What lures giant religious groups such as the North American Baptist Fellowship, expected to attract 12,000 visitors, to the city of Atlanta?
“The city’s transportation options, variety of venues and hotels, attractions and major congregations are among the reasons why large religious conferences and meetings gather here annually,” answers the Atlanta Business Chronicle.
At about the same time, the New Baptist Covenant expects more than 25,000 people at its early 2008 meeting.
New Baptist Covenant, an effort led by former President Jimmy Carter and Mercer University President Bill Underwood to bring more than 30 Baptist organizations together for the first time since the Civil War, considered six cities — Dallas, New Orleans, Orlando, Indianapolis, Nashville, Tennessee, and Atlanta.
“Atlanta stood out because of the accessibility of transportation, the quality of available facilities and the number of Baptists in metro Atlanta and within a 300- to 400-mile radius,” said Jimmy Allen with the New Baptist Covenant.
Atlanta is home to two of the country’s largest Southern Baptist congregations, at Second Ponce de Leon Baptist Church and Wieuca Road Baptist Church.
“We want their business,” said Mark Vaughan, executive vice president and chief sales and marketing officer of the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau.
The ACVB reaches out to the religious market in various ways, including having its employees showcase the city during events held by the Indianapolis-based Religious Conference Management Association, which has more than 3,000 members.
Religious groups are especially attractive to the ACVB because they often bring visitors to Atlanta during the off-season and their booking cycle typically is shorter, which fills in some of the gaps in the city’s meeting and convention business, said the Chronicle.
Report by David Wilkening
