Shortly after the University of Florida opened its Proton Cancer Therapy Institute in Jacksonville last summer, community leaders realized they have what it takes to position the city as a leading medical meetings destination.
Already possessed of a long-established Mayo Clinic site, which draws patients from around the world for treatment, city managers saw their expanding portfolio of resources, which also includes proximity to the University of Florida medical school in Gainesville, to be well worth promoting to the medical meetings market.
Jacksonville would like to join other Southern cities that have already proven themselves in the medical meetings arena.
According to John Reyes, president and CEO of the Jacksonville and the Beaches CVB, medical meetings are especially desirable because they bring in attendees with plenty of disposable income. They also attract representatives from pharmaceuticals and other for-profit companies who want to entertain and sell to attendees.
“Medical meetings are one significant opportunity we now have,” Reyes says. “Another level is patient care—extended stays for people who come to the institute and the Mayo Clinic for treatments. Yet another is the business-to-business flow, because lots of business people are coming to Jacksonville to confer with local life-sciences companies, so there is our developing transient business in the medical field.”
Partnerships
Jacksonville city managers realize it takes more than the presence of medical facilities and modern conference facilities to grow business from medical meetings. A major key to success in this realm often requires partnerships between medical professionals and community managers.
Reyes credits Gerry Troy, director of patient services at the proton therapy facility, for not only bringing the city one of its largest conventions ever—the 2008 Proton Therapy Oncology Group with nearly 1,500 physicians and medical scientists from around the world—but also for opening the eyes of city managers to the new business possibilities when he arrived on the Jacksonville scene last year.
“Gerry came to us from Loma Linda University Medical Center’s proton facility in California, where they have an active life sciences corridor. He brought us this idea of marketing ourselves as a medical hub, so now we are looking at what we have to do,” Reyes says.
Troy also approached Mayor John Peyton, the Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Jacksonville International Business Coalition. A mayor’s task force is now crafting a plan to move forward, according to Reyes.
One component of planned initiatives is defining a city profile.
“Jacksonville doesn’t have a strong brand presence in the U.S., much less internationally,” Reyes says. “Many people have no idea where we are located or who we are here in the northeast Florida region. What we must do is educate them about the value we bring to meetings. It’s not just about our great weather, beaches and affordability.
“We also have these great medical facilities, emerging bio science companies and a medical school just two hours away in Gainesville,” he continues. “We’ll be calling on people in our medical community who can speak, talk and promote our destination as a medical hub.”
As Jacksonville joins other Southern cities in promoting itself to the medical meetings destination market, Troy says the city is looking at some considerable advantages, in addition to its affordability and growing medical community.
“This was the No. 1 Florida tourist spot until the trains came in and things developed in the South,” he says. “Some of that heyday heritage is still here for visitors to enjoy, in a delightful downtown where we have about 2,500 guest rooms right on the water. We have miles of beautiful beaches, great golf, and both St. Augustine and Amelia Island are within a half hour’s drive away. Added to that is the laid-back Southern charm and a very caring community.”
It’s exciting, he adds, to partner with city managers to attract medical meetings with world-class facilities that are particularly attractive to medical professionals.
Southern and Savvy
Jacksonville is stepping into the medical meetings arena with some heavy Southern hitters—cities already known for their sunny climates, affordability, medical treatment, and research centers, as well as hotels and high-tech conference facilities that are equipped for satellite conferencing.
According to the Healthcare Convention & Exhibitors Association (HCEA) 2007 Industry Research Report on Healthcare Meetings and Exhibit Marketing, seven Southern cities rank among the nation’s top 20 healthcare meeting destinations. They include Orlando, Fla.; Atlanta; San Antonio; Miami; Dallas; Nashville, Tenn.; and New Orleans.
In San Antonio, Steve Clanton, director of sales for the CVB, says professional community involvement augments the city’s medical group attractions, which include two military treatment centers and the University of Texas Health Science Center.
“We have a lot of community involvement, so doctors who are actively involved encourage their associations and other associates to bring their meetings here,” Clanton says. “They like the whole package we offer. San Antonio has unique heritage, and it’s a compact city where you don’t need ground transport to get everywhere.
