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Of course, even those members who did not work on this issue made a tremendous difference by just doing your job - not only to your own organizations but also to the economy. Don't take my word for it. Here are the facts:
 
On Tuesday, September 15, the U.S. Travel Association released findings from a landmark study by Oxford Economics to determine the ROI of business travel on revenue and profitability. The travel industry is responsible for $246 billion (that's billion with a B) in visitor spending and 2.3 million U.S. jobs.
 
Planners and suppliers, here are some well-documented facts to help you persuade your internal or external clients to invest in meetings:
 
•  For every $1 invested in business travel, companies realize $12.50 in incremental revenue and $3.80 in profits. (Great ROI.)
•  Curbing business travel can reduce a company's profits for years. The average business in the United States would forfeit 17 percent of its profits in the first year of eliminating business travel. It would take more than three years for profits to recover.
•  Both executives and business travelers estimate that roughly 40 percent of their prospective customers are converted to new customers with an in-person meeting compared to 16 percent without such a meeting.
 •  Executives stated that to achieve the same effect of incentive travel, an employee's total base compensation would need to be increased by 8.5 percent!

Data was collected from three surveys: 500 U.S. business travelers; 300 U.S. corporate executives/business travel decision makers; and 400 corporate executives/business travel decision makers.  The results are based on a combination of the survey data, a review of related research, and an econometric analysis of the effects of business travel on corporate performance.

Keep fighting the good fight! We are much more than luxuries and junkets. We help keep the economy going!

Best regards!
Lori Turec