Halifax Pursues U.S. Meetings

<I>Halifax</I> - The two-year-old Greater Halifax Conventions & Meetings Bureau is developing a business plan aimed at attracting more U.S. corporate meetings.

While there are no accurate statistics that quantify the mix of U.S.-based meetings, local officials acknowledged that the numbers are small.

"I think U.S. business is crucially important," said Minto Stewart, managing director for the bureau, which is funded by various suppliers and government bodies.

In addition to hosting meeting planner fam trips and participating in trade shows, the bureau will work with business travel representatives at Canadian consulates in the United States.

For now, however, officials are optimistic that meeting and convention business will increase marginally this year. Fred MacGillivray, president and chief executive of the World Trade & Convention Centre and the adjoining Metro Centre--which together provide more than 100,000 square feet of meeting and exhibit space--expects business to increase in dollar volume by about 5 percent this year over 1996.

"I think the economy is improving," MacGillivray said. "Corporations are getting back into meetings, and we're finding that more delegates are coming and bringing their partners."

Like MacGillivray, Victor Ferreira, general manager of the Hotel Halifax and Atlantic regional vice president for Canadian Pacific Hotels, expects conference business to increase, measured by room nights, by 3 to 4 percent this year.

Across the street at the Delta Barrington, a 213-room property managed by Toronto-based Delta Hotels & Resorts, group room nights this year--based on booked business--will climb a whopping 45 percent, said Hank Stackhouse, hotel general manager and Delta regional vice president.

He attributed the expected business to various factors, including an increase in citywide conventions this year and the hotel's aggressive sales efforts. In addition, "price is not the issue it used to be," he said. "There's more business confidence."

Officials also believe that Halifax has benefited and will continue to benefit from the G-7 Summit Conference it hosted in 1995.

"It's hard to measure it with numbers," Ferreira said. "But the impact has been good because it's positioned the city in a better way to go after meetings. When you mention the G-7 took place in Halifax, it's reassuring that we have the infrastructure to handle the business."

Ferreira, noting that President Clinton was a Hotel Halifax guest during the summit, said a planner from Detroit booked a meeting in the city after seeing Halifax on television. And because Clinton stayed at the CP property, the planner opted for the Hotel Halifax.

Other factors that contribute to the city's appeal include a favorable exchange rate and lower costs than many other Canadian cities. According to a survey by PKF Consulting, the average daily room rate was $65.25 last year, compared with $84.75 in Vancouver and $72 in Toronto.

The bureau is targeting primarily companies and associations along the Eastern Seaboard, including Washington--because of its strong association base--and Atlanta, with its large corporate mix. "We'll be looking at those companies and organizations that have a connection with Halifax, such as port activity and oceanography, medical and pharmaceutical, and academic," Stewart said.