Celebrating the Impact of Meetings and Conventions on Tourism
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Celebrate Global Meetings Industry Day
Global Meetings Industry Day (GMID) is a global day of advocacy that highlights the powerful impact of business meetings, trade shows, incentive travel, exhibitions, conferences, and conventions on people, businesses, and communities.
Why Meetings Matter
Meetings create value that extends far beyond the event itself by fueling local economies, fostering personal growth, and creating lasting connections. They drive billions in travel spending, sustain hundreds of thousands of jobs, and play a crucial role in business success. A thriving travel industry—and American economy—is dependent on business travel, meetings, and events.
Business travel, meetings, and events produce significant economic contributions to destinations and host communities around the country in the form of travel spending, job creation, and tax revenue. Despite making up only 20% of total trip volume, business travelers accounted for 40-60% of lodging and air revenue—underscoring the essential role of this critical segment to the travel industry and our economy.
Economic Impact
In 2023, total business travel generated $294 billion in travel spending, marking an 81% recovery from 2019 levels. Transient business travelers generated $175 billion in spending in 2023. Group travel, initially declining more than transient business travel, has made significant progress driven by the desire for face-to-face interactions. In 2023, group travel generated nearly $120 billion in spending, recovering to 79% of 2019 levels.
The Importance of In-Person Meetings
To accelerate our industry’s full recovery, businesses must get back to in-person meetings. Business travel and professional meetings and events are critical not only for the recovery of the travel industry but also for the U.S. economy as a whole. For current metrics on business travel and more, explore U.S. Travel Association's Economic Impact of the Travel Industry.
Success Stories: Frisco's Tourism Economy
Fiscal year 2023 was a monumental year for Visit Frisco, and fiscal year 2024 brought even more record-breaking achievements for the Destination Marketing Organization.
- A record high economic impact of $96.6 million, a 14% increase from fiscal year 2023.
- A record high hotel occupancy tax collected of $13.1 million.
- A record 259 events booked, a 5% increase.
- An all-time high average daily rate of $222 for booked meetings.
- 81 groups supported by Visit Frisco's Destination Services team.
- Highest ever earned media value of $15.9 million.
"I am so proud of the Visit Frisco team," said Visit Frisco Executive Director, Marla Roe. "Their passion and love for this city and our visitors shine through in their daily efforts. FY24 was another significant year of accomplishments for the team and our wonderful partners."
Celebrate the impact of meetings and conventions on tourism and join us on April 3, 2025, for Global Meetings Industry Day. Together, we can continue to drive economic growth, create jobs, and foster meaningful connections.
More on Meetings
Explore the Visit Frisco meetings site to learn Why Frisco? and the hotel properties and offsite venues available to plan your next meeting or convention.