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 Kansas City, Mo. - One of Kansas City's top 25 conventions, the Church of the Nazarene, begins setup this week at the Kansas City Convention Center, just one of the major conventions taking place in Kansas City in 2007. The Kansas City Convention & Visitors Association (KCCVA) has booked 224 meetings already for 2007, with more expected to be added throughout the year. This number includes 23 citywide conventions, which use more than 1,000 peak hotel room nights. In total, these meetings will have an economic impact of more than $231.5 million in the Kansas City metropolitan area.
Some of the more notable meetings this year include several local organizations. The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. is hosting their annual convention in Kansas City for the first time since 1999. Cerner Corporation is bringing its Annual Health Conference to its hometown after meeting in Florida for the past three years. And, Advanstar Veterinary Healthcare Communications will host its Central Veterinary Conference in Kansas City for the 19th year in a row. In fact, nine of the city's top 25 conventions for 2007 are local organizations. The city is also hosting one of the group tour industry's premier associations in 2007, the National Tour Association, which will bring more than 2,500 members of the group travel industry to the city.
"Looking to the future, we see a strong convention year in 2008," said Rick Hughes, president of the Kansas City Convention & Visitors Association. "We are already ahead of historical booking pace for 2008 and are seeing a range between 46% and 165% above booking pace for future years. The downtown development is really catching on with meeting planners and influencing positive decisions in our favor."
The organization recently realized one of its largest bookings in history when it secured Educational Testing Service for 2008 and 2009. This meeting will fill nearly every hotel room from Downtown to the Country Club Plaza, for a total of 67,750 room nights during those two years.
The bright convention outlook for 2007 and beyond started with a successful 2006. The KCCVA surpassed its booking goal for the second year in a row by securing more than 400,000 definite room nights for future years. In addition, Smith Travel Research data shows that in 2006 hotel room revenues were up 9.3 percent in Kansas City, compared with 8.1 percent nationally. Hotel room demand was up 3.9 percent for the year, more than three times the national average of 1.1%. Airport traffic also increased with Kansas City International Airport ending the year above pre-9/11 levels for the first time. KCI welcomed 10.6 million passengers for its sixth busiest year ever.
About the Kansas City Convention & Visitors Association
The Kansas City Convention & Visitors Association is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to enhance economic growth and quality of life for the region and its residents through marketing, sales and service for the convention and tourism industries. For more information, visit the organization's Web site at VisitKC.com.
Photo Credit: Photos Courtesy of the Kansas City Convention
& Visitors Association
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Kansas City Conference Center
Caption: The versatile Conference Center offers more than 58,400 square feet of meeting space on three levels.
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Kansas City Convention Center
Caption: The Kansas City Convention Center offers 26 newly renovated meeting rooms.
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Kansas City Convention Center - Ballroom Expansion #1
Caption: The 46,450-square-foot ballroom is one of the ten largest convention center ballrooms in the country. Opened April 28, 2007.
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Kansas City Convention Center, Lobby
Caption: The meeting space at the Kansas City Convention Center was completely renovated in 2005.
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