Not since the 2002 Winter Olympics has Salt Lake City hosted an event with as much potential influence on future convention and visitor business as it did over the four days from July 11-14, when Meeting Professionals International (MPI) convened its 25th Annual World Education Congress here.

The World Education Congress (WEC) is MPI's largest gathering of meeting and event professionals from around the globe. MPI planner members collectively account for more than $14 billion in annual meeting business, and each planner member has an average annual convention/meeting planning department budget of more than $2 million. Compound that with the fact that MPI members represent 80 percent of Fortune 100 companies, including American Express, Microsoft, CitiGroup, PepsiCo, ExxonMobil, Pfizer, Ford Motor Company, Proctor and Gamble, IBM and Verizon Wireless, and that 75 percent of this year's 2,400 attendees had never been to Salt Lake City and you can see why MPI's Annual World Congress was such an important event for Utah, says Scott Beck, president and CEO of the Salt Lake Convention & Visitors Bureau (SLCVB).

In Perspective
"To put this in perspective," he says, "the MPI World Education Congress is to Utah's meeting industry what the 2002 Winter Olympics were to the state's winter tourism industry."

Salt Lake was awarded the honor of hosting the MPI event in 2005 through a bid process narrowed down from an initial list of bid cities. "We were selected over cities like St Louis, Orlando, Minneapolis, and Vancouver," says Beck. "The fact that we were an Olympic Host City was a huge feather in our cap. It really helped us overcome the perceptions that Salt Lake was too small, or not able to hold international events."

Vicki Hawarden, MPI's vice president of knowledge and special events, says MPI had high expectations for its Salt Lake City event. "We were sure they would blow this out of the water for us. We look for a city to host this convention that has passion and creativity; that is affordable, with natural beauty. We chose Salt Lake because it is fabulous for its hospitality and creative energy."

Hi Expectations
With such high expectations and so much on the line, the SLCVB with its partners and army of volunteers pulled out all of the stops for the MPI World Education Conference attendees. Highlighting one of Salt Lake's most enduring strengths -- the friendly, outgoing and hospitable nature of Utahns -- the SLCVB deployed a unique group of "Guest Service Rangers" dressed in ranger gear, Smoky the Bear hats and bright green shirts, to welcome and shepherd MPI delegates at the Salt Lake International Airport, TRAXX stations and other key locations throughout the city.

EDCUtah's Amber Deibert was one such volunteer "ranger". She shepherded attendees at the airport and then later at a TRAXX station. While at the airport she overheard attendees make comments such as "My day just got so much easier because you are here!" and "Everyone I have met is so nice!" Exactly the comments SLCVB hoped for as it played off of its "Different by Nature" branding and demonstrated its ability to host large-scale gatherings.

Says Beck: "This MPI World Education Congress was repeatedly mentioned as the 'best ever by any city anywhere' by every attendee."

Showcasing Utah
In addition to ensuring that MPI attendees experienced a pleasant visit, the SLCVB also showcased the area's natural beauty via events at spectacular outdoor venues. Opening night festivities took place at Library Square in conjunction with the Salt Lake Jazz Festival and included a dazzling aerial performance by the world-famous Project Bandaloop dance company, which used ropes and the glass walls of the City Library as its stage. In cooperation with the Park City Chamber/Bureau, the SLCVB also held a Monday night "Party in the Park (City)" with Park City Mayor Dana Williams' band, Motherlode and a performance by the Flying Aces. The closing night soiree at Red Butte Garden featured a sumptuous picnic and concert by Smash Mouth.

"From the welcome address of our top 'Guest Service Ranger', Mayor Peter Corroon, to the warm and genuine thank you and 'come back and see us' of Lt. Governor Gary Herbert, MPI attendees clearly understand that Utah gets the meeting and convention industry and has the necessary support of local and state government to ensure that large, international events are successful."

Indeed, this was an incredible event for Utah and beyond the immediate, direct economic impact of more than $2 million generated through the stay of attendees, the long-term exposure of hosting MPI is where the real impact will be felt. In fact, the SLCVB expects the halo effect to create an incremental bump of five to seven percent annually in its already expanding base of convention business. While such an impact is an estimate, the potential is exciting. Beck says during the convention his organization received numerous quotes from prospects about how blown away they were by Utah.

Watching the Tweets
"We closely watched the Twitter chatter during the event and we know of two people who have already selected Salt Lake for 2010 for meetings, one at the Marriott Downtown and the other at the Grand America," he adds. "We also had several large, city-wide event planners contact us during the show for additional information, and I am confident that in the next month we will announce two large conventions whose planners were at the event and were 100 percent convinced during this event to take their recommendations back to their board that Salt Lake be the location for their convention."

Utah's friendly nature and natural amenities were not the only favorites of which MPI attendees took note -- Utah's new liquor law was also a big hit. "Not only did we overhear discussions about our new liquor law, we initiated discussions, celebrated the changes and were told by multiple planners how important this change was for the industry," says Beck.

Further, he says, "Think about being in Salt Lake for the first time and walking from Gracie's on West Temple, to Keys on Main, to the Sand Bar on Pierpont Street with a group of friends interested in socializing after a long hard day on the tradeshow floor, and not having to go through the 'Are you a member?' discussion. The new law was received just as we had anticipated and our guests now know that Salt Lake City is a lot more normal then they had thought."

Big Business
Convention events such as the MPI World Education Congress are big business for Salt Lake City and the state. The SLCVB estimates this year's impact on the economy from the direct spending of convention delegates in Salt Lake City alone will be in excess of $200 million dollars. On a larger scale, Beck says the monies spent in Salt Lake County by visitors in the hotel, rental car and restaurant segments (subtracting 70 percent of restaurant revenues due to local dining) is in excess of $1.2 billion dollars.

"That figure includes spending by the skiers, the tourists, the genealogists, the hikers, and the bikers, etc., that come to Salt Lake as visitors," he adds, emphasizing that it is not "economic impact" but rather, direct spending by visitors and does not include the ripple effect of jobs created by the visitors or spending in any area other than hotel, rental car and restaurant segments.

"Visitor spending is a huge part of the Salt Lake area economy, and that's why we are so thrilled with the potential long-term impact MPI can have. If the leading organization in this industry says our city is good enough for its international meeting, then it also is good enough for any group planning its next large meeting and we are prepared to host it."