Tampa's recruiting pitch to return the annual Shriners gathering back home has paid off with the award of the Shriners International 2016 Imperial Session and a potential financial gain of more than $3 million for local businesses.
The event is expected to draw 20,000 Shriners to local meetings centered at the Tampa Convention Center.
The annual gathering of the international fraternal service organization will sell more than 16,000 hotel rooms and generate more than $3.4 million in delegate spending, Travis Claytor, communications manager for Tampa Bay & Company, Hillsborough County's visitors bureau, said Tuesday.
The event will include the Shriners annual parade and other activities for the public. Tampa last hosted Shriners International's Imperial Session in 2006.
More than 100 people in workday garb, from a waitress at Hooters to Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn, last month participated in filming a recruiting video outside the Shriners International Headquarters on Rocky Point Drive.
By comparison, the largest conference scheduled at the convention center this summer is the Gospel Music Workshop of America Inc. national convention, expected to draw 15,000 people for the August event over 10 days.
The local visitors industry continues to generate momentum in overcoming recessionary travel declines.
Hillsborough County hoteliers in May reported their fifth consecutive month of gains in year-over-year room demand and the 16th month of gains in the last 17, Tennessee-based Smith Travel Research said.
Room demand in May increased 12.2 percent to 389,746 compared with May 2010, the consultant reported. Revenue in May increased 13.2 percent compared with year-ago figures to $33.1 million.
The only recent decline was a 0.3 percent decline in December compared with December 2009.
The event is expected to draw 20,000 Shriners to local meetings centered at the Tampa Convention Center.
The annual gathering of the international fraternal service organization will sell more than 16,000 hotel rooms and generate more than $3.4 million in delegate spending, Travis Claytor, communications manager for Tampa Bay & Company, Hillsborough County's visitors bureau, said Tuesday.
The event will include the Shriners annual parade and other activities for the public. Tampa last hosted Shriners International's Imperial Session in 2006.
More than 100 people in workday garb, from a waitress at Hooters to Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn, last month participated in filming a recruiting video outside the Shriners International Headquarters on Rocky Point Drive.
By comparison, the largest conference scheduled at the convention center this summer is the Gospel Music Workshop of America Inc. national convention, expected to draw 15,000 people for the August event over 10 days.
The local visitors industry continues to generate momentum in overcoming recessionary travel declines.
Hillsborough County hoteliers in May reported their fifth consecutive month of gains in year-over-year room demand and the 16th month of gains in the last 17, Tennessee-based Smith Travel Research said.
Room demand in May increased 12.2 percent to 389,746 compared with May 2010, the consultant reported. Revenue in May increased 13.2 percent compared with year-ago figures to $33.1 million.
The only recent decline was a 0.3 percent decline in December compared with December 2009.
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