Convention business up in 2008

The Cincinnati convention business enjoyed a healthy year in 2008, with total room nights up 6.7 percent over 2007.

Dan Lincoln, president and CEO of the Cincinnati USA Convention and Visitors Bureau, attributes the rise to the expanded Duke Energy Center and a stepped-up investment in marketing, in addition to such high-profile conventions as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the National Baptist Convention.

The bureau predicts that total room nights will grow another 3 percent in 2009, and Lincoln says that the bureau is reaching out to make sure that attendance at already scheduled conventions is not affected by the economic downturn.

Michel Sheer, general manager of the Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza Hotel, suggests that the bureau should bring five to ten recurring, large-scale conventions to town and should also focus on bringing smaller groups that can use smaller portions of the convention center.

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