ALEXANDRIA, VA – January 25, 2012-- The Convention Industry Council (CIC) released the following statement today in support of the U.S. Travel Association and the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AH&LA) for their role in bringing international travel and tourism to the national stage.

“On behalf of CIC, I congratulate U.S. Travel and AH&LA for their public commitment and continued support of the meetings and tourism industry,” said Steven Hacker, president of the International Association of Exhibitions and Events and current president of the CIC. “As a result of their leadership and the efforts of all CIC members, the meetings industry contributes more to the GDP than the auto manufacturing, air transportation and the motion picture industry, according to the Economic Significance Study released by CIC last year in 2011.” 

“What’s more, The Center for Exhibition Industry Research has learned that the economic contribution of meetings and events could be increased significantly by mitigating the current visa barriers many international travelers face when looking to attend events in the U.S.”

Other key findings from the Economic Significance Study include the total economic output of the meetings and events industry ($904 billion in total U.S. economic impact), impact on employment and labor (6.3 million U.S. jobs) as well as federal and state tax revenue generated ($110 billion combined).

“Meetings mean big business and we applaud our members for stressing the importance of our industry to key legislators as they develop domestic and international policies,” said Karen Kotowski, CAE, CMP, Chief Executive Officer of the Convention Industry Council. “This has been integral in quantifying the importance of face-to-face meetings for economic and business growth in the U.S.”

Further information regarding the studies and their findings are available on at www.conventionindustry.org/ResearchInfo/EconomicSignificanceStudy.aspx and http://www.ceir.org/article?id=48