“It also offers favorable rates for exhibitors because we have few labor issues,” he continues. “Our convention center is centrally located and not far from 20 million Texans, including lots of doctors here and in both Houston and Dallas.”
Clanton says the city’s premier visitor attraction—River Walk—is a feature that warrants care and development to continue attracting medical meetings. So plans are in motion to extend its presence out of the downtown district.
The developed sector of hotels, restaurants, clubs, and shops along the San Antonio River is now three miles long and plans are in motion to increase development up to 13 miles to the north and south. Integral to the new development will be plenty of botanical features to ensure an eco-sensitive environment.
Location, Location, Location
San Antonio has yielded good attendance for the American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN), says Randy Bauler, CEM, director of corporate relations and exhibits for AACN in Southern California, in part because of its proximity to major population centers.
“One of our principal site selection criteria concerns drivability,” he says. “A hospital will send two people on a plane, but they can send four in a car, so geography near a lot of nurses is a factor. When we met in San Antonio, we were concerned it would be too far away for driving, but we had a turnout of 6,300 and were very pleased with that.”
Bauler says he relies on bureaus to help AACN identify a potential audience of nurses within a 300-mile drive of the destination. If nurses are based within a six-hour drive of the city, they’ll receive conference invitations.
Along with accessibility, cities that have plenty of shopping and restaurants attract the nurses, Bauler adds.
New Orleans was a big hit in 2005, when attendance soared to 7,900, and the Crescent City will host AACN again in 2009. Orlando is next to New Orleans in drawing attendance for the association, Bauler says. He also expects good numbers this month in Atlanta, where the group is returning for its fourth conference.
“We expect 7,000 nurses and 500 exhibitor companies in Atlanta,” he says, adding that Atlanta’s facilities are compatible with AACN’s requirements for meeting and exhibit space.
“This includes 200,000 square feet of meeting space because there are 40 to 50 breakout sessions going on at any one time,” he says. “A general session space to accommodate 7,000 is also necessary.”
Affordability Factor
Kay Witt, senior vice president for the Nashville CVB, says not all medical groups want big resorts, theme parks or a Las Vegas-type atmosphere. So Nashville appeals to these groups with its uniqueness and affordability.
“Mid-level physicians and nurses groups have worked for us, often because we are known as a safe destination and we are near 50 percent of the U.S. population,” she says. “Also, people get more for their dollars here, as opposed to some larger cities like Chicago, New York, Orlando, or even Dallas. The fact that we have Gaylord Opryland Resort with 2,800 rooms also draws many meetings.”
Nashville also has a major medical community surrounding Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Hospital Corporation of America, owner of many hospitals in the U.S. and abroad.
Great rates, a significant medical community and good weather year-round attract groups to Birmingham, Ala., according to Mike Gunn, the CVB’s vice president of convention sales. Gunn says his bureau works closely with the staff of the University of Alabama medical school in determining which medical associations are most likely to hold meetings in the destination.
“We have a very large medical community here, including 21 hospitals, and the new UAB Biomedical Research Building, which has been open just about a year,” Gunn says.
According to Gunn, Birmingham is convenient for attendees who want to either drive or fly into the city. Another major draw is the city’s growing assortment of restaurants.
Houston is also a major player in the medical meetings arena. Celene Chasen, membership chair for the Global Alliance for Medical Education (GAME), which is located in the continuing education office at Houston’s Baylor University College of Medicine, says her city has just about everything any medical group needs to mount a successful meeting.
“We have the largest medical center in the world here—Texas Medical Center—where over 160,000 people come to work or receive treatment in a single day,” Chasen says. “The access to medical professionals here is formidable. Plus, Houston has a variety of sports facilities, arts and culture, as well as excellent transportation options.
“I am also reminded of how affordable it is, too, as I plan for a GAME meeting this June in New York City,” Chasen adds. “Whereas rooms up there are in the $400 range, Houston guest rooms average in the $200s, and this affordability carries into our great array of restaurants.”
