Telling Our Story:Economic Impact Data and the

Attack on Meetings

Presented by Mitchell Beer, CMMPresident and CEO

The Conference Publishers Inc.www.theconferencepublishers.com

Brought to you by MPI Foundation

Sponsored by Freeman AV  

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Economic Data and the Attack on Meetings •Why measuring economic impact matters

•Canadian study results•Putting the data to work•What’s on the horizon

Why Measuring Economic Impact Matters•Credibility with our communities

•Political clout•Point of comparison with other industries and

sectors•The home run: Get national statistical agencies

to take over the measurement•Use data to defend our industry when we need

to

The Canadian Economic Impact Study• Funded and managed by MPI Foundation

Canada• Signature project for the new foundation• Rigorous, 22-month process• Built on new methodology from the U.N. World

Tourism Organization• A world first

• One piece of jargon:

A meetings extension to the Tourism Satellite Account

• “What about the butcher?”

The Canadian Economic Impact Study

The Canadian Economic Impact Study

The Canadian Economic Impact Study

• What is a meeting?• At least 10 people• At least four hours• Booked venue• Purpose related primarily to business

UNWTO

The Canadian Economic Impact Study

• >70 million participants• 671,000 meetings

• 1.8% were incentives• C$32.2 billion in direct spending• C$71 billion in economic effects• 235,500 full-year jobs

The Canadian Economic Impact Study

• Beyond direct spending, economic effects included:• C$5.7 billion in taxes to all orders of

government• C$14.6 billion in tax effects: income, sales,

and corporate tax, social security, etc.

The Canadian Economic Impact Study

• Comparing industries (% of GDP)

Tourism 1.86%

Motor Vehicle Manufacturing (pre-crash) 0.75%

Forestry and logging 0.68%

The Canadian Economic Impact Study

• Comparing industries (% of GDP)

The Canadian Economic Impact Study

Tourism 1.86%

Motor Vehicle Manufacturing (pre-crash) 0.75%

Forestry and logging 0.68%

Meetings 0.78%C$11.28 B

• Comparing industries (% of GDP)

• Which of these industries receives the least attention, support, respect?

The Canadian Economic Impact Study

Tourism 1.86%

Motor Vehicle Manufacturing (pre-crash) 0.75%

Forestry and logging 0.68%

Meetings 0.78%C$11.28 B

Putting the Data to Work• AIG, Wells Fargo, others go ahead with

scheduled incentives• Meetings come under attack• Coalition forms• Sen. Kerry tables Senate bill

“Any recipient of TARP funds shall not be allowed to host, sponsor, pay for conferences and events and pay for holiday or entertainment events for the

year in which they receive TARP funds.”

Putting the Data to Work

• The claim: A million jobs at stake

Putting the Data to Work

• The claim: A million jobs at stake• The data (for 10x the population)

• 2.5 million jobs• Incentives represent 1.8% of all meetings (±)

• CAUTION: Details may be lost in translation

Putting the Data to Work

• The claim: A million jobs at stake• The data (for 10x the population)

• 2.5 million jobs• Incentives represent 1.8% of all meetings (±)

• Informal contact and a blog/news aggregator site carried the message first• “Sen. Kerry needs a scalpel, not a hatchet.”

• We’re still learning to tell this part of our story

Putting the Data to Work

How would you use the data?

1. Support local destination funding

2. Argue for new or expanded convention facilities

3. Educate federal/state/provincial legislators

4. Activate your local MPI chapter

5. Educate media

6. Write your own articles/blog posts

7. Build support in the wider business community

8. Other??

Putting the Data to Work

• UNWTO case studies• Interest on three continents• U.S. economic significance study• Possibility of drilling down

On the Horizon

• A necessary cornerstone, but still just the end of the beginning

• For meetings, what matters more: What we consume, or what we deliver?

• ROI…and more

On the Horizon

• The report www.mpiweb.org/Archive/195/58.aspx

• Huffington Post coveragehttp://tiny.cc/kvJiC

• Summary of this webinar

Resources

Economic Data and the Attack on Meetings •Why measuring economic impact matters

•Canadian study results•Putting the data to work•What’s on the horizon

Thank you!

Presented by Mitchell Beer, CMMPresident and CEO

The Conference Publishers Inc.mitchell@theconferencepublishers.com

+1.613.594.5960

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Sponsored by Freeman AV