Issues & Trends

Recently, some companies that received emergency government funding have been vilified for maintaining their performance incentive programs and following through on planned meetings and events. Due to these attacks, companies that have – and many more that have not – received emergency government support have chosen to cancel thousands of meetings and events across the country. USA TODAY reports that the meetings, events and incentive travel planners report that business is down by about 35%.

Meetings and events are valuable business tools for companies seeking to reward and develop their hardest-working employees. Companies that have received taxpayer dollars need to be responsible, transparent and accountable. The travel community has developed a clear meetings and events policy that these companies should adopt. These standards are simply good for business, and a necessity for companies that have accepted emergency funding from the government.

If we want to foster economic recovery and growth, we must support the travel industry, which is responsible for one in eight American jobs. In fact, a recent survey by the American Gaming Association showed that 87% of Americans think encouraging people to travel recreationally within the U.S. could improve the country's economic landscape, and 67% say promoting tourism to the U.S. from Europe, Asia, South America and other parts of the globe could help bolster the domestic economy. A decline in meetings and events will – quite simply – cost American workers their livelihoods and negatively impact companies across the country, including hotels, restaurants, florists and thousands of others. The impact of cuts in business travel on communities is evident:

• In December 2008, Las Vegas' unemployment reached a 25-year high – 9.1%. Further, last month McCarran International Airport experienced a 15.7% drop in traffic. This is the worst monthly decline since the days after 9-11.
• The Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau announced that the cancellation of Citigroup Inc.'s June conference has cost the city $55 million.
• The Phoenix Convention Center Department recently announced nearly $7.3 million in proposed budget cuts due to the loss of business convention and meeting bookings.
• U.S. hotels are predicted to have a 52 to 56% occupancy rate this year, down from 60.4% in 2008.
• According to Smith Travel Research (STR), the U.S. hotel industry posted declines in three key performance measurements in February 2009: occupancy was down 10.1%, average daily rate (ADR) fell 7.8% and revenue per available room (RevPAR) lost 17.1%.
• The state of California, which has seen companies like Cisco Systems cancel large-scale events in San Francisco, expects tourist spending to fall 8% this year.

Click here to see state-by-state spending data »

Jobs

Business travel is responsible for 2.4 million jobs in the U.S. Meetings and events are critical economic drivers in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, and American workers – especially hourly-wage employees – pay a heavy price when meetings and events are cancelled. In Florida alone, meetings and events generated 91,300 jobs in 2007. Attacks on business travel take a direct and crippling toll on the people who can least afford it. Without the 1 million jobs that travel for meetings and events creates nationally, the unemployment in the United States would jump from 7.6% to 8.2%. Click here to see state-by-state employment and payroll data »

Communities

Communities rely on the wages and taxes generated by meetings, events and other travel. Nationwide, business travel generates $39 billion in tax revenue, and nearly $16 billion is from meetings and events in cities and small towns everywhere. That tax revenue helps fund public schools, police and fire departments and other essential services in every community across the country. Click here to see state-by-state tax revenue data »

Businesses

Business travel has become a $240 billion dollar industry due to the real value and measurable benefits derived from the collaboration and cooperation that can only occur when people are brought together face-to-face. Money spent on travel by businesses, while supporting the companies, workers and communities where these meetings and events take place, also helps their own bottom-line goals. For example, incentive programs are two to three times more effective than cash at motivating employee performance, making them a smart business choice. These programs typically benefit hardworking middle-class Americans who have earned these trips through their exceptional performance.