Black Meetings & Tourism - IAAPA Chooses Orlando As Host City For The Next 10 Years

Current Events
IAAPA Chooses Orlando As Host City For The Next 10 Years
Show Anchors Nearly $ 1.1 Billion in Future Orlando Meetings and Conventions Business Confirmed This Year The Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau, Inc. (Orlando/Orange County CVB) and the Orange County Convention Center (OCCC) announced today that the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) has chosen Orlando and the Orange County Convention Center as host city for the next 10 years for its IAAPA Attractions Expo. The Expo, and its estimated 25,000 attendees, will be held from 2010 – 2019 at the OCCC. Estimated direct spending by the attendees is expected to exceed $27.8 million* a year while the total annual economic impact of the show (direct and indirect) is nearly $48 million. "IAAPA is one of the biggest shows we host making this announcement exciting news for Orlando, our convention center and our industry. We are thrilled to solidify this unprecedented relationship and look forward to a decade of partnership with IAAPA," said Gary Sain, president & CEO of the Orlando/Orange County CVB. "Forging this relationship was a team effort between the Convention Center and the Orlando/Orange County CVB." "Hosting IAAPA has been a great honor, and I am excited that they have decided to bring this prestigious show back to the Orange County Convention Center on a yearly basis," said Tom Ackert, executive director of the OCCC. "Orlando is a great fit for the Expo. Not only is it the unofficial theme park capital of the world, it also provides our attendees and exhibitors with great value, ease of access and opportunities for educational sessions that cannot be found anywhere else," commented Chip Cleary*, ch airman of the board of directors, IAAPA. "All of our attendance and exhibit sales records have been created when the Expo was held in Orlando." IAAPA joins 562 other meetings, conventions and tradeshows secured for future Orlando dates by the Orlando/Orange County CVB at convention centers, hotels and venues since the beginning of the year. These confirmed events represent more than one million attendees and hotel room nights and nearly $1.1 billion in estimated direct future spending. "Orlando is currently enjoying more than $4 billion worth of infrastructure projects. From our first-of-its-kind 'medical city' to our new Waldorf Astoria hotel and from the Peabody Orlando expansion to our new Amway Center, both opening later this year, Orlando is growing in more ways than one and companies and associations are taking notice," said Sain. "Our new developments combined with Orlando's outstanding value, accessibility and customer service, are providing great word-of-mouth and momentum." In addition to the IAAPA Attractions Expo, companies and meetings that have confirmed meeting dates in the last seven months in Orlando/Orange County include: Procter & Gamble – June 2010 Merck – September 2010 Orgill Incorporated – 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 WalMart Stores – March 2011 International Converting Exhibitions (ICE) – April 2011 National Baptist Convention of the USA – September 2011 National Basketball Association All-Star Weekend – February 2012 True Value Company – February 2012 North American Christian Convention – July 2012 American Sportfishing Association – July 2012 John Deere – December 2012 American Wind Energy Association – May 2015 Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology – May 2015 Healthcare Information & Management Systems Society – February 2017 Source: D. K. Shifflet & Associates Ltd. (total direct spending per person per day) **Source: Fishkind & Associates, per an economic impact study to determine Center's economic impact to Orange County of conventions and tradeshows held at the Orange County Convention Center.

Current Events

IAAPA Chooses Orlando As Host City For The Next 10 Years

Show Anchors Nearly $ 1.1 Billion in Future
Orlando Meetings and Conventions Business Confirmed This Year

The Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau, Inc. (Orlando/Orange County CVB) and the Orange County Convention Center (OCCC) announced today that the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) has chosen Orlando and the Orange County Convention Center as host city for the next 10 years for its IAAPA Attractions Expo. The Expo, and its estimated 25,000 attendees, will be held from 2010 – 2019 at the OCCC. Estimated direct spending by the attendees is expected to exceed $27.8 million* a year while the total annual

economic impact of the show (direct and indirect) is nearly $48 million**.

"IAAPA is one of the biggest shows we host making this announcement exciting news for Orlando, our convention center and our industry. We are thrilled to solidify this unprecedented relationship and look forward to a decade of partnership with IAAPA," said Gary Sain, president & CEO of the Orlando/Orange County CVB. "Forging this relationship was a team effort between the Convention Center and the Orlando/Orange County CVB."

"Hosting IAAPA has been a great honor, and I am excited that they have decided to bring this prestigious show back to the Orange County Convention Center on a yearly basis," said Tom Ackert, executive director of the OCCC. "Orlando is a great fit for the Expo. Not only is it the unofficial theme park capital of the world, it also provides our attendees and exhibitors with great value, ease of access and opportunities for educational sessions that cannot be found anywhere else," commented Chip Cleary, ch

airman of the board of directors, IAAPA. "All of our attendance and exhibit sales records have been created when the Expo was held in Orlando."

IAAPA joins 562 other meetings, conventions and tradeshows secured for future Orlando dates by the Orlando/Orange County CVB at convention centers, hotels and venues since the beginning of the year. These confirmed events represent more than one million attendees and hotel room nights and nearly $1.1 billion in estimated direct future spending. "Orlando is currently enjoying more than $4 billion worth of infrastructure projects. From our first-of-its-kind 'medical city' to our new Waldorf Astoria hotel and from the Peabody Orlando expansion to our new Amway Center, both opening later this year, Orlando is growing in more ways than one and companies and associations are taking notice," said Sain. "Our new developments combined with Orlando's outstanding value, accessibility and customer service, are providing great word-of-mouth and momentum."

In addition to the IAAPA Attractions Expo, companies and meetings that have confirmed meeting dates in the last seven months in Orlando/Orange County include:

Procter & Gamble – June 2010
Merck – September 2010
Orgill Incorporated – 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015
WalMart Stores – March 2011
International Converting Exhibitions (ICE) – April 2011
National Baptist Convention of the USA – September 2011
National Basketball Association All-Star Weekend – February 2012
True Value Company – February 2012
North American Christian Convention – July 2012
American Sportfishing Association – July 2012
John Deere – December 2012
American Wind Energy Association – May 2015
Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology – May 2015
Healthcare Information & Management Systems Society – February 2017

*Source: D. K. Shifflet & Associates Ltd. (total direct spending per person per day) **Source: Fishkind & Associates, per an economic impact study to determine Center's economic impact to Orange County of conventions and tradeshows held at the Orange County Convention Center.