Toronto Ranks as Top Convention City in North America
June, 2010
Meeting planners from across North America ranked Toronto number one among 46 cities in North America for “Superior Convention and Visitors Bureau / Destination Marketing Organization” and for “Superior convention Centre Services” for Tourism Toronto and the Metro Toronto Convention Centre respectively.
Watkins Research Group Inc. recently surveyed over 600 meeting planners from across North America about a range of aspects pertaining to the meetings and conventions industry. Toronto ranked in the top five in North America in six of the eight factors and number one in six of the eight in Canada.
“Toronto’s steady, positive progress to its now highly respected position indicates that its whole convention community listens to what meeting planners want and responds cohesively,” says Curt Watkins, Principal, Watkins Research Group Inc. “Research attunes to destinations to changing needs. When the entire convention community in a city pays attention to where the research points, the city inevitably is perceived has a highly desirable destination.”
“We love it when our customers speak,” says David Whitaker, President and CEO of Tourism Toronto. “Attaining the number one ranking is not only a great source of pride but also a tool we’ll use to aggressively invite others to see the benefits of a successful meeting in Toronto.”
| Rank in North America |
2008 |
2010 |
| Superior CVB/DMO |
8 |
1 |
| Superior convention centre services |
16 |
1 |
| Hotels well suited for my largest meeting |
12 |
4 |
| Great all round convention city |
5 |
4 |
| Superior convention facilities |
21 |
5 |
| Safe and secure |
10 |
5 |
| Easy accessibility within the city |
9 |
7 |
| Easy to get to |
15 |
17 |
The meetings and conventions trade is a big business and a major component of the tourism and hospitality industry. In Toronto in 2009 it brought over $305 million in visitor spending to the region while tourism and hospitality overall generates $4 billion in annual spending and employs 154,000 people.
|
|