Return on investment Business meetings and events in Arizona boost companies’ bottom lines and the state’s economy
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By MICHAEL GOSSIE
he saying has become a cliché: You’ve got to spend money to make money. And while the Recession forced most businesses to cut back on staff and spending, Oxford Economics established a clear link between business travel and business growth, proving that for every dollar invested in business travel, businesses experience an average $12.50 in increased revenue and $3.80 in new profits. And when it comes to business travel, Arizona is a destination many businesses choose to bust their budgets in a quest for growth and increased profits. “Arizona is a popular destination for attracting meetings and group business because we offer year-round outdoor activities, world-class meetings facilities, a wide array of accommodations that can meet any budget, convenient and affordable direct flights into most major cities and much more,” said Debbie Johnson, president and CEO of the Arizona Hotel and Lodging Association. According to a study commissioned by the Arizona Office of Tourism, direct travel spending in Arizona was $19.3 billion in 2012, an increase of almost 5 percent compared with 2011. Of that travel spending, 17 of the total is attributed to business travel and 31 percent of that travel is specific to conference and convention attendance. To put that in perspective, the money spent by businesses on conventions, meetings and events in Arizona has the economic impact of hosting seven Super Bowls a year. “When meetings take place, it directly impacts our economy from airline travel to rental cars, from hotel occupancy to guests spending time offsite at local shops and restaurants,” says Lee Smith, senior 84 AB | September-October 2013
Debbie Johnson
Lorraine Pino
Kelli Blubaum
conference services manager at Hotel Valley Ho in Scottsdale. “All of this directly affects our economy.” According to Johnson, business meetings in urban areas such as Maricopa and Pima Counties are responsible for up to 70 percent of the revenue generated at downtown hotels and larger resorts. And nowhere is the economic impact of the meetings, events and conference industry more vital that Scottsdale, where an estimated 50 percent of all resort and full-service hotel business results from meetingsrelated travel. “Last fiscal year, the Scottsdale Convention & Visitors Bureau booked 433 meetings into Scottsdalearea hotels and resorts,” says Kelli Blubaum, CMP, vice president of convention sales and services for the Scottsdale Convention & Visitors Bureau. “While these groups generated $74.6 million in economic impact for the community, they represent only a fraction of the group business coming into Scottsdale as additional business is booked directly by our hotels and resorts.” Lorraine Pino, manager of the Glendale Convention & Visitors Bureau, says that while the business traveler is a highly valued customer because they spend more dollars and time in the community than a recreational visitor, it’s what happens after they leave the state that might have the biggest long-term economic impact. “From business conferences and meetings to largescale mega events, these activities showcase Arizona to an international audience and bring far-reaching economic benefit to the state,” Pino says. “Meetings mean business not only during the ‘booked’ event date, but far beyond as conference attendees and event visitors return for future business and leisure trips.”