Minneapolis (Feb. 26, 2025) – An ambitious, long-term vision for tourism in the city was officially announced during this year’s Meet Minneapolis Annual Meeting at the Minneapolis Convention Center. “Destination Minneapolis: Charting the Future of Minneapolis Tourism” is a forward-thinking strategy designed to improve the city’s competitiveness in attracting meetings, events and visitors while delivering tangible benefits to residents, workers and businesses across Minneapolis and the entire state.

“In a rapidly evolving world, bold and innovative ideas are crucial. We cannot afford to stand pat as other destinations are aggressively enhancing their viability,” said Meet Minneapolis President and CEO Melvin Tennant. “This strategic plan aligns the public, private and civic sectors around actionable steps to increase the positive impacts of the visitor economy – not just for visitors but for the people who live, work and build their lives in Minneapolis.”

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey served as the chair of the steering committee, which was comprised of members of the Meet Minneapolis board of directors. For more information on “Destination Minneapolis: Charting the Future of Minneapolis Tourism,” go here and here.

Tourism in Minneapolis directly supports more than 33,000 hospitality and tourism workers – individuals whose livelihoods are built on the city’s ability to attract visitors and events. In 2024, Meet Minneapolis and its partners:

• Brought 760 events to the city and region
• Welcomed nearly 720,000 people to the Minneapolis Convention Center
• Filled more than two million hotel rooms for the first time since 2019

Meet Minneapolis Key Performance Indicators for 2024*

• Future Group Hotel Room Nights Booked: 528,000
  • Second consecutive year with more than 525,000 future rooms booked
• Minneapolis Convention Center (MCC) Revenue Generated: $21.4 million
  • An increase of more than 15% compared to 2023
• Lodging Taxes Generated: $11.7 million
  • More than 10% higher compared to the previous year
• Partnerships Businesses: 486
  • 65 new partner businesses were added in 2024

“In 2024, tourism again proved its place as a cornerstone of our local economy. Minneapolis became a hub of large-scale events, from World Cup cross-country skiing and Big Ten Basketball Tournaments to the U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Trials and major conventions from groups such as the American Physical Society, Jack and Jill of America and the American Public Health Association,” added Tennant. “With the help of our partners, we’re proud of the important work we are doing to support local workers, jobs, and businesses, as well as generating critical tax revenue and strengthening Minneapolis’ reputation as a premier travel destination.”

More 2024 Highlights

• Increase in Hotel Room Demand Continues: With strong convention activity, several marquee events, and increased business and leisure travel in 2024, Minneapolis hotels recorded their strongest year since 2019:
  • Hotel Rooms Sold: 2,072,664 – most since 2019 (2,304,513)
  • Hotel Occupancy: 55.5% – highest since 2019 (68.2%)
  • Hotel Room Revenue: $379,613,345 – highest ever
• Tourism Improvement District (TID): A hotel-led task force concluded a petition drive with 73% of Minneapolis hotel owners voting in favor of the creation of a TID, far surpassing the 51% needed. This TID would be a public-private initiative to provide supplemental funding for new tourism activities. With overwhelming support, a local ordinance will now move forward to the Minneapolis City Council for approval.
• Digital Engagement: Meet Minneapolis set new records in 2024, with its website (http://www.minneapolis.org/) reaching 3.5 million sessions (+11.1% YOY) and generating 1.2 million outbound clicks to partner businesses. Social media followers grew by more than 20% and vertical video content amassed over six million views on the organization’s primary platforms of Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.
• Cultural Districts: To highlight the city’s designated Cultural Districts, Meet Minneapolis partnered with graphic designer Jesús Li to create an illustrated map and icons. These visuals showcase each district’s proximity to landmarks and distinct identity, blending cultural symbols, local narratives and notable sites. The new map was used in an awareness campaign that delivered 8.9 million impressions and more than 74,600 clicks.
• Gymnastics City USA: In June, downtown Minneapolis was transformed into Gymnastics City USA. The MCC hosted four major gymnastics events including the USA Gymnastics Championships, featuring rhythmic gymnastics, acrobatic gymnastics, and trampoline & tumbling, while Target Center was the site of the four-day Olympic Trials. Additional events included the Flip Zone fan interaction area and Promenade du Nord. In all, more than 200,000 visitors came to downtown Minneapolis for one or more Gymnastics City USA events.
• Minnesota Sports Hall of Fame Experience: During the holiday season, more than 10,000 people relived Minnesota sports history by walking through this free pop-up exhibit. It showcased six distinct eras of our state’s rich athletic legacy, as well as legendary sports columnist Sid Hartman’s office, and honored the members of the Star Tribune’s Minnesota Sports Hall of Fame.
• Largest Conventions and Public Shows of 2024: The MCC, U.S. Bank Stadium, Target Center and other downtown venues hosted hundreds of major conventions, sporting events and large public consumer shows, resulting in significant economic impact for the city, thanks to the local tourism and hospitality industry.
  • Groups holding large-scale conventions in Minneapolis included Herbalife International of America (attendance: 14,550), American Physical Society (12,780+), Minnesota Music Educators Association (12,600), American Public Health Association (10,450), American Cleanpower Association (7,440), and GALA Choruses (7,000).
  • The public events with the highest attendance at the MCC included the Twin Cities Auto Show (49,500), Minneapolis Home & Garden Show (36,400+), Twin Cities Con (35,100+), Minneapolis Boat Show (26,130), and The Ultimate RV Show (21,840).
• Marketing the Destination: Meet Minneapolis took an always-on approach to leisure marketing, ensuring a consistent presence. From See What All the Fuss Is About to seasonal campaigns – including Minneapolis Summer Don’t Miss List, Fill Your Fall, ’Tis the Season for Holiday Cheer, Beyond Game Day and Winter-apolis – each encouraged overnight stays to Minneapolis. The organization also joined in the viral trend of Bring Ya Ass, leveraging the playoff run of the Minnesota Timberwolves to inspire visits to the city.

To access the 2024 Meet Minneapolis Annual Impact Report, please go here.

* Unaudited. Key performance indicators will be verified by an independent auditor.

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ABOUT MEET MINNEAPOLIS
Meet Minneapolis is a private, not-for-profit, member-based association. It actively promotes and sells the Minneapolis area as a destination for conventions and meetings, works to maximize the visitor experience and markets the city as a desirable tourist destination to positively impact the economic and social prosperity of the Minneapolis community. Meet Minneapolis is accredited by the Destination Marketing Accreditation Program (DMAP) of Destinations International.

MEDIA CONTACTS
Kevin Kurtt, PR Manager, (o) 612-767-8118, (c) 952-288-9319, kevink@minneapolis.org
Kathy McCarthy, Senior PR Director, (o) 612-767-8048, (c) 612-508-9720, kathym@minneapolis.org