MICE battle gets biting

New York City’s plans to build a 3.8 million-square-foot convention center means it will replace the US’s present largest complex, Chicago’s McCormick Place.

Meanwhile, there are indications that perhaps No. 2 Chicago wants to be No. 1.

The Big Apple plan came up after Genting, a huge Malaysian-headquartered gambling company that opened the city’s first casino at Aqueduct last year, signed a letter of intent to start the new facility in New York. The $4 billion New York International Convention and Exhibition Center would include up to 3,000 hotel rooms.

Under present plans, the New York Center would replace the aging Jacob Javits Convention Center, which has long been rated as antiquated.

At the same time, in an unrelated event, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has announced plans to beef up the city’s MICE efforts. The city will combine the Chicago Convention & Tourism Bureau with the tourism-focused portion of the Chicago Office of Tourism and Culture.

The city estimates that streamlining its tourism efforts will save $1.3 million in administrative costs.

"The money will be re-directed to national and international marketing campaigns with goals of attracting 50 million tourists per year by 2020," says a press release. Oddly enough, another major US tourist destination last year became the first in this country to draw more than 50 million visitors.

"Metro Orlando took a bite out of the Big Apple when the City Beautiful announced it had become the first US travel destination" to reach that number, reported the Orlando Sentinel.

"Orlando easily beat New York City," the newspaper said, a subject that New York tourism officials were obviously not happy about

But in Chicago, "This new organization will allow us to focus all of the city’s efforts to attract visitors for business, pleasure, and culture," said Mayor Emanuel.

The economic benefits of a healthy tourism industry are vast, including job creation, improved retail, restaurant, cultural attraction and hotel commerce – all contributing to increased tax revenue, according to new President Don Welsh.

At the current rate of 40 million visitors annually, Chicago’s visitor industry supports 124,000 jobs, $11.1 billion in direct spending and $616 million in tax revenues.

In addition to the goal of 50 million visitors per year by 2020, the City has set a goal to move into the top five cities for overseas visitation (Chicago currently ranks 10th in the nation); and a preliminary goal of expanding Chicago’s market share among overseas visitors to the US to 6%. It is now 4.3%.

"Our ultimate goal is to make Chicago the premier destination for domestic and international business and leisure travelers," Welsh said.

That sounds suspiciously as if the "Windy City" or the so-called "Second City" will not be content to remain No. 2…forever?

By David Wilkening