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Top convention destinations: Orlando, Chicago, Las Vegas

Charisse Jones
USA TODAY
National Harbor, Md., a hotel and retail development near the nation's capital, has joined popular convention destinations like Orlando, Chicago and Las Vegas on a list of top spots for group travel.
  • Orlando is the USA%27s most popular spot for conventions and group travel
  • Meeting planners also book trips to emerging destinations like Naples%2C Fla.%2C and National Harbor%2C Md.
  • Convention travel is bouncing back from post-recession lows

Orlando, Las Vegas - and National Harbor, Md.

Those cities are among the top 50 destinations in the USA this year for meetings and corporate events, according to Cvent, a technology company that connects event planners with over 200,000 venues.

Looking at its booking data from July 2012 to June 2013, the company found that Orlando, followed by Chicago and Las Vegas were the top go-to spots. But the list also included several new entrants, such as National Harbor, Md., Coronado, Calif., and Naples, Fla.

"What we see is that things shift around based on how hotels and cities invest to make the cities more attractive . . . in a very competitive market,'' says Eric Eden, Cvent's vice president of marketing.

Out-of-town corporate events and meetings slowed down during the economic downturn when companies were closely watching their purse strings, but they've begun to rebound in large part because they are viewed as key to networking and education, Eden says.

"It's a key way companies do marketing and communicate with employees,'' he says.

Chicago, number two now, was ranked number five last year. Atlanta, now number four, was in eighth place in 2012. And Coronado didn't even crack the top 50 last year.

In the race to attract business that can boost a city's coffers, municipalities pour money into convention centers and work with hotels to make sure they're top of mind with meeting planners.

"It's investment in convention centers (and) hotels and investment in the area around the hotels, in terms of night life, entertainment, retail,'' Eden says. "A lot of those things factor into the equation when a planner goes for a site visit to see if this is going to be an attractive venue for (their) attendees.''

Smaller communities that made the top 50, like Rosemont, Ill., tend to be close to an airport. And while some large cities also offer promotions or deals to attract event organizers, smaller cities are often more aggressive.

"I think smaller destinations know they're not as well known as Orlando or Las Vegas, so they often have more creative promotions and they'll offer more incentives to planners to get them to come to their destinations,'' Eden says. "They'll help coordinate ground transportation and airport transfers. They'll give them a rebate on the cost to use the convention center.''

The five-year old Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center has put the Maryland community of National Harbor, just outside of Washington, D.C., on the map.

"Five years ago, if you were coming across the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, there wasn't even a sign saying National Harbor,'' says David Furnish, director of sales and marketing for the resort and convention center which has 2,000 guest rooms along with over 470,000 square feet of meeting and convention space.

"What's happened with National Harbor is an entirely new destination has been created,'' he says. "The anchor to the destination was Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center' ' whose growing popularity has led to development of housing, restaurants, hotels and office space throughout the community.

Top 50 U.S. cities for conventions in 2013

1. Orlando
2. Chicago
3. Las Vegas
4. Atlanta
5. San Diego
6. New York
7. Washington
8. Dallas
9. Miami
10. Phoenix
11. San Francisco
12. New Orleans
13. Denver
14. Nashville
15. Scottsdale, Ariz.
16. San Antonio
17. Los Angeles
18. Boston
19. Houston
20. Austin
21. Philadelphia
22. Grapevine
23. Kissimmee, Fla.
24. Seattle
25. Baltimore
26. National Harbor, Md.
27. Indianapolis
28. Tampa
29. Rosemont, Ill.
30. Fort Worth
31. Minneapolis
32. Anaheim, Calif.
33. Charlotte
34. Arlington, Va.
35. St. Louis
36. Fort Lauderdale
37. Irving
38. Tucson
39. Hollywood, Fla.
40. Portland, Ore.
41. Alexandria, Va.
42. Kansas City
43. Coronado, Calif.
44. Carlsbad, Calif.
45. Columbus
46. San Jose
47. Salt Lake City
48. Long Beach
49. Schaumburg, Ill.
50. Newport Beach, Calif.

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