Whenever a destination makes the decision to host a sporting event—whether it’s the Olympic Games or a lower-profile competition—there’s usually discussion of the event’s direct economic impact and oftentimes a discussion of the long-term legacy of having hosted the event.  While economic impact is something that can be measured fairly quickly, evaluating the true legacy of an event takes much longer. That’s because years must pass before you can make an informed judgment as to whether or not the event has had a long-term beneficial impact for the host destination.

As the world prepares for the Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, it’s appropriate to look at the legacy that was left by that event the last time it was staged in North America: the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Utah. According to tourism officials in Salt Lake City, Park City and Ogden, Utah, their three cities demonstrate the transformational impact of hosting a major sporting event. The most visible of those changes was probably the general infrastructure improvements made as a result of the 2002 Games (including new hotels, improved ski resort amenities, a revamped freeway system, a new light-rail service for the Salt Lake Valley and new passenger train service connecting Salt Lake and Ogden).

But, according to those officials, the long-term impact includes other less visible effects. The tourism officials cite a sustained increase in the number of people who visit Utah each year (20.4 million in 2008 versus 17 million in 2000), growth in Utah “skier days” (4,259,000 in 2007–2008 versus 2,984,000 in 2000–2001), and a tourism infrastructure that generated $7.1 billion in spending in 2008 versus $4.25 billion in spending in 2000. Perhaps most importantly, the tourism industry in Utah now provides 113,030 jobs versus the 100,674 jobs it provided in 2002.

According to tourism officials, Utah has also become a training ground for winter athletes thanks to the access they have to world-class venues, coaches and high-level competition. From an event perspective, according to the Utah Sports Commission, the state has hosted more than 350 sporting events since 2002, which have generated more than $1 billion in economic impact, and the state continues to host major sporting events at both Olympic and non-Olympic venues.

Officials also point to the legacy of economic growth and prosperity that translates into ongoing economic development for the state. In the years since hosting the 2002 Games, several outdoor-recreation companies (including Rossignol, Descente and Amer Sports, parent company of Salomon, Atomic and Suunto) have relocated to or expanded their operations in Utah. The national governing body for speedskating also relocated to the state following the 2002 Games.

The elected officials of destinations considering bidding for sporting events large and small would do well to consider Utah’s experience and the coordination that exists there between the statewide Utah Sports Commission and the convention bureaus representing Utah cities. The lessons learned in Utah speak volumes regarding the potential benefits that can be derived from hosting sporting events and can be applied to communities and events of all sizes.

Tim Schneider
Schneider Publishing Company

Almost 35 of the 45 years of my business career have been spent in and around the nonprofit association community. It has been a fascinating adventure filled with the excitement of many victories and accomplishments, while facing a great variety of challenges, as well as a few small defeats.

During the last 25 of those years, I have tried to maximize my efforts to find ways to expand my income by serving the nonprofit sector as an independent management contractor. I have been somewhat successful in pursing this goal but all the while puzzled by a strange phenomenon that seems to permeate most of our society. Let me illustrate:

1. On a number of project proposals over the years, I offered to provide a service to a group and finance the project because they had no money. Based on the success of the program, they would get a royalty in addition to the P.R., etc. It didn’t always work out that way but that was the risk I was willing to take.

2. In comparing the results of a nonprofit association offering a trade show or a publication, for example, competing with a profit-making entity, I have heard the inefficiencies and ineffectiveness of the “association” excused as “well, they are a nonprofit.”

3. In a business dispute, a retired judge acting as a mediator said, “My sympathies go to the association because you are a profit-making company and they are nonprofit.” I could not figure out what that had to do with the merits of the dispute.

Don’t misunderstand. The wealth of opportunity that abounds has contributed far more to my success than the agony of this frustrating lack of economic understanding.

There are certainly many associations that are both effective and efficient in serving their constituents, but there are many that are neither. Nonprofit status should not create an aura of invincibility that automatically gives it preference in performance over a profit-making entity.

What are our schools and colleges teaching about free enterprise? What do we need to do to provide a basic education in reality economics?

There is nothing magic about being a nonprofit corporation. It is relatively easy to attain nonprofit status. Somewhere, somehow, nonprofit organizations are going to have to meet certain standards of accountability just as is beginning to happen in the education arena. The educational system is in total disarray and not the least of the contributing factors has been the dogged determination of teachers and administrators alike to resist any and all attempts at performance standards and evaluations of both fiscal and results-oriented achievements.

How far behind is the nonprofit sector?

What do you think?

Meeting Professionals International has released FutureWatch 2010, its annual study of the meetings industry conducted in partnership with American Express. The study revealed signs of cautious optimism about the meetings industry’s prospects for the coming year. Because MPI’s membership includes both corporate and association meeting planners, the FutureWatch study allows an annual comparison of how those two markets are faring relative to each other. Given the battering that corporate meetings suffered during 2009, it’s not surprising that this year’s study indicates that association meetings will once again be a relatively healthier market segment in the coming year.

When MPI asked meeting planners about the professional challenges they expect to face during 2010, association meeting planners were less troubled than their corporate counterparts across the top eight concerns cited. Among other things, association meeting planners were less concerned about potential budget cuts and the public perception of meetings.

Another key finding of this year’s study is that proximity and practicality will be important attributes of the meetings that will be planned during 2010. This finding buttresses the argument that during times of economic uncertainty, members of local, state and regional associations tend to increase their participation while members of national and international associations tend to curtail their attendance at meetings held in distant locations. Indeed, FutureWatch 2010
concludes that the meetings of local, state and regional groups are more likely to realize attendance gains than national and international gatherings.

Other major findings of FutureWatch 2010 include:
• Competitive pricing on the part of hotels and meetings industry suppliers will continue to be important.
• A back-to-basics philosophy will prevail during the coming year: Value and quality will be more important than frills and extras.
• The return on investment (ROI) that organizations receive from the meetings they organize will continue to be a major concern of meeting planners.
• Social responsibility will be a continuing concern for meeting planners.
• Technology providers will find an enthusiastic market for affordable Internet access at meeting facilities, and for the virtual and web-based technologies that are becoming an increasingly important part of the meetings mix.

While the meetings industry awaits a solid rebound in corporate meetings and incentive travel, the good news is that the meetings of state and regional associations are continuing to provide millions of hotel room nights and billions of dollars in economic impact in cities large and small. Based on MPI’s FutureWatch 2010, the meetings of state and regional associations will play an even more important role in restoring the health of the travel industry in the coming year.

Tim Schneider
Schneider Publishing Company