Las Vegas took the lead in meeting volume growth with a 22.2% year-over-year (YOY) increase for June, according to data from Knowland. Ranked second, St. Louis saw a 12% increase in YOY growth.
There was an increase in total square footage used and group sizes for both the U.S. top 25 and secondary markets The average space used for meetings in the top 25 markets was 4,127 sq. ft., with average attendees at 141, while secondary markets came in at 4,085 sq. ft., averaging 132 attendees.
Las Vegas was again a popular meeting spot in June as sports entertainment jumped into the top five industry segments, primarily as a result of meetings related to the National Hockey League (NHL) draft. The city ranked as the highest growth market in the top 25, averaging 8,297 sq. ft. and 282 average attendees.
Below is additional insight into the top industry drivers for these markets.
- Las Vegas (+22.2%): National association, sports entertainment, technology, training/education and wedding
- St. Louis (+12%): National association, wedding, social sports, financial/banking and charity/non-profit/social services
- Nashville (+6.8%): Consulting, health care, manufacturing, national association and technology
- Orlando (+2.8%): Technology, national association, state association, consulting and charity/non-profit/social services
- Tampa-St. Petersburg (+2.2%): Health care, wedding, national association, state association and training/education
Louisville led in secondary markets, with event bookings increasing 72.73% and financial/banking meetings as the leading industry driver. The five high-growth secondary markets and top industries were:
- Louisville (72.73%): Financial/banking
- Madison, WI (63.23%): Financial/banking
- Sacramento (33.01%): Charity/non-profit/social services
- Pittsburgh (29.23%): Manufacturing
- Norfolk-Virginia Beach (23.7%): Charity/non-profit/social services