National meeting treasure: the Philadelphia story

CMW continues its profile of selected US meetings destinations and finds that life sciences are big for Philadelphia, a city fast tracking its meetings offer. Philadelphia’s recovery in the meetings and conventions space post-Covid has been very strong. In 2023, Philadelphia welcomed 550,000 meetings and events attendees and they spent $261m locally, generating an economic impact of $380m for the city. This August, the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC) came to town, the largest international meeting dedicated to advancing dementia science and clinical practice. This year’s conference broke attendance records, with delegates coming from 93 countries. The Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau’s unique business division, PHL Life Sciences, promotes the destination internationally for life sciences events and in 2027 it has won BIO, the Biotechnology Innovation Organisation’s annual international convention for a fifth time. The Pennsylvania Convention Center (PCC) is one of many city venues that used the pandemic downtime to make significant capital investments, including $30m in improvements to its energy efficiency. There are now more than 14,000 hotel rooms within walking distance of the PCC. The Philadelphia Marriott Downtown, the city’s largest hotel and one of two hotels connected to the convention centre, has undergone significant upgrades, with new technology and all rooms refurbished. If we examine one case study, the aforementioned 2024 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC), which was hosted at the PCC, 28 July through 1 August, organisers report more than 8,500 researchers, clinicians and dementia professionals attended, with an additional 4,500 joining virtually. PHLCVB says that Philadelphia’s location on the East Coast, accessibility by transit (with Philadelphia International Airport as an American Airlines East Coast hub), affordability, and its position as a centre for life sciences, all helped take the AAIC attendance way above initial projections. With increased educational sessions and the biggest exhibition in AAIC’s history, organisers utilised hotels and venue spaces throughout the city’s downtown and beyond. More than 20 hotel properties were involved, from the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown, to boutique sites like the Canopy by Hilton. AAIC hosted major reception-style events at The Franklin Institute and The Fillmore Philadelphia. International initiatives Over the last 10 years, Philadelphia has hosted an increasing number of major international events, from the 2015 World Meeting of Families and Papal Visit to WWE’s 2024 WrestleMania, which drew attendees from more than 60 countries. And the city will once again be on the global stage in 2026 as it hosts six FIFA World Cup matches. Sustainability As customers prioritise environmentally friendly vendors and venues, sustainability lies at the heart of the PCC’s $30m improvement project and the Events Industry Council has recognised the venue with its Sustainable Event Standards gold certification for venues. In 2023, for the fourth year in a row, the facility received its certification for the Global Biorisk Advisory Council Accreditation and reports cutting its annual landfill waste by 47% and increased construction and demolition waste recycling by 55%. The PCC recently opened an on-site training centre for staff. It is an outgrowth of the centre’s Hospitality Industry Advancement Trust (HIAT), a partnership between PCC management and labour organisations and the only joint training initiative of its kind in the US.