TORONTO SELECTED TO HOST HIGHLY COVETED MEETING
OF ASSOCIATION EXECUTIVES

Three new conventions expected to generate
$26 million in spending in Toronto area

TORONTO – Tourism Toronto announced today that Toronto has won the bid to host one of the most-coveted events in the international meeting and convention market, the 2009 American Society of Association Executives and The Center for Association Leadership 2009 Annual Meeting & Exposition.  Toronto has also been selected to host the American Podiatric Medical Association annual meeting in 2009 and the joint meeting in 2011 of the American Animal Hospital Association and the Ontario Veterinary Medical Association. The three conventions combined will bring an expected 11,000 delegates to Toronto and generate direct economic activity of more than $26 million.

The American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) and The Center for Association Leadership 2009 Annual Meeting & Exposition is considered the most influential meeting of senior executives from U.S. associations. The organization’s members plan some 375,000 meetings, expositions and seminars that reach more than 200 million people annually.

“Hosting this event gives us the extraordinary opportunity to showcase Toronto as a remarkable convention city to people who collectively decide the locations of thousands of conventions each year,” said Bruce MacMillan, President and CEO of Tourism Toronto. “This is a victory for Toronto, Ontario and Canada. It’s a mark of distinction that elevates a host city into the elite circle of meeting destinations and delivers powerful benefits to destinations throughout Ontario and Canada”

“It has been nearly two decades since the Annual Meeting & Exposition has been held in Toronto.  A lot has happened since we were last there in 1988,” said John H. Graham IV, CAE, President and CEO of ASAE.  “I am very excited for our attendees to re-discover this great meeting destination.”

The 2009 convention will mean more than 14,000 booked hotel room nights and total direct spending in Toronto of $16 million. The marquee event also carries projected long-term economic significance of $500 million from future business, as 20 per cent of association executives attending the event typically book a meeting in the host city in the five years following.  

Also in 2009 Toronto will host the American Podiatric Medical Association (APMA) annual meeting – the first time this conference will take place outside the United States. Toronto was selected over Washington, D.C., Atlanta and St. Louis. The annual scientific meeting will be held July 25–August 3, 2009 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre with the Fairmont Royal York and the Intercontinental Toronto Centre as host hotels. The meeting is expected to bring in 3,500 delegates from the United States, Canada and overseas and generate more than $3.7 million in economic activity for the city.

Toronto has also won a bid to host the 2011 joint annual meeting of the American Animal Hospital Association’s (AAHA) and the Ontario Veterinary Medical Association (OVMA). Scheduled for March 22-28, 2011 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, the conference is expected to bring 2,500 delegates to the city with an estimated economic impact of close to $4 million. The AAHA has held two previous conferences in Toronto, in 1991 and 2000, both of which reached record-setting attendance figures.

“Conventions bring in tourism revenues by the truckload. The provincial government is pleased to have helped Tourism Toronto land these major events by providing funding for convention development in Toronto,” said Jim Bradley, Ontario Minister of Tourism.

“These conventions, along with the many others that are hosted in Canadian cities every year, help remind visitors of the exciting experiences that await in Canada,” said Michele McKenzie, President and CEO of the Canadian Tourism Commission.

The three new wins come at the beginning of a busy convention year for Toronto. In 2006, Toronto will host several major international meetings including the high-profile International AIDS Conference, the American Psychiatric Association, and the American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery. 

“Winning large conventions such as these takes months and often years from the initial bid through to the site inspections and final decisions. Global competition is more intense than ever and Toronto is now demonstrating it can compete with top cities around the world and win," said MacMillan.

In November 2005, Tourism Toronto launched The Toronto Leaders Circle – a partnership with more than 170 industry leaders in the GTA affiliated with international meetings, congresses and conventions. This network has already generated a dozen possible meetings and conventions to bring to Toronto with a combined potential impact of 44,500 delegates, 170,000 hotel room nights and total estimated spending by delegates of $114,000,000.

About Tourism Toronto

Tourism Toronto, Toronto’s Convention and Visitors Association, is an industry association of more than 1,000 members established to strategically market the Greater Toronto Region as a remarkable destination for tourists, convention delegates and business travelers around the globe. Tourism Toronto generates the majority of its funding from the 3% Destination Marketing Fee collected from hotels within the Greater Toronto Region. www.torontotourism.com

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For more information contact:

Sousie Tsotskos

(416) 987-1736

stsotskos@torcvb.com