September 23, 2008

Regional Summit Focuses on Attracting the Medical Meetings Market

ORLANDO, Fla. – On September 18, the Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau Inc. (Orlando CVB) hosted more than 100 community and business leaders from Orlando's major employers including the medical, healthcare, hospitality, and economic development industries, as well as elected officials and stakeholders at the first Orlando Medical Meetings & Tourism Summit. The focus of the summit was to develop consensus and create synergies amongst the healthcare and hospitality industries to increase medical meetings and tourism opportunities for the destination.

"The medical tourism summit was a great opportunity for the region's healthcare and hospitality leaders to enhance our position and have an open discussion about Orlando's future as a medical destination," explains Gary Sain, president and CEO at the Orlando CVB. "The early history of success with this market proves the community is off to a great start and the summit served to further define our strategy and will produce a blueprint for medical tourism."

This travel category, known as "medical tourism," is fast becoming big business for many destinations, including Orlando. According to the Healthcare Convention & Exhibitors Association, Orlando was the top-ranked location for the medical meetings market during the past decade. Additionally, the Center for Exhibition Industry Research reports that medical meetings represent 23 percent of all U.S. conventions and attendance in this segment increased by 1.6 percent during 2007.

While the Orlando CVB's efforts have led to early success for the destination, future enhancements will require the community to implement a more robust strategy.

When the Burnham Institute for Medical Research, the centerpiece of Lake Nona's Science and Technology Park, opens in April 2009, the national biomedical community will be watching intently. And with University of Central Florida's College of Medicine admitting its first class during 2009 at the Lake Nona campus, Orlando and its new medical city will find itself again in the spotlight. More than 150 biotechnology and life science companies currently call Orlando home. With the medical cities growth, which will also include a University of Florida research facility, a Veteran's Affairs Medical Center, Nemours Children's Hospital and the M.D. Anderson Orlando Cancer Research Center — the local demand for biotechnology professionals will increase.

The Summit's participants were led on an insightful discussion of the communities assets, history, future developments and differentiating ideas of how to accomplish a common goal – increasing medical meetings and tourism travel to the destination. Panelists shared with their views on industry trends, branding, marketing and economic development opportunities. Participants were asked whether the community could support the initiative and how their organizations would support the efforts. In breakout sessions, a consensus was reached that the community would support the efforts through the creation of a task force focused on developing the platform that would best serve the efforts. Efforts focused on creating a cohesive brand for the initiative and follow up on the next steps to continue the effort.

"A successful partnership with the healthcare community is the driving force behind the initiative. The ability for these groups to reach out to their peers in other cities and act as ambassadors on behalf of the destination could have a tremendously positive impact when planners are deciding whether to hold a meeting in Orlando," says Sain.

During 2008, more than 215 medical meetings, representing 170,000 attendees and providing $164 million in economic impact, are scheduled to be held in the destination. The segment is expected to expand, both nationally and locally during the next several years.

The Orlando CVB is the official sales and marketing organization for the Orlando area responsible for generating brand awareness, increasing travel to the area and booking conventions and meetings. For more information, visit orlandoinfo.com/cvb.