, including professional meeting organizers, food and beverage, transportation, recreation/entertainment, retail, travel services and more. It impacts more than just the Florida meetings and Florida conventions held at our hotel.
“Meetings are how business gets done in virtually every state, city and town in America,” said Mr. Oliasami. “They are the very definition of working together and are essential to the economic future of our country.”
For information about meetings at the Renaissance World Golf Village Resort and Florida Convention Center, call Scott Selvaggi, Director of Sales & Marketing, at 904-940-8000, or visit www.worldgolfrenaissance.com/meetings.