US Travel’s IPW 2016 trade event which concluded last week in New Orleans, posted a record 105,000 pre-scheduled business meetings during the event’s five days, which is expected to bring $4.7 billion in direct bookings to US destinations over the next three years.
There were more than 6,000 attendees from 73 countries, including over 1,300 international and domestic travel buyers at IPW, with a large increase in delegates from South America and Asia.
"IPW is a wonderful, unique event in that it brings the world to the U.S. in one location. We remain dedicated to welcoming ever more international visitors to our country, and maintain that encouraging travel to the US is the best way to keep us open and connected to the world," said US Travel Association president and CEO Roger Dow.
The local New Orleans economy should benefit from $1.7 billion in economic impact and attract an extra one million additional visitors over the next three years as a result of hosting IPW, US Travel said.
There was a 20% increase in the number of delegates this year compared to the previous occasion New Orleans hosted the event, back in 2002.
Washington DC hosts next year’s IPW in June 2017.
