With a hit TV show, internationally acclaimed colleges, a growing arts scene and designations from several media outlets as a leading place to live and visit, Providence is in the spotlight.
Earlier this year, Successful Meetings magazine rated Providence one of the top 10 cities for meetings and last December, Money magazine named Providence “The Best Place to Live in the East.”
This can translate into greater popularity with convention planners and according to figures from the Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau (PWCVB), bookings for meeting and conventions in Providence increased last year.
The PWCVB reported 95 total bookings of meetings and conventions for the 2000 fiscal year, up from 74 total bookings in 1999. PWCVB bookings at the Rhode Island Convention Center totaled 55, an increase of 16 conventions over last year. These figures do not include bookings made by organizations that scheduled conferences with the Convention Center directly.
The PWCVB booked 106,606 room nights in 2000, compared to 106,920 in 1999. Exhibit space sold netted 1,006,511 square feet in 2000, up from 832,571 square feet in 1999.
According to PWCVB Public Relations Coordinator Lauren Kedski, the organization’s figures for fiscal year 2001 will be released next week.
In July, 17 meeting planners from throughout the country visited Providence as a prospective city for future conventions, at which time PWCVB Vice President of Convention Sales John Flaherty estimated that “the economic impact of each convention ranges from half a million dollars to $1.5 million.”
“I would say that we’re getting a fair number of conventions,” said Nicholas A. Langella, general manager of the Rhode Island Convention Center. “We’ve gotten many more trade shows.”
The need for more hotel rooms is “our number one challenge,” he said.
Langella said the center is attracting more than out-of-towners.
“We are beginning to do a lot of corporate business,” he said. “That’s been very successful for us, that the local community has gotten involved.”
The Rhode Island Convention Center has recently played host to meetings of EMC, Fidelity, CVS and Chrysler.
Also adding to the city’s popularity for business, Langella asserts, is the region’s popularity as a vacation destination.
“This year we had a few more conventions come during the summer,” he said. “People are combining business with their vacations.”
A list of conventions and meetings scheduled to be held in Providence follows, courtesy of the Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau.
September 26 to 29, 2001 Wound Care International
October 5-7, 2001 New England Chapters Council, Society of Decorative Painters
October 6-8, 2001 North American Conference on Molecular Beam Epitaxy
October 7-8, 2001 Ocean State Marathon
October 12-14, 2001 Automatic Transmission Rebuilders Association
October 17-21, 2001 National Trust for Historic Preservation
October 23-25, 2001 Lesley College Literacy For All Conference
October 26 to 28, 2001 Downeast Enterprises Fall Leadership Conference
October 26 to 28, 2001 Brown University Parents’ Weekend
October 28-30, 2001 McDonald’s Corporation Assistant Managers Meeting
October 29-November 3, 2001 International Foodservice Editorial Council
November 1-4, 2001 Fine Furnishings Show
November 3-7, 2001 The Institute for Briquetting and Agglomeration
November 7-9, 2001 New England Museum Association Annual Meeting
November 12-14, 2001 IMARK Communications Providence ITEC Expo
November 15-17, 2001 New England Kindergarten Group
November 16-17, 2001 Advocates in Action 2001 Annual Statewide Self-Advocacy Conference
November 23-24, 2001 New England Pop Warner Regional Football/Cheerleading Championship
November 26 to 28, 2001 American Society of Safety Engineers New England Chapter Meeting
December 6-8, 2001 National Association of Independent Schools
January 4-6, 2002 Downeast Enterprises Bryan Winter Conference
January 6, 2002 SNE Bridal Show
January 10-13, 2002 Providence Boat Show
January 30-February 3, 2002 Rhode Island Auto Show
February 16-17, 2002 Pet Show
February 22-24, 2002 RV Show
February 28-March 3, 2002 Rhode Island Spring Flower & Garden Show
March 6-9, 2002 New England Turf Grass Conference and Expo
March 13-17, 2002 The SENE Home Show
March 20-25, 2002 North East Fabricare Association Annual Meeting
March 21-23, 2002 Mary Kay Inc. Career Conference
March 24-27, 2002 New England League of Middle Schools Annual Conference
April 4-6, 2002 Builderburg Group, Inc. JLC Live! Construction Training Show
April 11-14, 2002 New England Council of Optometrists Annual Meeting
April 17-21, 2002 American Bar Association Family Law Spring 2002 CLE Conference
April 21-23, 2002 American Association of State Highway & Transportation Officials
April 22-28, 2002 National Association of Educational Buyers
April 28-29, 2002 New England Convenience Stores Association Annual Meeting and Tradeshow
May 18, 2002 Johnson & Wales University Graduation
May 24-27, 2002 Brown University Graduation Weekend
June 5-8, 2002 National Business Media The B.I.G. Show
June 27-July 1, 2002 American Association of Woodturners Annual Symposium
July 12-19, 2002 Coordinate Measurement System Committee Annual Meeting
July 21-24, 2002 American Association of School Administrators Suburban Superintendent Summer Conference
August 2-7, 2002 National Association of State Retirement Administrators Annual Conference
September 27-28, 2002 New England Booksellers Association Annual Meeting and Tradeshow
October 3-6, 2002 Diversified Business Communications FISH Expo/Workboat Atlantic
October 11-19, 2002 Federation of Analytical Chemistry & Spectroscopy Society Annual Meeting
October 11-13, 2002 New England Chapters Council, Society of Decorative Painters
October 13-14, 2002 Ocean State Marathon
October 23-28, 2002 Fish Expo
October 25-27, 2002 Brown University Parents’ Weekend
November 8-10, 2002 Campus Compact Capstone 2002 Conference
November 10-13, 2002 IMARK Communications Providence ITEC Expo
December 3-5, 2002 American Society of Safety Engineers New England Chapter Meeting
