Cobb County, Ga. — (Thursday, April 4, 2019)— Today, Cobb Travel & Tourism joins organizations across six continents to support the fourth annual Global Meetings Industry Day (GMID). GMID, led by the advocacy coalition Meetings Mean Business, showcases the proven value that face-to-face business meetings, conferences, conventions, incentive travel, trade shows and exhibitions bring to businesses and the economy.
New research from Oxford Economicsaffirms that face-to-face business meetings across 180 countries contributed $1.5 trillion of GDP in 2017 – more than the economies of Australia, Spain, Mexico, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia. The research also shows that meetings support 25.9 million jobs worldwide. According to Robert Lann Consulting, LLC, Travel and tourism continues to be an economic powerhouse for Cobb County, with $3.14 billion in economic impact and supporting more than 39,000 jobs in 2017.
To shine a light on these results and others, GMID brings together thousands of industry professionals and third-party allies to host rallies, educational panels, networking sessions and more.
“GMID provides a platform for us to come together with leaders in business, government and the media to demonstrate the significant impact our industry provides,” said Julie Coker Graham, president and CEO of Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau and co-chair of MMBC. “The participation of organizations like Cobb Travel & Tourism is critical to GMID’s success and its continued growth in cities around the world.”
The GMID event for Atlanta is being coordinated by Chris Colbert, Cobb Travel & Tourism’s Director of Trade Show Sales and President- elect for Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) Southeast. PCMA Southeast is one of several organizations collaborating on this event including: International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE) Southeast, Georgia Society of Association Executives (GSAE), Society of Incentive & Travel Executives (SITE) Southeast and Meeting Planners International (MPI) GA.
GMID Atlanta is taking place at the Renaissance Atlanta Waverly Hotel & Cobb Galleria Convention Center. This year’s program will feature an industry panel on how the meetings industry can help in combating human trafficking, along with a networking reception to follow and a social responsibility project at the Cobb Galleria Centre where Outreach Kits will be made for Covenant House serving more than 18,000 homeless, runaway and trafficked youth in Atlanta.
GMID was created in 2016 to raise the profile of the meetings and events industry, and last year, involved meeting professional organizations, association chapters, corporations, destinations, elected officials and business leaders in 41 countries. More than 200 GMID events were held throughout North America, Latin America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia along with robust conversations online and over 54 million social media impressions.Proclamations of support were issued by nearly two dozen policymakers, including the Prime Minister of Canada; the Acting Undersecretary at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security; the governors of Minnesota and Colorado; and the mayors of Philadelphia, Chicago, San Diego, Austin, Seattle, Denver, Jacksonville, Ottawa, Toronto and Halifax.
“When leaders outside of our industry join us in acknowledging, promoting and protecting its value, everyone benefits,” said Trina Camacho-London, vice president of global group sales at Hyatt Hotels Corporation and MMBC co-chair. “This year, we’re seeing outside participation at record levels – through GMID proclamations, events and statements of support. We couldn’t be more thrilled with the outpouring of stats and stories shared online, in the media and among third-party validators and supporters.”
A full list of GMID events taking place today is available here.
To learn more about GMID, click here for information and resources. Participate in the digital conversation by following @MeetingsMeanBiz on Twitter and using #GMID19.
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Cobb Travel & Tourism is a 501(c)6 nonprofit organization that markets Cobb County and all of its assets as a 365-day destination. As the leading industry in Cobb County, tourism represents $3.14 billion in economic impact and supports more than 39,000 jobs.
