Conventions and Expositions as Revenue Sources

Cities depend on a number of different sources for the revenues required to fund public services, finance governmental budgets, pay for education, and initiate development and/or infrastructure improvement projects. One lucrative source of such revenues is found within the hospitality industry. Specifically, cities that are capable of attracting conventions, expositions, trade shows, corporate and organizational seminars and workshops, and similar gatherings often find that their revenues are enhanced through several different sources (Mather, 2001).

Cities benefit from the revenues generated by these large gatherings in several ways (Suggs, 1997). Visitors fill hotel and motel rooms, paying a "bed tax" which accrues to city coffers. Visitors also dine in local restaurants, shop (and pay sale taxes) in local retail establishments, and use a host of other facilities, including city transportation, and airports. Car taxes for rental vehicles add to these city revenues, while the increased income of service sector and retail workers also often adds up to increased city taxes. In essence, as Suggs (1997) has commented, conventions are big business and the competition for these events can be fierce.

Given this general background, the purpose of the present report is to examine strategies and techniques for attracting conventions, expositions, and other large scale meetings or events to a city as part of an o

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What many event sponsors want for their own clients or members are amenities - which makes destinations such as Orlando (with its multiple theme parks), New Orleans (with its array of world class restaurants, historical buildings, and nightlife), Las Vegas (with its gambling and entertainment complexes) and similarly situated locales particularly appealing (Mather, 2001). Slania (2003), however, argued that the real bottom line in the competition for large gatherings of this type remains focused on cost factors. This analyst stated that the putative differences between the "top tier" convention cities (e.g., Las Vegas, Chicago, and Orland) and the "second-tier" cities (e.g., Anaheim, California, Dallas, and Atlanta) with respect to amenities often fade into insignificance next to price considerations. Smaller cities often have across-the-board lower hotel, car rental, airport, and sales taxes; similarly, dining options and other entertainment costs may also be less, while rental costs for facilities may be lower as well (Slania, 2003). Some CVBs disagree with this assessment of the situation. For example, Weiss (2003) recently reported that Las Vegas, which currently boasts over 100,000 hotel rooms, sees offering conventione
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