Positive Response Cincinnati’s Operation Homecoming has helped the city attract top African-American conventions such as the 2008 NAACP Annual Meeting.
country. Baltimore won a three-year contract to host aibtm, beginning with the show’s debut last year, and Tom Noonan, president and CEO of Visit Baltimore, makes sure to invite Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake to walk the show floor.
“When you bring the mayor and council members in, they see what all the different cities are doing to win meeting busi- ness,” Noonan said. “It’s not that [other cities] are doing more, but it’s the sheer volume of competitors. We have to fight for these meetings! Most mayors and city council members get it, but to see it in action is a real eye-opening experience.”
BUILDING THE BRAND There’s also the question of the ultimate intangible: reputa- tion. How a destination is perceived — in terms of hospitality, friendliness, business and cultural relevance, prominence, physical attractiveness, and any number of other subjective measures. It’s difficult to calculate the value of a good reputa- tion and even more difficult to buy one, because a good repu- tation is a tapestry of many different interwoven threads
— and it’s not always apparent where each one is coming from. But that’s not to say a destination can’t earn a good reputation. Indeed, Cincinnati has found that some of the
best returns on the multicultural events it hosts have nothing to do with money. Instead, these events are helping overcome a negative image that was set in April 2001, when racial tensions sparked a four-day riot in city streets. Cincinnati’s attraction as a meeting destination for minor- ity and multicultural groups was devastated by images of looting and unrest. The solution was Operation Hospitality, a campaign launched by the mayor’s office to win back convention busi- ness by involving local stakeholders such as the
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Chamber of Commerce, the chief of police, and community groups and associations. Thanks to the team effort, said Jason Dunn, director of multicultural affairs for the Cincinnati USA Convention & Visitors Bureau, Cincinnati has attracted 12 of the top 25 African-American conventions — including the 2008 naacp Annual Meeting, the 2008 National Baptist Convention USA Inc., and, in 2009 and 2010, the Gospel Music Workshop of America — and is competing for the other 13. And while these large association conventions certainly bring in money, they also can boost membership in area chapters, increase tourism, and support the mission of local community groups and boards. “For multicultural events, word of mouth travels more quickly than any other type of advertising,” Dunn said.
“After we show that we can host these types of conventions, we grow the business. It’s a team effort from the entire city, and together we show success.” Branson, Mo., has its own image problem to deal
Jason Dunn
‘It's a team effort from the entire city.’
with, but for vastly different reasons. The city is the self- proclaimed “Live Entertainment Capital of the World,” with more theater seats than Broadway, according to Bill Tirone, CMP, CEM, assistant general manager of the Hiltons of Branson complex, which includes the Branson Convention Center, the 290-room Hilton Branson Convention Hotel, and the 242-room Hilton Promenade at Branson Landing. From the 1950s onward, bus tours and military reunions contributed to most of the demand, Tirone said, but both seg- ments have shown significant declines over the last four or five years as a new generation of travelers has entered the market. The city opened the Hiltons complex to tap into
the meetings and convention business, but local theater owners weren’t happy. Convention attendees