Measuring the Economic Importance of the Meetings Industry – Developing a Tourism Satellite Account

The Meetings Industry has emerged over recent decades as an important contributor to national economies. It is perceived as a significant and growing component of tourism and other industries and yet little reliable and consistent data exist to support this perception. With the lack of consistent concepts and definitions, as well as data, it is impossible to measure the industry accurately. In an attempt to rectify this gap, this study is an important contribution on how the Tourism Satellite Account could be used as an analytical tool to measure the tourism connection of the Meetings Industry. The objectives of this report are to provide an understanding of the global Meetings Industry with particular attention to the measurement of the economic importance of the industry. It gives therefore an overview of the current measurement of the global Meetings Industry and the inherent gaps in this, it provides a summary of the demand and supply data and examines the use of these data in developing a model for evaluating the economic contribution of the Meetings Industry in macroeconomic terms.

ISBN: 978-92-844-1195-5