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More than 100,000 attendees bring nearly $45 million in estimated economic impact to Minneapolis

The Minneapolis Convention Center had record-setting months for revenue in October and November, thanks to a high number of national conventions the city hosted. During those two months, the Minneapolis Convention Center hosted 90 events, bringing in more than 100,000 attendees who had an estimated economic impact of nearly $45 million in the community. Meet Minneapolis, Convention and Visitors Association, works to book events of all sizes in the facility and is responsible for generating revenue at the center through its contract with the City of Minneapolis.

Minneapolis (Dec. 14, 2015) – The Minneapolis Convention Center had record-setting months for revenue in October and November, thanks to a high number of national conventions the city hosted. During those two months, the Minneapolis Convention Center hosted 90 events, bringing in more than 100,000 attendees who had an estimated economic impact of nearly $45 million in the community. Meet Minneapolis, Convention and Visitors Association, works to book events of all sizes in the facility and is responsible for generating revenue at the center through its contract with the City of Minneapolis.

Because of the high number of out-of-town visitors, hotel occupancy in October was also at an all-time record for the month, reaching 85 percent occupancy, compared to 78 percent in October 2014. The hotel occupancy percentage for November is not yet available.

Some of the largest events that drew crowds to the Minneapolis Convention Center include:

  • 2015 Railway Interchange – 9,400 attendees
  • 2015 Minnesota National Association for College Admission Counseling College Fair – 22,000 attendees
  • Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education Annual Conference – 2,400 attendees
  • National Council of Teachers of English 2015 Annual Convention – est. 6,000 attendees
  • National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Regional Conference and Exposition – 2,300 attendees
  • Synergy in Science – est. 6,000 attendees
  • 2015 Mid-America Oireachtas/Irish Dance Teachers Association of North America – est. 4,000 attendees

During these two months, the Convention Center hosted a number of conventions that drew significantly more attendees to the city than anticipated. The Railway Interchange had expected 7,200 attendees, but ended up drawing more than 9,400 during its October convention. Several other events that drew more attendees than expected added extra hotels to their room blocks, helping boost occupancy to record levels. For example, the Synergy in Science convention added rooms at nine additional hotels as the event grew, and the National Council of Teachers of English added five hotels to its bookings.

Minneapolis is on pace to have a record year for hospitality in 2015, likely exceeding 2014, which had record levels of events, hotel occupancy, average daily (hotel) rate, revenue per available room and leisure and hospitality jobs. In 2014, the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area drew 30.9 million visitors, also an all-time record.


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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 maximize the economic benefit to the greater Minneapolis area.

Meet Minneapolis is accredited by the Destination Marketing Accreditation Program (DMAP) of the Destination Marketing Association International.

Find out more:

MEDIA CONTACT
Kristen Montag, Senior Communications and Public Relations Manager, 612.767.8038, kristenm@minneapolis.org