Pumper & Cleaner Environmental Expo

Meetings and Events account for 15 percent of all travel spending and generate more than one million jobs. In a Recession, hourly wage employees (bellmen, housekeeping, wait staff, etc) are the first to lose their jobs. The U.S. Labor Department reported a loss of 200,000 travel-related jobs in 2008. Commerce Department data predicts a loss of an additional 247,000 travel-related jobs in 2009.

Under President Obama’s stimulus package they hope to save or create 499,000 hospitality jobs. The Louisville Convention & Visitors Bureau plays a roll in helping Louisvillians keep their jobs in the hospitality industry. For every 15 hotel rooms booked, one housekeeper is working a full shift; a cook is needed to feed them; a waitress to serve the meals; a front desk clerk to check them in and so it goes in the hospitality industry. Good jobs that help to stimulate our economy. 
 

Last week Louisville hosted the Farm Machinery Show to a record number of attendees. The event was held at the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center, Hotels and restaurants were impacted as far east as Shelbyville, as far south as Bullitt County and north into Southern Indiana. Louisville Metro was completely sold for the week which was excellent news for the hospitality industry, for Louisville and the state of Kentucky’s economy.

Unfortunately most conventions are experiencing attrition anywhere from 5% to 40%. This week we are host to the Annual Pumper and Cleaner Environmental Expo. Their attendance is down 16% from last year but we are very thankful they are meeting with us for the second year in a row. This event is also held at the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center.

I would like to encourage all Louisvillians, especially those that work in the hospitality industry, to do all that you can to help make the Annual Pumper & Cleaner Environmental Expo Show attendees feel welcome in our community. This is their second year with us since leaving the Opryland Hotel in Nashville in 2007 due to outgrowing their exhibit space. The show will infuse $8.7M into our local economy this year alone. These are dollars that are harder to come by these days. All of our meeting & convention business is very important to Louisville, but when we have the opportunity to keep a show like this one around for years we all need to do our part to help make this show a success. They could meet in many destinations but chose Louisville…Let's keep them here! It's possible!