FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 19, 2006

CONTACT:
Frank Skinner
Jennifer Palcher-Silliman
(404) 252-3663

ATLANTA — The average reported professional attendance for healthcare meetings in 2006 increased 13.8 percent compared to five years ago, according to a new industry research report conducted by the Healthcare Convention and Exhibitors Association (HCEA).

Healthcare conventions represent a quarter of the entire convention market, and HCEA’s new industry report analyzes over 30,000 healthcare meetings over the last ten years to identify a number of medical meeting and exhibit marketing trends.

Comparing averages in 2002 to 2006, average exhibit hall net square footage increased 12.4 percent while the average number of exhibitors increased 15.7 percent. Additionally, the average cost of a 10’ x 10’ exhibit space increased by 9.4 percent.

Defining healthcare meetings by their reported scope in 2006, national meetings represent 59 percent of the meetings covered in the report, followed by state meetings at 28 percent.  Meetings classified as international in scope, even though they were held in the U.S., account for 7 percent of all U.S. healthcare meetings. Regional and local meetings account for the remaining 6 percent of reported meetings.

The full report features 10-year trend analyses on healthcare exhibit marketing, medical specialty meeting trends, location/destination pattern analysis, market reports on attendance, exhibit hall space and exhibit costs, and much more. The report will debut at HCEA’s 2007 Healthcare Convention Marketing Summit, to be held January 18, at the Sheraton Inner Harbor Hotel in Baltimore.
For more information visit www.hcea.org for updated details.

HCEA is the only association solely dedicated to improving the effectiveness of all conventions, meetings and exhibitions for the healthcare industry.  HCEA represents member organizations involved in healthcare exhibitions and conventions.