01/24/2005 - Cultural Experience Leads to Rave Reviews
News Release
Anchorage, Alaska – January 24, 2005
NATIVE CULTURAL EXPERIENCE LEADS TO RAVE REVIEWS FROM RECENT CONVENTIONEERS IN ANCHORAGE
How many places in the world would attending a business convention involve butchering a seal, learning how to process the meat and donating it to local elders? That was the experience by some attendees of the American Indian Science & Engineering Society (AISES) conference last November during a visit to the Alaska Native Heritage Center. It’s an experience that still has delegates talking.
“When the AISES staff recently debriefed on our experience in Anchorage, all they could say was what a marvelous, magical experience it was,” says AISES Events Coordinator Cristy Davies.
A total of 1,800 delegates including 630 college students, 74 high school students, 279 professionals and 512 exhibitors spent four days at the AISES annual National Conference and Career Fair, Nov. 10-13, 2004. Booth space completely sold out for the event, with 188 exhibitors. Convention activities were spread among three local hotels and at the Egan Civic Convention Center. The AISES convention was one of Anchorage’s largest meetings hosted in 2004, with a total Estimated Economic Impact of $2,448,431.
“The AISES convention shows that Anchorage should (and is) capitalizing on its Native heritage and culture to offer a visitor experience that is different than anything found in other cities,” said Bruce Bustamante. “For ACVB, this proved once again that Anchorage is competitive, and in many ways more desirable, than other larger destinations for holding a convention.”
The largest convention hosted in Anchorage in 2004 was the Alaska Federation of Natives Conference with 3,500 delegates and an EEI of $3.3 million. AISES was the second largest meeting, followed by the Aerospace Medical Association with 1,600 and the Commissioned Officers Association convention with 1,200 delegates and a combined EEI of $2.6 million.
The Anchorage Convention & Visitors Bureau’s mission is to attract and serve visitors to the Municipality of Anchorage. ACVB’s marketing functions are funded by half of the bed tax collected by the lodging association. The other half goes to the Municipality’s general fund. ACVB receives no state or federal funds. For more information, explore www.Anchorage.net.
Media Contacts:
Erika Siegel
Public Relations Manager
toll free: (800) 446-5352 x 331
direct: (907) 257-2331
esiegel@anchorage.net
Nance Larsen, APR
Director of Communications
toll free: (800) 446-5352 x 310
direct: (907) 257-2310
nlarsen@anchorage.net
