Knowland reports Nashville experienced strong growth for meetings and events since last year at 31.5 percent. Las Vegas came in second with 20.3 percent year-over-year growth. Overall, U.S. industry growth of meetings and events increased by 12.8 percent. This data is sourced from Knowland’s sales intelligence platform.
Nashville was the hot spot for conventions and meetings, bolstered by healthcare and financial/banking as its top industry drivers. Music City’s average attendance was 103, and the average meeting space used was 2,762 square feet.
October 2023 event volume increased 12.8 percent over October 2022. Nashville led the top 25 U.S. markets by event percentage growth with healthcare meetings, followed by financial/banking industry events. The following four markets: Las Vegas, Oahu Island, Minneapolis/St. Paul and Los Angeles/Long Beach rounded out the top five growth markets. Below is additional insight into the top drivers for these markets.
- Nashville: Healthcare, financial/banking, consulting, technology and insurance.
- Las Vegas: Technology, healthcare, training/education, travel and charity/non-profit.
- Oahu: Travel, transportation, charity/non-profit, training/education and pharmaceutical/biotech.
- Minneapolis: Manufacturing, charity/non-profit, financial/banking, healthcare and training/education.
- Los Angeles-Long Beach: Charity/non-profit, training/education, healthcare, manufacturing and travel.
The top overall U.S. markets outside of the top 25 by year-over-year growth in meetings and events were Fort Myers, Fla.; Lexington, Ky.; Delaware; West Palm Beach-Boca Raton, Fla.; and Harrisburg, Pa.