ARLINGTON, Virginia—Knowland announced that the Washington, D.C./Maryland/Virginia market led the U.S. meetings and events industry by volume for March. Second place again went to Chicago, with Los Angeles-Long Beach in third. The top industry driver for meetings was national associations across four of the top five markets.
Knowland’s data provides insight into the meetings and events industry to help hotel sales teams increase sales and profitability, whether in the meetings and events space or sales in general. Washington D.C. jumped ahead of other markets with its National Cherry Blossom Festival in peak bloom from March 22-25, drawing groups and tourists from around the world. The market averaged 200 attendees per meeting and 5,468 square feet of space used, and an average of 16 bookings per property for the month.
- Year-over-year comparison: March 2023 event volume increased 79.6 percent over March 2022.
- Top five markets (by event volume): Washington, D.C./Maryland/Virginia was in the lead hosting national associations, followed by education and healthcare. The following four markets, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Dallas rounded out the top five markets.
- Top five markets (by percentage growth): The top five markets by year-over-year growth in meetings and events are Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, North Carolina; Fort Myers, Florida; Oahu Island, Hawaii; Jacksonville, Florida; and Memphis, Tennessee.
