Cleveland’s travel and tourism sector has had a successful year in 2023, but there is a lot more to come in ’24.
A year full of events that have been planned for years. Think about this: this summer, there are the Pan-American Masters Games, which will draw athletes and media from all over the world, and the Women’s NCAA Basketball Final Four, which will be immediately followed by the solar eclipse, which is already expected to cause hotel reservations to sell out.
David Gilbert, President & CEO of Destination Cleveland, stated, “You talk about probably 20,000 people for the Women’s Final Four, another 20–25,000 people for the PanAm Masters games, who knows how many, but certainly tens of thousands in and around Cleveland for the eclipse.”
In 2024, Cleveland will host the induction of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but the biggest event of the year is probably something you’ve never even heard of.
“It’s considered by many the sort of ‘Super Bowl of Meetings,'” Gilbert stated. It’s called the American Society of Association Executives, or to put it another way, it’s a conference of convention planners, or decision makers who may bring in more business for the city.
“Research has shown that cities that host the ASAE annual conference, within the first five years after hosting, can see an increase of $200 to $500 million in economic impact from meetings and conventions secured as a result of hosting that convention,” Gilbert stated.
Many of the visitors arriving in 2019 will be doing so for the first time, whether it’s for a concert, sporting event, convention, or eclipse.
According to Destination Cleveland’s own research, if they can get you here, they can send
