The relative economic impact of convention and tourist visitors on a regional economy: a case study

Abstract

This study shows for a regional economy, the relative impact of convention travel parties is larger than that of general tourists which, in part, justifies the existence of convention bureaus. Convention and meetings are highly beneficial in that they can complement the seasonal fluctuations in general tourism activity. Because this is a case study of Orlando, Florida, care must be taken in generalizing the results. In Orlando the average meeting length, the average travel party size, and the number of days that travel parties remain beyond the convention are all higher than the average for the U.S.A. Further, in smaller cities, the specialized convention services are likely to be imported from outside of the local economy, thereby reducing the convention multipliers.