Convention coming to Newport

Conventions are generally attractive because of the immediate impact they have on local economies.

But ask Newport County Convention & Visitors Bureau President Evan Smith about a conference scheduled for April, and he’ll tell you it has ramifications far beyond its duration.

The International Council on Monuments and Sites, a preservation and heritage society, will hold its ninth annual meeting in Newport in April 2006. The conference is expected to bring more than 300 world heritage advocates to the area for the three-day event.

Aside from providing an economic windfall for the city, the event will allow council officials to view Newport close up at a time when the city is vying for the organization’s approval.
Currently, the city is under consideration for designation as a world heritage site, an approval that Smith feels will provide Newport with long-lasting effects.

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If it did receive the designation, which is awarded by the council, Smith said Newport could attract higher-quality tourists with interest in the city’s history and monuments.

According to a press release from U.S. Sen. Lincoln Chafee, who helped bring the event to the state, the council was founded in 1965 to help preserve heritage sites following World War II. The council has more than 7,000 members through 116 national committees.

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