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Healthy Dose of Conventions Heads for Center

With health care-related events leading the way, San Diego Convention Center operators are predicting a continued post-recession rebound in 2011 for bookings and the regional economic impact they deliver.

Conventions will generate $1.4 billion in local economic impact this year, including $580.3 million in direct spending by conference attendees, according to a recently issued forecast by the San Diego Convention Center Corp., the nonprofit that runs the center.

Operators say 72 conventions have been booked for the year, eight more than in 2010. Convention events are expected to draw 813,295 attendees, the highest since 2008.

The prognosis has improved from just a year ago, when officials were predicting $1.3 billion in economic impact and $542.1 million in direct spending by conference-goers for 2010.

Convention Center spokesman Steven Johnson says health care industry events have traditionally been a heavy contributor to local convention business, even during the depths of recessions, and the industry will remain a major presence in 2011.

Three of the top five conventions booked for the year are medical-related, led by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. That group’s event, set for Feb. 16-18, is projected to draw 32,000 attendees, generating $111.6 million in economic impact, including $46.5 million in direct spending.

Those numbers are topped only by Comic-Con International, the July convention that draws 126,000 avid pop-culture fans. That event, remaining in San Diego through at least 2015, is expected this year to create $172.6 million in economic impact, including $71.9 million in direct attendee spending.

Health-Related Events

In the health care realm, San Diego this year will also host conventions of the American Diabetes Association (20,000 attendees) and American Society of Hematology (18,000), each projected to generate more than $60 million in overall impact.

“It’s one of the reasons we focus very heavily on the medical industry,” Johnson said, of the center’s marketing efforts.

Experts say health care-related conventions and trade shows have been a saving grace for many major U.S. markets, in a climate where corporate spending remains constrained by slow economic growth.

Michael Hughes, managing director of research and consulting for Arizona-based Red 7 Media LLC, which tracks conference trends, says health care in recent years has led most other industries in event attendance, and now accounts for around 10 percent of the overall trade show industry.

That reflects continued growth in the U.S. health care sector, as professionals look to keep up with the latest technology and medical advances, update their credentials and track the potential impacts of recently enacted health insurance reforms.

For all industries, Hughes says trade show and convention organizers nationwide expect event attendance in 2011 to increase 6 percent, besting last year’s 3 percent annual improvement. “It signals a recovery from a disastrous 2009 and a wobbly 2010,” he said.

According to the San Diego Convention Center forecast, local events in 2011 will generate 737,820 hotel room nights, besting the 724,303 projected in 2010.

Hoteliers Cautiously Optimistic

Hotel operators say the rise in convention center bookings is especially important at a time when consumer travel has yet to return to pre-recession levels, and competitive room-price discounting is still impacting revenues.

Kelly Commerford, marketing director for the 1,625-room Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego, says hotel officials are cautiously optimistic about 2011, noting that leads for large-group bookings have been increasing in recent months and are up from the same point a year ago.

Donovan Henson, sales and marketing director for the 1,190-room Hilton San Diego Bayfront Hotel, says the property saw a 23 percent rise in group room-nights in 2010 compared with 2009, spurred by an increase in contracted room blocks.

Conference organizers used up 86 percent of those pre-reserved blocks in 2010, compared with 79 percent the prior year. “I believe the robust pick-up lift in 2010 can partially be attributed to conference exhibitors and vendors not being able to afford to be absent face-to-face with their customers two years in a row, after taking 2009 off,” Henson said.

Group room bookings heading into 2011 were 19 percent stronger than at the same point a year ago, partly attributable to the convention center having more events scheduled for 2011 versus 2010, he says.

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