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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe Indianapolis Convention & Visitors Association said Friday morning that it booked nearly 735,000 hotel-room nights in 2011 for conventions and meetings, a 13-percent increase from 2010.
As part of the increase in hotel sales, ICVA booked 48 citywide conventions, up from 44 in 2010. A citywide convention uses Indiana Convention Center space and at least two hotels for overnight accommodations. Room nights booked during the year typically are for conventions scheduled several years in the future.
Business secured in 2011 should generate an estimated economic impact of $650 million, ICVA said.
The city exceeded its sales goal for the year by 10,000 room nights. Midway through 2011, ICVA CEO Leonard Hoops called the goal aggressive and said the group was far short of the pace needed to meet the goal.
ICVA booked 650,000 room nights in 2010.
New conventions that signed commitments in 2011 include the Kiwanis International Annual Convention in 2015, National Safety Council’s Annual Congress & Expo in 2019 and Seventh-day Adventists International Conference in 2020.
ICVA also signed extensions for several major conventions, including Fire Department Instructors Conference, Gen Con, and Do it Best Corp.
Booking efforts were helped by a $275 million addition to the Indiana Convention Center that opened in February and added 350,000 square feet of exhibit space to the center.
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