In light of a shrinking budget, the state has dropped traditional advertising campaigns to promote tourism and is embracing
social media outlets to promote Indiana's attractions.
General Hotels Corp. will manage five more hotels in Indiana and Ohio.
Hotel occupancy rates in the last two years have plunged nationally and locally to levels not seen in decades, putting a number
of hotels at or near the financial breaking point. But relief finally appears to be on the way.
An initiative to bring 10 of the biggest travel tour operators in the United Kingdom to this year’s Indianapolis 500 could
be a first step in bolstering business at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, area golf courses and Indianapolis International
Airport, where city boosters hope to establish direct flights to London.
Unfathomable just a decade ago, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is trimming demands on hospitality packages in a scramble
to fill vacancies and preserve what IMS officials call "a major profit center."
Tickets were snapped up fast for this year’s Final Four, almost assuring a record economic impact for Indianapolis. But two
more wins for Purdue or Butler could bring down projected visitor spending.
The Big Ten men’s and women’s basketball tournaments will be held in Indianapolis the next two years, but the conference’s
future in the city is uncertain after 2012.
Labor meetings in Miami over the weekend did little to dispel speculation that the souring relationship between NFL players
and owners could jeopardize the 2012 Super Bowl at Lucas Oil Stadium.
The Indianapolis Convention & Visitors Association said Thursday that it has received a $5.4 million gift to help market the
city’s tourism and convention industries. The grant comes from a foundation headed by the developer of the Marriott Place
hotel complex under construction downtown.
At issue is a dispute pitting NFL players against owners, and owners against one another over how league
revenue should be divided. If it isn’t resolved, the 2011 season could be shortened, delayed or canceled.
With the move, IBE hopes to rejuvenate the annual football game and related events, which have been suffering from declining attendance.
The show held in Indianapolis Dec. 3-4 is picking up speed much faster than event organizers and local
convention and tourism officials expected. But the nation’s biggest motorsports trade show, Performance
Racing Industry Show, is considering competing with the local show head-on in 2010.
Indianapolis was up against Dallas, Las Vegas, Orlando, Atlanta and New Orleans to host baseball’s Winter
Meetings, which
will draw more than 200 media members from the nation’s top 30 markets.
One of the first things new airport CEO John Clark said he wanted to do was to squeeze more use—and revenue—out
of the new airport terminal’s Civic Plaza space.
The locally based Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association will bring its fall trade show back to Indianapolis
in 2011 and 2012—making good on a promise to return after a $275 million expansion of the Indiana Convention Center.
Indianapolis Visitors Channel, which airs on closed-circuit networks
in more than 6,400 area hotel rooms, highlights some of the city’s most popular attractions and promotes local businesses—both
through traditional advertising and sponsored features.
A summer advertising campaign launched by the Indianapolis Convention & Visitors Association helped produce more visitors
and dollars for central Indiana, even though the organization spent less this year marketing the region.
The director of the Circle City Classic announced his resignation Monday, just four months after taking the job.
Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari amusement park in southern Indiana has set an attendance record, drawing more than 1 million visitors for the fourth year in a row.
A formerly lifeless stretch of wall on the northern edge of Circle Centre mall is now an engaging tribute to three of the
city’s most notable attractions.
